Graziano, a Friend I Have Travelled the World With
Graziano Masperi is a journalist, a traveller and, most importantly from my point of view, a friend with whom I have shared many journeys.
Some of his more recent travels are documented on his blog Naviglio nel mondo. There was also an earlier blog containing many of his older journeys and numerous photographs, although it is not publicly accessible at the moment. What can currently be found online therefore represents only part of his long history of travelling.
Graziano has his own particular way of travelling. He is not interested simply in seeing monuments or passing through a city: he wants to understand what is happening there, talk to people and often visit precisely those places that an ordinary tourist would avoid. That is perhaps inevitable for someone who works as a journalist and has spent years dealing with news and current events.
Having travelled with him many times, those pages have another meaning for me as well. Behind some of the places and episodes he describes are days we experienced together, kilometres travelled, encounters, unexpected situations and a great many memories that could hardly all fit into an article.
That is why I am mentioning Naviglio nel mondo here. It is not simply a travel blog, because it is not meant to be one. Rather, it is a collection of the way Graziano looks at the places he visits: with curiosity, by going there in person and trying to discover what lies behind the surface.