Snake Kiln (Shuei Li, Taiwan)

這座台灣最古老、最具代表性的柴燒窯，是我在南投地區的最愛之一。從大學時期知道它的存在以來，十年間我至少去了五次，其中絕大部分是趁著帶外國朋友到日月潭地區遊玩的機會順道參訪，原因無他，看上的就是它的特色與活力，是我心目中最能彰顯出台灣燒窯文化的地點之一。
It's the oldest and most representative firewood kiln in Taiwan, and is also my favorite place in Nantou county in central Taiwan. Since I got to know the place in times of my university studies, I've been to the kiln for minimun five times in ten years. Most of the time, I passed it by with my foreign friends when I took them to the Sun Mook Lake. The reason I always take foreign friends there? Well, it's a characteristic and unique place and is one of the best places to demonstrate Taiwanese kiln culture.

距離我上一次到蛇窯遊玩，已經是六、七年前的事了。此番帶著兩個義大利朋友前去，除了讓他們看看這座獨一無二的窯廠，也有種一己之私的味道，想要去拜訪這位多年不見的老友。在盡我所能地翻譯、介紹了蛇窯的背景資訊以後，兩個朋友就自顧自地到處拍照，我則趁著下雨天遊客稀少，享受著蛇窯難得的清靜。
It's been more than six or seven years since I last visited the Snake Kiln. I took two Italian friends there in June 2006 to see this old friend of mine. After I tried my best to translate and introduce the background information of the kiln in Italian, my friends went exploring the site by their own. I took the chance to enjoy the "quietness" brought by heavy rain. There're indeed very few visitors that day!

廣義地說，蛇窯是可以被歸納到博物館的範疇裡，只是以博物館稱呼，似乎生硬了些，以文化園區稱之，帶給人的印象就鮮活許多，畢竟，在一般人的刻板印象中，博物館多了那麼點死氣沉沉的味道，對這座目前還「活著」的窯廠來說，感覺上是有些格格不入。
Broadly speaking, it can be categorized as a museum. But the term "museum" makes it too serious and people rather call it as "cultural park" for a more vivid image. After all, many people do not like the atmosphere of a traditional museum, and for this "living" kiln the term museum is quite out of tune.

若不是小黑蚊肆虐，我還挺喜歡待在窯身裡面的感覺。昏黃的燈光，被煙炭燻得發黑的壁面，給了我許多的想像空間。燒柴時，柴灰落在陶胚上面，產生了豐富多樣的色彩與古拙的質感，那天竟然讓我想到幾年前在日本美秀博物館看到的天目碗。這樣的聯想也許太過天馬行空，不過這種「回想起」的感覺倒是挺好的，因為自己竟然在四年以後，還能記起當時看到那只碗的震驚。
If not for the little black mosquitos, I enjoy pretty much the feeling staying inside the kiln. The dim light and the coal black walls bring ti me vivid imagination. With the burning firewood, ashes fall onto the terracotta and create various color patterns and antique texture. On that specific day, my mind was brought back to a piece of terracotta bowl I saw in Miho Museum in Japan several years ago. It might be a pretty "far" connection but it's a very nice feeling to think of something that I've seen in the past, coz I still remember the "shock" brought to me when I saw it in Miho four years ago.

這次旅行是九二一大地震以後，我第一次再度回到南投。儘管這次看到的窯體，是2000年重建的新窯，不過我卻有著一種看到老朋友的錯覺。我想，是不是原本的那個窯，似乎已經不是那麼重要了，重要的，是新窯延續下來的文化傳承。
It's the very first time I went back to Nantou after the catastrophic earthquake in 1999. Though the kiln I saw this time was rebuilt in 2000, I still felt like seeing an old friend. Whether it's that very kiln or not is not any more important. The most important thing is the cultural continuity bring to us by the new kiln.

維洛納現代暨當代藝術博覽會觀察報

秋高氣爽的十月下旬，羅密歐與茱麗葉的故鄉維洛納，打開了義大利當代藝術的秋季市場。這個在今年邁入第二個年頭的現代暨當代藝術博覽會，在去年以一百四十間參展藝廊、一萬八千參觀人次打響第一砲以後，今年參展單位更上看兩百，在規模上直追米蘭、杜林與波隆納等義大利境內三大藝術博覽會。

對一個不習慣參加博覽會性質活動的人來說，花上一整天泡在會場接受當代藝術的洗禮，儘管再怎麼精采奇異的作品，到頭來還是成了一種疲勞轟炸。然而在沉澱、消化了幾天以後，卻慢慢有了一種細品後滋味無窮的樂趣，對於此番藝術博覽會作為標竿的ICONA2006、域外藝術（Outsider Art）專區、以及受幾位新進藝術家的作品留下了極為深刻的印象。

ICONA2006
ICONA2006為大會和維洛納當代藝術館共同舉辦，邀集參展藝廊在廣義詮釋與自由心證的前提下，推薦能夠代表維洛納博覽會角色與意義的作品，並由維洛納當代藝術館館長考特諾瓦（Giorgio Cortenova）所組成的委員會選出十件最能具藝術價質與象徵性表述的佳作，再由其中選出一件作為博覽會結束後由大會收購的年度代表收藏，同時也納入維洛納當代藝術館的永久收藏。

在各家藝廊推薦的七十多件作品中，最後由波札諾Les Chances de l’Art推薦的「跳躍旋轉木馬（Jumping-Carousel）」雀屏中選。這件德國藝術家茱莉亞˙波奈菲（Julia Bornefeld）的裝置藝術創作，大剌剌地被訪在展區入口。綁在鐵鍊下不停旋轉的白色襪子，營造出的空間感、時間感與動態，吸引我駐足許久。旋轉本身的節奏感似乎有種催眠的作用，我沒多久就進入了一種抽離的狀態，周圍的人聲鼎沸似乎離我好遠好遠，引領我的思緒進入了一種莫名的空間。這件作品能引動觀察者的想像，探索想像空間並引人思考內在隱喻，旋轉木馬的動和背景照片的靜形成了鮮明的對比，前者是正在發生的現象，是一種「存在」的形式，比喻著生命不斷推進向前的特性，後者是已經發生的事件，呈現出過往種種歷歷在目，兩者交織重奏形成了一種極為有趣且令人著迷的組合。

域外藝術
域外藝術（Outsider Art）是步入展場後迎面而來的第一個部分。域外藝術其實就是40年代杜布菲（Jean Dubuffet）提出的原生藝術（Art Brut，或稱澀藝術）。因此，在這個部分看到的，不外乎是非典型藝術創作如民間自學者、精神病患等之作品。事實上，藝廊主人和收藏家到精神病院或民間鄉里挖掘藝術寶藏，早已行之有年，然而義國境內卻鮮少正眼對待此類藝術的發展。新加入市場的維洛納藝術博覽會正式將此部分列為主題之一，一方面是體認到正式認定此類藝術發展的時機已經成熟，另一方面則頗有藉此尋找利基，替大會找到一個穩定立足點的意味。

從原生藝術發展史的角度來看，維洛納藝術博覽會以這樣的方式正式確立原生藝術在當代藝術史上的重要性，也有其意義所在。事實上，自50年代世人開始注意到原生藝術以來，維洛納在此方面的研究就一直扮演著引領群雄的角色。精神病醫師馬里尼（Mario Marini）早在50年代就開始在維洛納地區的精神病院裡推行藝術活動，並於1952年展出成果。1957年，更在地區內的聖賈科莫（San Giacomo）精神療養院設立了義大利境內第一間讓精神病患以藝術創作方式自由表達的藝術工坊（此類機構在當時的歐洲也極為罕見）。

這樣的歷史背景，造就了季內里（Carlo Zinelli）這位知名的域外藝術家。季內里出生於一個貧窮的家庭，兩歲喪母後沒多久，就被送到離家遙遠的農場去做童工，十八歲時成了屠夫學徒，也開始培養他對音樂與藝術的興趣。大戰期間數次精神受創，在季內里心裡成了揮之不去的陰影，終於在1947年進入聖賈科莫精神病院。自1957年起藝術工坊運作的十四年間，季內里創作出三千多張不透明水彩（gouache）作品。

此次維洛納藝術博覽會，特別在域外藝術的部分，專區展出季內里的作品。從這數十件私人收藏中，觀者可以很直接地感受到，季內里的藝術來自於一種透過繪畫表達自我的需要，作品呈現出一種連續性的訴說，同時具有繪畫、語言、詩意與音樂的特質。色彩與型態鮮明的圖像，是具有音樂性與故事性的狂想曲，從書寫與繪畫的形式，引導著觀者重新發現藝術與文明的表述。

