Ronald & Tony

The seventh horse

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The seventh horse

Early evening at a small authorised community gathering near the Arco della Pace. Enzo’s portable theatre stands on a sturdy table well away from pedestrian routes. Sofia, the courier, the attendant and a few onlookers form a modest audience. The backdrop and real arch echo each other. This is a fictional event. : That evening.

Enzo has fitted the cam and wound the mechanism at the workshop. Now Sofia places the horse on the track and presses the theatre’s start lever. Its bell rings; a simple mechanical melody begins. :

Wide view of the tiny horse walking across the stage in front of the six painted chariot horses. The real arch rises beyond. Enzo watches Sofia watching the performance. Sofia: There he is. The seventh horse.

At the end of its track, the mechanical horse makes a small bow. The audience applauds. Tony, standing on Ronald’s shoulder, bows back with great ceremony. Ronald: Why are you bowing? At last. A performer with manners.

Read the transcript

Early evening at a small authorised community gathering near the Arco della Pace. Enzo’s portable theatre stands on a sturdy table well away from pedestrian routes. Sofia, the courier, the attendant and a few onlookers form a modest audience. The backdrop and real arch echo each other. This is a fictional event.
That evening.

Enzo has fitted the cam and wound the mechanism at the workshop. Now Sofia places the horse on the track and presses the theatre’s start lever. Its bell rings; a simple mechanical melody begins.

Wide view of the tiny horse walking across the stage in front of the six painted chariot horses. The real arch rises beyond. Enzo watches Sofia watching the performance.
Sofia: There he is. The seventh horse.

At the end of its track, the mechanical horse makes a small bow. The audience applauds. Tony, standing on Ronald’s shoulder, bows back with great ceremony.
Ronald: Why are you bowing? At last. A performer with manners.

Behind the adventure

Sofia, Enzo, Valli, the courier, attendant, mechanical horse, miniature theatre, parcel theft, exhibition boat and community performance are fictional. The little horse is an invented mechanism, not a documented artefact or an extra statue. Its base remains on the stage while its articulated legs perform. Travel between the arch and canal is compressed.

The central chariot on Milan’s Arco della Pace is drawn by six bronze horses. Separate mounted figures stand at the corners, so six is not the monument’s total number of horses. The arch stands at the end of Parco Sempione, behind Castello Sforzesco. The city puzzle combines landmarks in an illustrative composition, rather than a literal street map. City of Milan: Arco della Pace.