Santo
Daniele Spina and Michael Negele |
Sometimes my business trips have quite pleasant "side effects"
as now and then I succeed in arranging a short personal get-together with
a faraway chess friend.
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This
time a supplier audit led me to Sicily, so I was able to meet with
Santo Daniele Spina, a grammar school teacher of classical languages
and history at the nearby Acireale, in a bar at the Piazza Duomo.
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The
pictures show that there was November weather in Catania as well,
the cathedral, the city hall and the elephant fountain "disappeared"
in the showers and only the short coffee at the bar remained to meet
each other.
The
Wikipedia entry on the "Fontana dell'Elefante" offers
further photos of the fountain.
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Santo
is one of our most productive historians, certainly he was also responsible
for the reprint of Pietro Carrera’s Il Gioca de Gli Scacchi
in 2003 by the "Comune di Militello in Val di Catania"
where he contributed a 13-page introduction. This chess book from
1617 was the first book printed in Militello, it was translated into
English by W. Lewis in 1822. |
I have attached the long lists of the chess and the historical works of
our Sicilian member, a few title pages may be regarded as an illustration
of his enormous industriousness and expertise.
Chess
Publications (jpg-file, 950 KB)
and
Historical
Publications (jpg-file, 240 KB) by Santo Daniele Spina.
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Il
2° festival internazionale "Don Pietro Carrera" Catania,
4-11 agosto 2002 |
Der
rätselhafte Obelisk in Catania
(Berlin, 2007)
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I would like to combine this survey with hearty birthday greetings.
(Michael Negele)
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