新人新作
當代藝術的領域之大，無其不有，因此筆者參觀藝術博覽會時偶有瀏姥姥進大觀園之感，每每總能發現到一些以前從未注意到的新面孔。此次引起筆者注意的，除了上面提到獲得ICONA2006青睞的波奈菲、域外藝術的季內里、知名藝術家如比亞希（Alberto Biasi）和雕塑家波莫多羅（Arnaldo Pomodoro）等人的作品以外，還有一些義大利新銳藝術家如伊凡傑利斯提（Nicola Evangelisti）、以及瓦尼（Sergio Vanni）等。

整個會場內最讓筆者倍感驚艷者，大概是伊凡傑利斯提的作品。這位於1972年出生於波隆納的多媒體藝術家，今年除了受邀參加義國境內歷史悠久的華斯托當代藝術當代藝術聯展（Premio Vasto d’Arte Contemporanea）以外，早在2002年，就已經受到義大利知名燈具公司塔爾蓋提（Targetti）的青睞，作品被收入「塔爾蓋提光藝術收藏」（Targetti Light Art Collection）之列，至歐美各知名當代藝術館展出。伊凡傑利斯提的作品極具實驗性，尤其專注在光線與材質、當代科技之間的交互作用，常以塑膠玻璃、鋁、光纖等為創作材料。透過光線與創作媒材之間的反應，伊凡傑利斯提創造出一種新型態的「空間」，在以「彎曲空間」（Spazio Curvo）為題的互動裝置藝術作品中表現無疑。

至於瓦尼這位來自托斯卡尼的藝術家，許多年前就對語言和影像、視覺詩意與文字遊戲之間的交互關係深感興趣，並於1997年起開始以此主題創作。展場中整個牆面擺滿了20公分見方大小的作品，幽了許多知名藝術家一默！其中最讓筆者笑到最不能自己的，莫非是以「食藝術（Eat Art）」調侃史波利（Daniel Spoerri）的作品「Chez Spoerri」（譯為「在史波利家」），以及用義大利國菜番茄義大利麵調侃雕塑家波莫多羅（Arnaldo Pomodoro）的「Spaghetti Al Pomodoro」（因為Pomodoro一字在義大利文中除了當姓以外，最常見的用法其實是指番茄）。瓦尼的作品極盡調侃之能事，只可惜觀者必須懂義大利文才能領會箇中奧妙，其中有太多只能意會不能言傳的義式幽默。

結語
就整體展場狀況看來，不論從展出品質或硬體環境，都可以看出大會的用心與野心，這個從去年第一屆開展以來就被義大利媒體當成新興的後起之秀，往後它對義國境內當代藝術的影響力不容小覷。

Shakespeare's Globe (London, UK)

偷了個空又到倫敦，這個博物館多到逛不完的城市，走在泰晤士河南岸，心想著這次要槓掉哪一些參觀清單上的目標，走過了矗立在河畔的Tate Modern，映入眼裡的是一座造型特殊的建築物：莎士比亞環型劇場。先前唸書時，早已耳聞莎士比亞環型劇場內的導覽與展示品質極佳，可惜當時並沒有足夠的時間和金錢一一參觀教授們推薦名單中的每一座大小博物館，只曾經在好奇心驅使下花了幾鎊錢在涼風颼颼的早秋晚間到劇場觀賞莎翁名劇「暴風雨」，擇日不如撞日，我當下就決定走進這個倫敦著名的景點好好看一看。

整個參觀活動包括專人導覽和展覽兩部分。在購票的時候，參觀者將會知道自己即將參加哪一個時段的導覽，在導覽活動開始前，可以在展覽廳內自由參觀，並在指定時間逕自到集合地點等待導覽員的出現。導覽活動大多是由環型劇場的工作人員來負責，在導覽員悉心的解說下我才知道，原來這種型態的劇場建築在十七世紀的倫敦地區是很常見的，事實上就在環型劇場舊址附近，也挖掘出同時期另一座名為「玫瑰劇院」的遺址，該址並且成為莎士比亞環型劇場重建工作的重要參考。

環型劇場的主要建材是以橡木作為架構主體，屋頂則是以蘆葦桿搭成。此種以蘆葦桿搭建的屋頂，在倫敦僅有此處，主要是因為在1666年倫敦大火以後，地方政府便明令禁止此類建材之使用，劇場方面也的確是經過重重困難關卡，才申請到一只特殊許可。目前的莎士比亞環型劇場是有史以來的第三座：第一座莎士比亞環型劇場於1599年開放，是莎翁許多名劇的首演場所；西元1613年在演出「亨利八世」之時，劇場方面突發奇想，竟利用加農砲製造音效，導致戲院遭受祝融之災，然而大火後重建工作迅速進行，於1614年重新對觀眾敞開大門，一直到1642年被執政的清教徒（Puritan）勒令關閉為止（當時倫敦的清教徒政府非常討厭劇場的存在，他們將劇場稱為「邪惡的來源」，極盡所能阻撓劇場與劇團之生存）；目前的劇場則在美國演員Sam Wanamaker的努力下，於1997年正式開始營運（不幸的是，Wanamaker先生無緣看到劇場之落成，於1993年年底死於癌症）。

舞台前景設計沿襲自最初之概念，上方為繪有十二星座的天花板，十二星座的中心便代表著上帝，長方形天花板的兩個角落則分別是太陽與月亮，構成所謂的天堂，通常劇中神祇與精靈等角色都由此出沒（我在觀賞「暴風雨」一劇時，空氣精靈埃里厄爾常常由空而降）；舞台本身代表的則是人類生活的世界；舞台下方則為中空，代表的是地獄，大部分邪惡偏頗的角色則於此出沒。

除了介紹建築物與舞台以外，導覽員也提到許多很有趣的事情，其中最令我印象深刻的，就是當他講到所謂「橘子的功能」。在十七世紀時，劇場表演是非常受歡迎的娛樂活動，當時的人並不太常洗澡，想像一下一群體味濃厚各異的人們聚集場中飲酒作樂，場中的氣味想必非常「特別」，此時，附近許多商家販賣的橘子就派上用場了！橘子剝成兩半，橘子皮可以拿來蓋在口鼻處當口罩，如此以來就可以遮掉那些不愉快的氣味，看表演看到一半肚子餓了，果肉可以拿來充飢，如果看台上哪位演員不爽，就直接把手上的東西對準目標丟過去，可真是妙用無窮呢！

在導覽活動完畢以後，我回到展覽廳繼續參觀方才沒有看完的部分。展覽從介紹現在這個環型劇場的建造時間經過為開始，將主題引入以十七世紀的倫敦為主軸、與倫敦博物館（Museum of London）合力製作出的各個展示子題，包括當時泰晤士河兩岸的環境、當時的生活、劇場表演、劇場音樂、莎翁之真實身分等。其中最讓我印象深刻的，是有關劇場音樂的互動式介紹，資料庫裡放入各種當時劇場使用的樂器資料，並有音樂家介紹並吹奏片段以供使用者聆賞，光是要逐一仔細瀏覽這個內容豐富的電腦互動單元，大概就得花上個把小時，若不是我後面有人排隊等著，同時我也急著要趕赴與朋友之午餐約會，我大概真的會站在螢幕前面慢慢仔細過目吧！

短短兩個小時的流連忘返，極其豐富的劇場之旅。

PS. 參觀與撰文時間為2003年年初冬末。

Dickens Museum (London, UK)

位於倫敦市道堤街（Doughty Street），狄更斯與家人於1837年4月至1839年12月居住於該處，後因第三個小孩出世，必須尋找更寬敞的空間而搬到麗晶公園一帶，後者於1959年被拆撤。道堤街一址本來也在1923年計畫拆毀，然而成立於1902年的狄更斯之友極力奔走，尋求各種金援將該址保存下來，並且允以翻修，於是狄更斯故居博物館於1925年開放，並由狄更斯之友成立基金會管轄之。目前該博物館是全世界最完整保留狄更斯相關資訊與原稿的組織，同時也是狄更斯之友的總部。

第一次接觸到狄更斯的作品，是國中時期觀賞高中部學長英語話劇比賽演出的「聖誕頌歌」（A Christmas Carol），由於學長精湛的演出，讓我對這一齣劇作留下了深刻的印象。在倫敦留學的那一年，學校每個星期一都安排我們到大小博物館去參訪，除了對各類型博物館的業務營運進行了解以外，也和那些正在博物館服務的專業人員進行訪談交流。狄更斯博物館就是老師們所選擇的眾多博物館之一。

