One Of Those Stories
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 2:54 AM 
The ceiling of the "crypt" where the Verdi tombs were located.
I apologize for the style this post is written in: the "all over the place" style. It was such a great experience that I put it down the way it happened so I wouldn't leave anything out.
While we were in Milan, passing through my old neighborhood we came across the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti (Resting Home for Retired Musicians) where Giuseppe Verdi's tomb is. One would guess that it being in my neighborhood would mean that I knew what it was. But alas, for some reason I always thought it was some sort of an embassy, or consulate or an official government building. This retirement home for old musicians was built and founded by Giuseppe Verdi himself. Later on, as the story will evolve, we will find out that Verdi had asked that the retirement home started functioning as one after he died, for he would be embarrassed to be thanked by his fellow musicians. The house was completed in 1899 but remained closed until 1901 when Giuseppe Verdi had died.
As we were standing outside the building, trying to figure out if we could go in or not, this short, surprisingly quirky and willing old man popped up and told us that we could go in and see the tomb. We went in and a short-haired angry lady adamantly pointed out that we could only see the tomb and that we were not allowed to go anywhere else.