博物館離學校並不遠，大概走路二十分鐘就可以到達的距離，因此一群人便像是出外郊遊一般，在吃完午餐以後有說有笑地向博物館前進。博物館位於住宅區中，在一整排看起來一模一樣的房子中並不起眼，如果不是確切知道博物館地址所在，還真的是不太容易找到。到了博物館門口，發現博物館的入口竟然是鎖著的，就看老師迅速按了門鈴，「鈴~~~」一聲門打開，原來是由一樓後方的賣店人員所控制，賣店也是售票處，因此一般參觀者在進入博物館以後，會穿過狹窄的走廊，先行至賣店區域購買門票。由於我們到博物館的目的並非單純參觀，因此在館長的接待下，我們便至後方研究區域和各個館員，進行有關營運、文物保存等問題之意見交換。

熱烈討論時間過後，老師便放牛吃草，讓我們一行二十人自由在館中活動參觀。館內的展示包括狄更斯的信件、手稿、肖像與個人物品，以及從狄更斯其他住處搬過來的家具，陳設方式與佈置則考究同時期之風俗。其中最讓我印象深刻的，應該是館方特別設置的操作性館藏（handling collection）。負責解說這項活動的人員是博物館的義工，他是一位退休的教授，對於狄更斯有著非常深入的了解。在他的帶領下，我們欣賞並觸摸到一封由狄更斯所寫的信、某本著作的第一版印刷、以及其他具有紀念性質的物品。其中最特別的一點，就是安排讓參觀者親自動手用鵝毛筆書寫文字；那個時候，就看一群平均年齡超過二十五歲的大小孩，爭先恐後地想要獲得教授的青睞（由於我們人數眾多，因此並無法讓每一個同學一一練習），可惜的是我那時動作不夠快，就眼睜睜地看著我的希臘好友將機會搶了過去，動手開始寫下她的芳名。

這次參觀還發生了另一件趣事。我和同學在地下室聊天的時候，另一個英國女同學從樓上走了下來，看著我說「Where’s the loo?」習慣美式英文的我，一下子反應不過來，就看那同學連著問我問了三次，旁邊的希臘美女才告訴我，這是英國的說法，她是在問我廁所在哪裡…結果到現在只要有人跟我提到這個字，我就想到狄更斯故居博物館的廁所…

PS1.圖片：狄更斯故居博物館入口，綠色的門左上角有一個藍色的圈圈，這樣的標誌在倫敦很常見，通常是說明某某名人在某段期間曾經在某地居住過的記號。

PS2.博物館官方網站：www.dickensmuseum.com

PS3.這篇文章是2003年寫的，不過參觀時間為2000年秋天，也就是我剛到倫敦唸書不久的時候。

蕃茄先生

蕃茄先生?!

話說我和老公兩人，七月份找了個慶祝結婚週年的理由，來了趟浪漫的巴黎之旅。老公中學是藝術學校畢業，對西方美術知之甚詳，我也樂得有個會慢慢跟我解釋典故的導遊，硬是趁著身在這個世界知名藝術之都的機會，增加一下自己的氣質！

我們的旅館就在王室宮殿（Palais Royal）旁離羅浮宮不遠處，走路大概五分鐘就到了博物館大門，在經過王室宮殿要到地鐵站之前，掛著一幅偌大的海報，上面這個對我來說很稀奇古怪的名字，配上海報上造型特別的雕塑品，對我有種莫名的吸引力。對西方美術極為熟悉的另一半看著：「啊！Pomodoro！我們去看看好嗎？」我趁機問道：「這位Mr. Tomato是何方神聖啊？」聽到我以蕃茄先生稱呼著這位義大利著名的近代雕塑大師（因為pomodoro就是義大利文中的蕃茄），對他來說，我好像冒犯到人家似的，馬上急著糾正我，「是Pomodoro啦！什麼蕃茄先生…」越看他這樣，我便故意頑皮起來，越是要以蕃茄先生稱呼之…在爭戰一番以後，我們還是回到了正題，他對我的疑問做出簡短的說明，並決定當天傍晚回旅館休息前去參觀這個在宮殿花園中舉辦的特展。

著名的蕃茄先生全名為Arnaldo Pomodoro，現居義大利米蘭市，是義大利最著名的當代雕塑大師之一，早年專門從事建築物修護的工作，其雕塑作品於1955年於米蘭市航Naviglio美術館第一次呈現在世人眼前。1963年，大師的作品於巴西聖保羅市雙年展中獲得激賞，榮獲國際雕塑獎，次年於威尼斯雙年展中舉辦第一次個展，之後開始在世界各大城市舉辦大小個展。大師很多作品都是為特定場地而創作，其作品已被各國各大知名美術館所收藏。

我們所參觀的是大師回顧特展，十幾件大型銅雕作品零星分佈在王室宮殿花園之間，簡單來說，「光滑完美表面的幾何形體與其中高度複雜之含混晦澀」為其作品之共通特色，看起來像是硬把完美的幾何形體剝開，意圖尋求其內部機制一樣。看完這些別具特色的作品以後，我個人談不上有受到什麼啟發，不過我想最重要的一點，是我覺得他的作品「很有趣」！對自稱為美術白癡、藝術新鮮人的我來說，沒有被所謂的「藝術」氣勢來個下馬威，沒有因為看到這些藝術品而裹足不前，就已經是很大的進步了。殊不知搬到歐洲來之前的我，對於任何有關藝術的空間與物品，總是覺得有很大的距離感，因為喜歡為眼前所有事物找到合理的想法與解釋，加上又深怕他人發現我不懂藝術，各種過程中不免喪失了欣賞的樂趣。來到歐洲以後的第一件事，就是告訴自己要放下身段，不要試圖讓自己成為什麼美學大師，也不要怕丟臉而不敢發問，一切都從最基本的欣賞做起，覺得「好玩、有趣」最重要，也就是從這樣的態度開始，我開始踏進美術館，而藝術，也逐漸融入我的生活之中。

PS.這篇文章是2002年十月寫的。方才在查Pomodoro的資料，也想起了這篇文章，所以順手貼了過來。

PPS.剛查出來米蘭有間由藝術家所創設的博物館Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro，如果沒意外，下次去米蘭會順便轉過去玩耍，希望不久的將來能把參觀記錄生出來！

Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein, Germany)

簡介Introduction

Vitra設計博物館的概念，可以追溯到1980年代早期。當時，這間知名家具公司的總裁Rolf Fehlbaum，開始蒐集對該公司發展影響深遠的設計師家具作品，藉此紀錄該公司的發展史。Fehlbaum的收藏隨著時間愈形增長，也就開始有了展示收藏的想法。
The idea of Vitra Design Museum dates back to the early 1980s. It’s the period when Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum started to collect designer furnitures which have had great influences on the company, as an attempt to document the history of the company. As the collection of Fehlbaum grew, so did the desire to exhibit the artworks that he’s collected.

1986年，Fehlbaum有了創辦設計博物館的想法，並於隔年與Frank O’Gehry進行接觸，邀請這位知名建築師來設計博物館。之後，Fehlbaum更與Alexander von Vegesack一起，將原本私人收藏展示的概念，發展成為一間對外開放的博物館。
In 1986, Fehlbaum had the idea to extablish a design museum. He contacted Frank O’Gehry the next year and invited O’Gehry to plan the museum building. Later, along with Alexander von Vegesack, Fehlbaum further developed the idea of closed private collection into a museum that is open to the public.

博物館於1989年11月3日正式對外開放，成為全球設計研究與推廣的主要文化機構之一。館內的展示以家具和室內設計為重心，延伸到廣義設計與文化的層面，其活動重點包含展示、研習營、出版、收藏、檔案與專題圖書館，此外，該館超過十組以上的巡迴展示，足跡更遍及世界。
The museum was open to the public in November 3, 1989, and has become one of the major cultural institutions in the research and advocation of design. The exhibitions are arranged with the focus on furniture and interior design, but also extended to cover a broader perspective of design and culture. The museum’s activities include exhibitions, workshops, publication, collection, archive maintainence and a research library. Besides, there’re more than ten traveling exhibitions covering various themes circling to partner institutions around the world.

Joe Colombo

此番博物館行的重點在於參觀園區與博物館展示。該館展示皆為特展，每半年至一年就有新作。園區參觀包括幾位大師建築的作品與該館的百件椅子收藏，這些都必須額外付費參加專人導覽，才能夠一飽眼福。
The focuses of my visit were the site tour and museum exhibition. All exhibitions in this museum are temporary exhibitions and change every half year or one year. The site tour includes visiting buildings of famous architects and the 100 chairs collection of the museum, and can only be seen with paid guided tour.

目前的展覽以「Joe Colombo – Inventing the Future」為題，自今年一月開展，為期九個月，是該館與米蘭三年展會館及喬可隆波工作室合作的特展。
The current exhibition is “Joe Colombo – Inventing the Future”. It started from January 2006 and lasts until September 2006. It’s a joint project with Triennale di Milano and Studio Joe Colombo.

可隆波是位非常有趣的藝術家，有著許多聞名於世的設計作品，這個特展讓我驚奇地了解到他的貢獻，更讓我有天妒英才之憾（可隆波於1971年歿世，享年四十一歲）。展覽共分四個區域：在位於一樓的三個展區中，第一區用來呈現可隆波的生平、設計稿與重要作品，第二區展出他所設計的燈飾，第三區則擴展至家具與用品，而位於二樓的第四展區，則呈現出好似007電影一般的迷你公寓組。展覽除了呈現出六零年代的精神以外，更因為作品的功能性與形態而令人感到驚艷。
Colombo is a very interesting artist. He has designed many famous and long-lasting piece and the exhibition itself provided me with an idea as to his contribution. When I learned that he died at a very young age in 1971 (41 years old), I was feeling extremely sorry. The exhibition is divided into four areas, with three areas at the ground floor and the forth at the first floor. The first area presents Colombo’s life, his drawings and representative works. The second area is dedicated to his lamp designs. In the third area the objects range from furnitures to kitchen wear. And the forth area is used to display the mini-apartments which remind me the 007 movies. The exhibition not only shows the spirit of the 60s but also impress with the functionality and forms of the artworks.

此特展展出許多可隆波的珍貴草稿、素描、模型、影片等，因為我參加了十二點開始的導覽，不得不把看展的時間拆成兩半，因此大致上花了兩個多小時才把這個展看完。
There’re many precious original drawings, design rough, models and films on display. For the reason that I signed up to the site tour of 12PM, I had to break my visit into two parts and eventually spent more than two hours to complete the exhibition.

建築精華Architecture Highlights

園區參觀的重點有二，一是建築，另一則是椅子收藏。
There’re two focuses of the site tour. One is the architecture and the other is the chair collection.

世界上大概很難找到第二個地方，在不甚大的園區，卻有密度如此高的大師級建築作品。Frank O’Gehry、安藤忠雄、Zaha Hadid,、Nicholas Grimshaw與Alvaro Siza等人的名字，在建築界都是大師級的人物。這樣的集結呈現出一種很奇妙的氛圍，走一趟Vitra園區，就好像參觀了當代建築展一般，也正因為如此，在過去十五年來，此地簡直成了建築愛好者的朝聖之地，而館方的專人導覽，也正是為了因應前來朝聖的人群所衍生而出的服務。
It’s probably difficult to find a second place with so many buildings designed by master architects in such a compact area. Works of Frank O’Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Nicholas Grimshaw and Alvaro Siza can be seen here. The congregation presents a peculiar atmophere. Going to Vitra site is like visiting an exhibition of comtemporary architecture. For this very reason, it has become a Mecca for architecture lovers in the past 15 years. The guided architecture tour is actually a service provided by the museum in response of the needs of the people who come for the pilgrimage.

導覽的起點，是O’Ghery於1989年完成的博物館建築。這件如雕塑般且富於表現的作品，事實上也是O’Ghery在歐洲完成的第一件作品。隨著導覽人員的腳步，我們走過Buckminster Fuller設計的巨蛋型結構、Jean Prouv?的小型加油站、Alvaro Siza的廠房、最後來到了Zaha Hadid為Vitra公司所設計的消防站。
The starting point of the guided tour is the museum building by Frank O’Ghery, completed in 1989. This sculpture-like building is rich in expressiveness, and is actually the very first work of the architect in Europe. Following the docent, we passed by the dome shape structure designed by Buckminster Fuller, the small-scale petrol station by Jean Prouv?, the production hall by Alvaro Siza, and finally reached the fire station by Zaha Hadid.

除了博物館以外，因為參加導覽的關係，才得以進入Hadid和安藤替Vitra蓋的兩棟建築。這是我第一次體驗這兩位建築師的作品，其實是蠻新奇的經驗。Hadid的建築很有解構的味道，靈活的線條運用，規劃出很不一樣的外觀與空間。她利用線條創造出視覺上的錯亂，身歷其境的空間感，比實際空間大了許多、長了許多。另一方面，她更利用線條製造出流動感，即使站著不動，我還是不斷地覺得自己的身體左右晃動。
Apart from the museum building, I was able to enter the buildings designed by Hadid and Ando due to the guided tour. It’s the very first time that I saw works from these two architects. It’s quite an interesting experience. Hadid’s work brings me a sense of deconstruction. She made use of lines and shapes at ease to create a very different appearance and space. She created certain level of visual confusion that the space one can feel when s/he is personally in the building is much broader and longer than the actual space. On the other hand, she also created a kind of fluidness that even I tried to stay still I still felt myself shaking constantly.

安藤的作品，則是另一種完全不一樣的感覺。在會議中心裡，有一種沉穩和諧的感受。導覽人員解釋著，構成水泥牆的單位與符合黃金比的榻榻米等大，往落地窗外看過去，會在外牆上看到一條代表著水平面的線，環繞著整棟建築物，以及特別光滑的牆面等，這些安藤所要求的細節，都是為了帶給使用者舒適感。看著窗外盛開的櫻花，竟然讓我感覺到一絲絲日本氣息。
Ando’s work brought me another kind of feeling, totally different from that of Hadid’s. The conference pavilion is calm and harmonious. According to the docent, the concrete wall is built of units equal to the size of tatami and the size of the unit is of the golden ratio. Looking outside the window, one can see a line on the outer wall circling the whole building. The line represents the ground level. The concrete wall is extremely smooth. All these details that Ando requested contribute to the comforting feeling of its users. Surprisingly, looking at the cherry blossoms outside the window, I seemed to feel as if I was in Japan.

to be continued...

Cit'e de la Musique (Paris, France)

參觀時間：2005年7月
Visit time: July 2005


現代音樂中心位於巴黎市東北方的維萊特公園裡，是一座兼具演出、教育與展示功能的大型綜合活動中心。巴黎高等音樂院就在咫尺之距，因此這個區域，也是許多巴黎音樂人的活動範圍。
Situated in the La Villette Park at the northeast of Paris, the Cit'e de la Musique is a center for performance, education and exhibition. The Paris Conservatory is just nearby, so this is actually a popular area for music people.

音樂博物館一直是我很努力蒐集資料的領域，還記得幾年前的巴黎行，在離開以後才因緣際會知道了這座博物館的存在，心裡頭還為了自己一時不察錯過了參觀機會而懊惱不已，當時就發誓，下次到巴黎的時候，一定要去走一遭。
It’s been some years that I started collecting materials about museums with music as its major theme. I still remember that I got to know this museum in 2002, when I just returned home from Paris. I was sorry that I didn’t do my homework before I left for the trip and decided that it’d be one of the must-go for the next trip to Paris.

出發之前曾經到音樂博物館的網站上看過，平時活動頗多的博物館似乎正進入淡季，大概因為學生們都放暑假的關係吧！然而，再怎麼說，這間博物館也屬於世界上樂器收藏最豐富的博物館之一，雖然這次仍舊無法一窺博物館活動全貌，只有參觀展示區的份兒，不過要飛到巴黎也不是件難事，這次姑且先走馬看花，也不至於讓自己有所遺憾囉！
I visited the official web site before I left for Paris. It seemed to enter a “low-season” because students were on their summer vacation. In any case, it is one of the museums rich in collections of musical instruments. Though I could not have a complete idea of the activities of the museum in this visit and could only visit its exhibitions, it’s not difficult for me to arrange a trip to Paris. So I decided to have a general look of the museum first so that I wouldn’t leave any regret this time.

抵達博物館已是下午四點以後的事。嫂子對現代音樂中心其實頗為熟悉，這地方其實是她留學時期常常流連忘返之處，只是多年以來，對裡面的博物館總是過門不入，對我這個博物館迷來說甚是可惜；不過留學生的生活忙碌，連我自己在倫敦住了一年，也沒有走遍倫敦市內的所有博物館，現在回想起來雖然有些後悔，不過當時也真的沒有什麼空閒時間，畢竟在博物館學的課程之中，也排滿了大大小小的校外參觀交流，週末倘若沒有特意安排，其實也都是在讀書寫報告中度過。
My sister-in-law and I arrived the museum at 4PM. She is quite familiar to the center because it’s one of the places that she often visited when she was studying in Paris. However, for all those years she’s never been to the museum, it’s quite a pity from my point of view. I could understand that one could be extremely busy for school. I was in London for a whole year and didn’t visit all museums in London. I regret a bit but in any case I didn’t have that much free time for visits. After all, the program of museum studies also took us to various field trips and weekends were mostly left for writing reports and studies.

算了算，我們大概只有不到兩小時的時間，不過以我自己參觀博物館的經驗，兩個小時其實還算適當，加上國際博物館協會的會員可以免費參觀（註一），我們便還是走了進去。
We had about only two hours. From my past experiences, two hours for visiting a museum is quite enough because more than that my brain starts to feel the “burden”. Also, with the ICOM membership card I can get in for free, so we still entered the museum.

驗票區是個擺滿無限耳機的櫃檯！工作人員問道：「你們要耳機嗎？」我原本心想，語音導覽還要額外付費，這次的時間又不多，正想要拒絕的時候，她加上一句：「免費的喔！」那當然二話不說，欣然接受。我要了英文，嫂子要了法文，調整音量以後，我們就踏著有些沉重的步伐進了展示區（註二）。
The entrance of the museum is a counter full of headphones. We were asked, “ do you want it?” I was thinking that we might have to pay extra for the audio-guide and there wasn’t enough time. When I was about to say no, she added, “it’s for free.” So why not?! We took it with gratitude. I asked for English guide and my sister-in-law asked for the French one. After adjusting the volume, we went into the exhibition area.

由於博物館創建的時間並不久，整體裝潢設備都非常新穎，環境條件控制得宜，所以在我一踏入展示區的時候，心裡馬上有了「嗯！不錯！」的想法。整個展示是以年代為主軸，呈現出十六世紀至現代的樂器與音樂。在年代之下，再以樂器種類為劃分，以簡短的解說文字輔以語音導覽，道出各種樂器大致的發展。透過語音導覽，參觀者還可以聽到各種樂器的聲音，以及館方特別挑選出的代表性作品演出。即使因為感應器與解說播放的關係，參觀者可能會在解說到一半的時候中途插入，得要耐心等待，才能從頭聽到始末，不過解說與音樂品質俱佳，也因此舒緩了因為無線耳機所造成的不悅。很多時候，我和嫂子常常因為音樂太美，而放慢了參觀的角度…
The museum is quite new. No matter the facilities or environment control meets standard. When I stepped into the exhibition, I was feeling good. The exhibition follows chronological order, presenting music and instruments from 16th century to present time. Under the time period, it’s further divided into categories following types of instruments. There’s short description to accompany the exhibited pieces. Along with the audio-guide, the history and developments of the musical instruments are told. There’re also sounds and selected music pieces of various instruments in the audio-guide. However, for the sensor of the guide and the way of broadcasting, one could possibly pop in an explanation in the middle and has to wait for its beginning. In any case, the quality of the interpretation and music is rather good that the uncomfortable feelings caused by the headphone and broadcasting can be stood, even ignored. Sometimes we even slowed down our pace just to enjoy the music!

當然，期間也讓我們看到不少「新奇珍品」，例如各種尺寸與式樣的魯特琴、笛子、提琴、鋼琴等，實在也不是三言兩語就能夠敘述出當時的驚喜之情。然而可惜的是，雖然館方已經很努力地試著滿足參觀者，讓參觀者聽到各種樂器的聲音，不過館內仍然有些漏網之魚未被納入，加上有關記譜法的部分，並沒有像我以前參觀過的其他博物館一樣，拿出許多原稿讓人加以觀賞比較，這反而成了嫂子的遺憾之一！而我的遺憾，則是因為安排的參觀時間太短，在我看完前三分之一的時候，看一看手錶只剩不到四十分鐘，而博物館賣店向來是我參觀博物館的重點之一，說什麼也得留個二十分鐘去逛逛，因此接下來的三分之二，我幾乎是快步拍照走過，同時也不小心遺漏掉了有關電子樂器的部分，甚是可惜。
We saw quite a lot “curiosities”, for example, various sizes and styles of lutes, flutes, violins and pianos. These surprising feelings and joy couldn’t be expressed through a few words. It’s a pity that not all sounds of the exhibited instruments are included, and there’re not too many original manuscripts as we expected. My regrets lied at the fact that the visiting time was short and I spent more than one hour in the first one-third of the exhibition. When I realized it, there’s only 40 minutes left. The museum shop has been always one of my focuses and I had to leave at least 20 minutes for it. So I walked through the remaining two-third of the exhibition in 20 minutes, taking quick photos and unintentionally skipped the part dedicated to electronic instruments.

事實證明，我們想要兩個小時看完這座博物館，實在是不可能的任務！如果仔細聆聽音樂與解說，大致上至少得要花上三個小時的時間…既然沒法看完，那麼就帶一本博物館導覽手冊回家吧！只是，館方竟然沒有出英文版的手冊，對看法文就像看外星文的我來說，也是個惡耗，不過，憑著我的義大利文程度，我還是不願意放過這本書，終究還是被我牽回家，等有時間再來玩「猜猜看」的遊戲吧！
It proved that it’s mission impossible to finish visiting this museum in two hours. If one listens to the music and explanation carefully, it’ll take at least three hours. Since I didn’t finish the exhibition, I was thinking to bring back home a guidebook with me. However, there’s no English version available and the French language is just too foreign to me. It’s a bad news… but I wouldn’t leave it there so I still bought it and decided to “guess” when I have more time to read.

註一：巴黎市內大大小小的博物館，對國際博物館協會ICOM的會員可說是非常禮遇，幾乎所有博物館都免費參觀，有些博物館賣店還可以打九五折，工作人員的服務態度也是超讚！
註二：連續逛街的結果，其實我們的腿都已經快廢了！只是為了看博物館，這樣的犧牲也是值得的。

Hungarian National Gallery (Budapest, Hungary)

在搬到歐洲以前，我對美術館向來沒有什麼好感。在我成長的過程中，並沒有‘美術教育’的存在，所以小時後到美術館總有霧裡看花的感覺，看不出個所以然，久而久之，對此類所在也就敬而遠之。
Before I moved to Europe, I didn’t have a good feeling toward arts galleries. In my bringing-up, there’s nothing called “arts education”. So I couldn’t really get anything out of a visit to an art gallery when I was a kid. It’s quite natural that I learned to avoid such places.

回想起來，第一次認真參觀美術館，大概是在英國唸碩士的時候。某次，「博物館溝通」這門課的教授出了一個作業，要每個人抽空到英國國家美術館去操作「微影像畫廊」這個電子資料庫，並且進行評估。那次經驗算是我重新開始認真看待這個被我忽略已久的領域，加上後來搬到義大利，身旁多了一個美術基礎紮實的米奇，「看畫觀展」這件事也就慢慢融入我的生活之中。
Thinking back… the first time that I ever visited an art museum seriously happened when I was in London for my master study. In one lecture, the professor of museum communications asked us to go to the National Gallery to try its Micro Gallery program and write an evaluation of it. From then on I re-started to look at the field of arts museums seriously. After I moved to Italy, I’ve got Michele who has established a solid arts background in artistic high school as a guide. Visiting arts galleries and seeing arts exhibitions have gradually become part of my life.

米奇、克里斯和希薇亞都愛藝術，想當然爾，到了布達佩斯，國家美術館很自然地就進入了我們的參觀名單中。我們第一次上到布達丘時，能夠選擇的參觀地點很多，包括國家美術館、布達佩斯市立歷史博物館、馬提亞斯教堂等，因為位於皇宮裡的美術館看起來很大，看了看手錶，我們有約莫四小時的時間，還算充裕，所以我們就選了感覺上會花比較多時間的美術館，作為當天下午參觀的第一站。（事後證明這個選擇是對的，美術館總共有四層樓，大致走完一全也讓我們花上將近四個小時。）
Michele, Cristian and Silvia are all enthusiastic arts-lovers. As a result, the Hungarian National Gallery entered the must-see list naturally. The first time we went to the Buda hill, there’re lots of target places, such as the national gallery, the history museum, and the Matthias Church. The gallery is situated in the Palace. It seemed to be big and we’ve got four hours to spend before the closure hour. So we chose the gallery as our first stop, because it seemed that it’d probably take more time to have a thorough look of it. (It has proved that we made the right choice. There’re four floors in the museum. Even if we didn’t go through everything carefully, it still took us around fout hours to have a general look of it.)

這是一次漫無目標的參觀，就說因為我對藝術的無知吧！以前參觀過的美術館，至少會出現幾個‘似曾相識’的名字，這次真的是踢到鐵板…四層樓走下來，沒有任何一個認識的名字，加上沒有語音導覽，即使真有令人激賞的作品，對背後的故事一無所知的狀態下，實在讓我很難去享受這種漫步美術館的感覺，反而有著一股不可言喻的焦慮感。
Due to my ignorance, it was an “aimless” visit. In my previous gallery visits, there have always been some “big names” that I heard of. But this time… none… all four floors… not a single name! Besides, without the help of audio guide, even there’re some excellent pieces that I like, I really couldn’t enjoy the wandering without knowing the stories behind. I was feeling kind of anxious.

我忍不住問了身旁的米奇和克里斯，畢竟他們倆人的藝術知識比我豐富許多，然而，一個個問題接著下來，他們也是一頭霧水的樣兒，我們不禁針對各種可能性來討論，到底是因為四個人都孤陋寡聞、還是因為一條無形的地理界限造成的阻隔、或者是政治因素、保護主義等，四人在美術館裡交頭接耳，好不熱鬧…
I started to “file” my questions to Michele and Cristian. After all, they know much more about arts while I can’t even call myself amateur. However, one question after another, they both seemed confused. We started to talk about all the possibilities. Is it for our ignorance, or the geographical boundary, political reason, or protectionism? Our discussion went on for quire a while…

我個人尚且在搜索門道進入繪畫世界的階段，每一次參觀博物館，都要求自己至少記一件事情下來，從當天讓我感動的一幅畫，到畫家的名字和小故事都好，至少，每一次參觀都要有一種新的體驗，才會有繼續下去的動力。
I’m still a beginner that tries to step into the world of painting. Every time I visit a museum, I ask myself to remember at least one thing, from the touching feeling of a painting to the name of an artist or some interesting stories. I have to learn or experience something new, and that’s how I can keep pushing myself to frequent the art world.

這次參觀匈牙利國美館所學到的，是匈牙利畫家蒙卡契。參觀當天，美術館裡正在舉辦蒙卡契特展，我們在購票時並不知道他是誰，基於好奇心買了套票，畢竟，要讓美術館幫一個畫家辦回顧展，總得要有兩把刷子才行。
What I learned in the visit to the Gallery is the name of Mihaly Munkacsy. There’s a special exhibition showing a selection of Munkacsy’s painting from all over the world. We didn’t know who he is when we bought the ticket. We basically went for curiosity. After all, he has to be kind of important for such a museum to organize a special exhibition all dedicated to his works.

關於蒙卡契的一切，我是在回家以後，跑到網路上查資料才稍微有點概念。基本上，這位畫家的中文資料闕如，我是在做翻譯慣用的維奇百科上找到有關蒙卡契的資料。特展裡有著許多蒙卡契的風景畫和沙龍畫，記得在第一間展室中，看到了許多蒙卡契描繪平民生活的作品，用色灰灰暗暗的，讓人很容易就能夠將當時生活景象視覺化。不過，讓我印象比較深刻的，還是從第二展室開始看到的沙龍畫。豪華的室內佈置、優雅仕女臉上泛著淡淡笑意、惹人憐愛的小孩和小狗，一系列描繪畫家成名後生活的圖像，流露出一種幸福感。即使現在回想起來，那幅景象仍舊躍然眼前…
I got to know a bit about Munkacsy after I came back home. I went to the Internet to do some research. I found nothing in Chinese, but there’s a detailed entry about him in Wikipedia. Many of his salon and landscape paintings were exhibited. I remembered seeing many works depicting lives of normal people right after I entered the exhibition area. The dim and dark colors he used make it easier for viewers to visualize lives of that time. However, the ones that impressed me more are the salon paintings in the second room. The luxurious interior design of the rooms, smiling women dressed with elegance, and the loving children and dogs in the paintings… a series of paintings to describe Munkacsy’s life after he became famous. I can almost feel the happiness of these people. When I think back, the image still seems to be so vivid in front of my eyes…

畫家許多私人物品也被展示出來，不過對於畫家生平一無所知的我們，就無法引起我們太大的興趣了。
There’re also many of Munkacsy’s personal belongings in the exhibition. But for us who knew nothing about him, this kind of objects couldn’t really raise our interests.

即使匆匆走馬看花氏地逛完整個博物館，也讓我們花了將近四個小時，一直到閉館時間才步出美術館。想當然爾，原本預計至少要再看另一個景點的計畫，也就泡湯了。一個下午就想要把布達丘逛完，果然還是太樂觀了！
Even if we didn’t visit the gallery in detail, it still took us almost four hours just have a fast walk-through of it. At this point, we of course couldn’t accomplish our original plan to visit at least another point. Thinking to finish visiting the Buda hill in one single afternoon… we were for sure too optimistic!!

Why Museum Studies?

很多人在聽到我唸「博物館學」的時候，常常會滿腦子疑問地問我：「為什麼唸這個？」

真要追根究底，大概得扯到十幾年前，位於台中的國立自然科學博物館剛開館沒多久，爸媽就興沖沖地帶著我們，大老遠跑下去看博物館，還記得那時對自然科學非常感興趣的我，在第一次看到那些生動活潑的展示，有多麼地驚奇！岩漿怎麼流動、小雞孵化的過程、測量聲音大小的儀器等各種操作互動的展示，都讓我覺得，如果課本能夠跟博物館一樣有趣，那麼學習的過程一定會更愉快。我之所以喜歡上博物館，這的確是很主要的一個起因。

接下來，第一次出國遊學，到了英國這個博物館三步一大間、五步一小間的國度。還記得當時十五歲的我，每次翹課到倫敦玩耍的時候，最喜歡到大英博物館閒逛，短短一個月不到的時間，我就去了七次。為什麼？歷史是我國中時期最喜歡的一門學科，記得課本上提到埃及、亞述帝國等各種古文明，到博物館內看到巨大文物時，真的是一種震驚的感受，雖然那麼的英文程度並不足以瞭解解說文字上到底寫了什麼，不過光是在館內走來走去，心中就有一種很大的滿足感。然而，也是從這個時候我漸漸發現，好像不是每一個人都喜歡到博物館去參觀，而這也成為我後來再三思考的問題之一。

大學時期，在同學的慫恿之下，到他系修了博物館學。一開始只是好玩，因為那時並沒有想要以此為志，單純想要做個觀眾而已，不過既然有伴一起修課，自己又喜歡博物館，對相關議題多所瞭解又何妨。一個學期的時間並不常，教授也只能大略地讓我們對博物館學討論的議題有所認知，不過我也是從那個時候才知道博物館學的存在，並且對博物館學有了初步的認識。

大學畢業以後過了一段渾渾噩噩的日子，第一份工作並不如想像中的好玩，做了幾個月以後就辭職賦閒在家，過著偶爾接接翻譯，大部分時間都在睡覺的日子。知道爸媽心裡不高興，不過這也是我大學畢業以後，第一次能夠靜下心來思考未來的時期。在好吃懶做了幾個月以後的某一天，心中突然有一個聲音，如當頭棒喝一樣地把我打醒，「該是做點事的時候了！」”它”這樣子告訴我。認真地思考了自己所喜歡的所有事物，想想自己的出國大夢，到國外唸博物館學的想法逐漸顯現，基於一個好東西要跟好朋友分享的心態，「既然我自己這麼喜歡博物館，為啥不把它介紹給大家，把大家都帶到博物館裡來？」這，就是我唸博物館學的原始動機。

Museo Egizio (Torino, Italy)

許多義大利朋友在聽到我頂著博物館學碩士的‘光環’之際，總喜歡跟我提上幾座在義大利響有盛名的博物館，而位於杜林市（Torino）的埃及博物館（Museo Egizio）便名列其中。
When some Italian friends get to know that I've got a MA in museum studies, they always like to mention some famous museums in Italy. The Museo Egizio is very often mentioned.

知道這座博物館的存在，其實是從老公口中得知。這座博物館在十七世紀埃及文化考古挖掘盛行以來，便在考古學界享有盛名，因此義大利人如此地引以為傲，也就不足為奇。既然這麼有名，而我又因為從小看著日本漫畫長大，對埃及文化莫名地著迷，因此便在2003年到杜林市的時候，將這座博物館排入行程之中。
Michele is the first one to let me know the existence of this museum. It has been well-known since the 17th century, when activities of archaeological excavation were poular. So it doesn't surprise me that Italians are quite proud of it. For its fame and my own interests in Egytian culture, I made it a must-go when I visited Turin for the first time in 2003.

一進入博物館，便被其裝潢之老舊嚇了一跳，也許是我的既有的刻板印象，常常把名氣跟經費劃上等號，又習慣了英國幾座國立博物館的氣勢與規模，因此在初入館之際，心中便已經打了個很大的問號。
When I entered the museum, I was surprised by its out-dated and fusty atmosphere. Probably due to my stereotypic idea, I always put an equal sign on fame and operational expense. Also, I was probably too used to the scale of several national museums in UK. Therefore, when I stepped into the museum, there's a big question mark in my mind.

進入第一個展區，最先穿過的是一個由兩個弧形玻璃櫥窗圍成的區域，中央擺著整個展區的焦點展示 – 木乃伊。還記得小時後第一次到大英博物館的時候，應是擠進人潮之中，就是想要一賭木乃伊的‘丰采’；長大以後，幾經思考所謂生與死的議題，加上在博物館界對於展示人體的爭論不斷，我的態度也逐漸向反對一方移動；該日在博物館內再次看到木乃伊，實際上是一種震驚的感覺…人體被物化，毫無尊嚴可言地被展示在博物館中，頓時間一陣窒息感湧上心頭，讓我只能快速穿過，往同展區的其他部分走去，希望能藉此轉移注意力。概念上而言，這個展區的設計手法可以是整個博物館的引介，而館方也確實做到了這一點，以編年史的方式配合文物，讓參觀者能夠對博物館內涵括的年代有點概念，然而，展示的老舊卻顯露在零散的解說牌上，紙張因為維護不佳或年代久遠而起了皺折，或者整個解說版根本就掉到展示櫃下方，加上肉眼清晰可見的灰塵，只能說，也許館方真是人力不足，連基本的清潔維護都做不到。
Entering the first exhibition area, I immediately passed through an area surrounded by two semicircular exhibition cases. At the center of the area lies the focus of the whole exhibition area - a mummy. I still remember when I went to the British Museum for the first time, I tried so hard to get into the crowd, just to see the mummy that has been keeping me curious for very long time. Years passed by. When I got older, I started to think about issues related to life and death. Getting to know the dispute of exhibiting human remains in the museum context, my attitude changed from positive to negative, for respect of individual life. The visit to the Museo Egizio was the second time to see a mummy exhibited in the museum. My feeling? Well, honestly, it's quite a shocking feeling. Human body is materialized and exhibited in a museum without respect. I felt suffocated. I walked through with a fast pace, hoping to turn my attention to other exhibits in the same room. Concept wise, the first area acts as an introduction to the whole museum, and the exhibition actually achieves its purpose. The exhibition continues with a chronological order and gives visitors some idea about the time span that will be covered. However, the exhibtion is ill-maintained. Some exhibition panels scattered or fallen. Uneven paper due to humidity with faded color. Dust all around. It seems that they don't have enough staff and can not even keep the basic maintenance.

接下來的參觀簡直是一場災難。路線標示不明，找不到可供休憩的坐椅，照明設備損壞卻不更換，有時我們甚至走到了看起來像是緊急逃生門的地方，完全不知道應該如何繼續參觀，整個負面的觀感一再再地降低了我對這個館的評價。其中最讓我印象深刻的一點，大概是某一個擺滿了各種大理石石像的展區；我在入館之初購買了一本導覽手冊，上面在介紹該館歷史之際，附上了一張十九世紀時期的展場圖片，我拿起來比對了一番，幾乎並無兩樣。整個館可說是新舊並列，不過以我所熟悉的博物館實踐而言，新的展示也說不上什麼水準可言，而且整個館瀰漫著一種久未修繕的氣味，讓我只想拖著老公趕快走出去。
The following visit was like a disaster. The orientation inside the museum is pretty terrible, no place to sit down and take a rest, and no maintenance of illumination facility. There's one time that we arrived an area that looked like emergency exit and did not know how to continue our visit. All these things kept lowering my mood and impression. The thing that impressed me the most should be the exhibition hall dedicated to marble statues. I bought a museum guide when I entered. There're some basic and historical information about the museum, with a sketch of the exhibition hall in the 19th century. I took it for comparison... it's basically identical!! There're new exhibitions standing along side with old ones, though I don't think that the new ones were done with a basic standard. I couldn't really stand the atmosphere and I just wanted to leave.

以該館的狀況來看，其實簡單的語音導覽就可以明顯地提升觀眾的參觀品質。只是在詢問之後，館員表示目前並沒有這樣的計畫，甚至還建議我購買博物館的藏品目錄，認為我可以在目錄裡找到充分的資訊…博物館等於教科書？這個狀況，在義大利已經不是第一次遇到了…我承認我在去之前沒有做好功課，不過也是因為之前到其他博物館的參觀經驗，讓我以為總是能夠找到進入博物館內容的方式，我想，這次我大概真是錯了…
With the condition of the museum, a simple audioguide can largely improve the quality of the visitor experience. After I inquired the staff, I was told that there wasn't such plan in the near future, and she even recommended me to buy the catalogue of the museum, thinking that I'd be able to get the information I need inside the 8cm thick book. Is museum exhibition equal to textbook? It's not the first time that I had to face such situation. I admitted that I didn't do my "homework" before I went for the visit. But it's because all my visit experiences told me that I could alwats find a thread to enjoy my visit. However, I was totally wrong this time.

義大利有許多讓義大利人引以為傲的博物館，其中絕大部分都是因為館藏之精美，而非在展示上有什麼特出之處。然而，即使館藏再怎麼豐富，物件再怎麼珍貴，倘若參觀者無法透過展示而感受到其中的精隨奧義，或是在參觀以後並無法留下些什麼印象，也是枉然。
There're many museums in Italy that Italian are proud of. In many cases, it's due to the quality of the collection, but not the outstanding exhibition. However, no matter how high the quality of the collection is, how prescious the artefacrs are, if visitors can not feel and experience the beauty and essence within, or don't even leave any impression after the visit, somehow it still can not justify itself.

PS1.這是從前明日報的舊文轉貼。
PS2.年初到杜林市參加博物館會議時聽說，市政府砸了大把銀子改善該館展示，在2006年將以全新面貌呈現，說實在我還蠻期待的，畢竟以該館展品的重要性，還是要優良的展示才能襯托出其價值。拭目以待囉！

UCC Coffee Museum (Kobe, Japan)

從小就知道UCC的大名，也喝了他家不少咖啡，不過一直到某次在網路上搜尋資料，才無意間知道原來是間日本公司。這次到日本之前，花了不少時間規劃行程，在Kansai Window的網站上知道了UCC咖啡博物館的存在；以前總覺得以咖啡為主題的博物館，應該會出現在像義大利這種咖啡文化極為發達的地方，截果到目前為止所發現的兩間，一間在英國倫敦，另一間則在日本神戶，在義大利連個影兒都沒看到。
UCC, a company that I got to know since I was a kid. I actually drank pretty much coffee from this company. It was not until a couple years ago when I tried to do some research on the net that I discovered that this company is from Japan. Before I went to Japan in 2003, I spent too much time organizing my trip. In the Kansai Window, a web site which provides lots of useful information for travelers to Kansai area in Japan, I found a short introduction of this museum. I used to think that a museum with coffee as its theme should appear in a country with popular coffee culture, such as Italy. However, so far I only got to know two museums of this sort, one is in London UK and the other in Kobe Japan. As to Italy? Never heard of it!

我們一出車站就看到了博物館所在的圓頂式建築。這棟建築物原本是UCC上島咖啡株式會社為了1981年神戶市政府所舉辦的Portopia Expo所建造，是該公司在博覽會的展示區。博覽會結束後，UCC公司決定將它改為博物館，向民眾「傳達出咖啡的趣味與美妙」，並於昭和62年（1987年）正式開館。
I went to visit the UCC museum with my counsin. The "duom" where the museum is situated is quite an obvious building outside the station. The UCC company built this site for the Portopia Expo in 1981, and it was actually the exhibition area of the company during the Expo. After the Expo was finished, the company converted the site into a museum to "deliver the interests and loveliness of coffee" to the general public. It was officially open to the public in 1987.

博物館總共有六個常態展示區，分別介紹咖啡的來源、栽植、分佈、製作烘培、文化、以及相關基本資訊。一進到館中，我們就順著方向上了手扶梯，來到博物館的最頂層，開始以環狀方向順路參觀，慢慢地穿過各個展示區。館中運用了各種手法，包括圖片、文字說明、影片、語音等，配合各種相關文物器具與植物等，在視覺上非常地多樣化。讓我印象最深刻的，大概就是館內一個透明櫥窗內所展示的植物；這是我第一次看到咖啡樹（沒錯…以前對咖啡的印象就只有烘培好的深咖啡色豆子…），顏色鮮明的紅色果實與嬌小可愛的白色小花，著實讓我有種"原來長這樣"的感覺。此外，也看到製作與烘培咖啡的各個過程與用具。令一個讓我印象深刻的展示，就是一整排各種烘培度的咖啡豆從輕度、中度至深度等按次序排列，從前只會喝咖啡而不究咖啡學問的我，終於稍微了解到箇中差異，雖然還不算是一個咖啡通，不過至少也能夠「喝得有文化一點」…
There are six permanant exhibition areas, introducing the origin, plantation, distribution, toasting and culture of coffee as well as basic information. We took the escalator that brought us from the ground floor to the top floor and started the visit following a circular route through every exhibition area. Various interpretation methods, including images, texts, films, and audio messages, are used to accompany artefacts. It offers quite a diversified visual interests to the visitors. The most impressive part for me is the coffee plants that are exhibited in a green house structure. It was the first time that I've ever got to see a real coffee tree, its red fruit and the white flowers. (Yes... the only impression I had about coffee is the toasted coffee beans... what a shame...) Besides, there's a collection of various equipments that were used for toasting coffee. Another impressive view is formed by eight "tubes" of coffee beans with different toasted degrees. I've realized that it's quite a deep "knowledge" and I can eventually enjoy my coffee "with a bit more culture" after the visit.

在第五展示室中，陳列著來自世界各地的咖啡杯、各種煮咖啡的器具，還有各地咖啡名店的菜單和杯墊等。我和表妹兩人除了忙著欣賞美麗的咖啡杯、觀看各個示範咖啡沖泡的影片以外，也努力地記下所謂的咖啡名店到底是哪些，有機會到該地旅行也可以去試試。只是，以我自己在義大利的經驗而言，這些名店的咖啡有時候不一定好喝，很多時候是因為其他原因而聲名大噪，例如義大利威尼斯一地的Florian Cafe'，咖啡貴地要死，也並不是太特別，當時真的跑進去，還不是因為生性浪漫的老公想要讓我看看這家威尼斯最老的咖啡館裡有著哪些漂亮的裝潢，現在到威尼斯去的時候，每次必定會去報到喝咖啡買咖啡的地方，倒是變了…
In the fifth exhibition area, there're coffee cups, coffee makers, menus from famous cafe's from all over the world. We were busy looking around and watching the short films which introduce how to make various styles of coffee. We also tried to take a note of all the famous cafe's so that we might get the chance to visit these places in person in the future. However, with my own experiences in Italy, coffee from these famous cafe's is not necessarily good. Many become famous for other reasons. Take the Florian Cafe' in Venice as an example. The coffee that is served inside the shop is really expensive, and honestly nothing too special about it. I actually went inside with my husband because he wanted to show me the beautiful decoration of it. It is anyway the oldest cafe' in Venice. My must go place for coffee in Venice is actually somewhere else.

最後一個展示區有著互動式的電腦測驗，據說只要仔細地參觀博物館，一定能夠通過測驗，拿到咖啡博士的證書。只是我和表妹對這東西並不是太感興趣，看了一眼就直接跳過走向賣店了。
There's a computer quiz in the last exhibition area. It is said that if one visits the museum carefully, he should be able to pass the exam and get the certificate as a "coffee doctor". Honestly we weren't too interested in this kind of thing. So we took a look and then went into the museum shop.

手上拿著購票時拿到的咖啡店折價卷一百日圓，站在門口看著菜單上各種咖啡，聞著迎面而來的咖啡香，只是飢腸轆轆地兩人，迫不及待地想要找地方坐下來好好吃頓飯，看到菜單上並沒有什麼可吃的東西，我們就直接離開了博物館，而放棄了在館內品嘗咖啡的機會…
With a 100 yen coupon that we received when we entered the museum, we stood in front of the museum cafe' and tried to check its menu. The smell of the coffee was inviting but we were just so hungry that we wanted to find a place to have lunch. There weren't too many main meals in the cafe' so we just left the museum and gave up the chance to taste the coffee in the coffee museum...

Official Museum Web Site：www.ucc.co.jp/eng/

Galleria dell'Accademia (Florence, Italy)

佛羅倫斯的美術學院成立於1563年，是歐洲地區第一座以教授雕塑與繪畫藝術為主的學校，隸屬於美術學院的學院美術館，則於1784年成立，其宗旨在於收藏繪畫與雕塑藝術品，以增進學生對於藝術之智識與研習。

學院美術館為收藏米開朗基羅作品之重鎮，藏有包括大衛像（Davide）、聖馬太（San Matteo）、四座囚徒（Quattro Prigioni）等知名雕塑品，此外該館也收藏包括拜占庭文化、宗教藝術、樂器收藏與佛羅倫斯一帶幾位重要藝術家的作品。

大部分參觀者到學院美術館的原因，不外乎是要一窺「大衛像」的真面目，我個人探訪佛羅倫斯一地已有五次之多，然而過去幾次的經驗，了不起只是在領主廣場（Piazza della Signoria）上看看複製品，一直到這次到佛羅倫斯訪友之際，才有機會實際到學院美術館觀賞真品。

進入美術館之後，我們首先來到一間燈光昏暗的展覽室，中央置放著一座題為「掠奪薩賓族婦女（Ratto delle Sabine）」的石膏像，圍繞著石膏像則展示著許多十六世紀以宗教為主題之畫作。坦白說，因為參觀目的不在於此，另一方面這也不是我個人特別感興趣的主題，所以我和友人僅是稍事觀賞一番，便匆匆走進下一個展覽廳。

踏進下一個展覽廳，整個氣氛為之一變。明亮的採光，放眼望去便是著名的「大衛像」，氣勢滂沱地佇立在T字型大廳的正中央，我們沿著「大衛像」的方向走去，廊道上還有米開朗基羅的數座雕塑品，然而以整個展示方式而言，其他作品似乎相形失色，我們的注意力不斷地被吸引到「大衛像」身上。館方目前正在進行「大衛像」的修復工作，因此參觀者並無法太接近雕像底座，然而因為雕像本身極為龐大，同時館方並沒有將整個雕像覆蓋起來（畢竟它是整個美術館的大明星，大部分參觀者都是慕名而來），因此我們還是能夠清楚地欣賞這座偉大的藝術品，並且在館方的細心安排下，瞭解有關修理工作之過程究竟。

接下來幾十分鐘內，我們大略地參觀了該館其他部份，不過大概因為「大衛像」所帶來的震撼，讓我無心仔細欣賞其他藝術品，腦中思緒總是被帶回「大衛像」身上，所以到現在腦子裡只留下大廳中白色巨型雕像的俊美身形。

Jorvik Viking Center (York, UK)

初訪約克這個美麗的小鎮，是還在英國唸書時的事了。當時，為了論文走訪四處，來到了離約克不遠的里茲城。出發前是沒有什麼計畫的，只知道在整整兩天的行程中，必定要去參訪那一座被列在論文案例分析的醫學博物館，其他就隨著心情、時間來決定。在里茲城的那個晚上，索性把地圖一攤，看看附近有什麼好玩的地方，這才發現我離約克這個讓我心神嚮往的地方如此地近，當下就決定第二天一大早出發到約克一遊。
I visited York when I was still doing my master study in UK. During that period, I was going around visiting museums for my thesis, and that's how I arrived Leeds, a city that is not too far from York. Before I departed from London, I didn't really plan the trip. I only knew that during the two-day trip I had to visit the Thackray Medical Museum because I took it as one of my case studies. All the time left was for pleasure and I'd see how my mood was. I was staying at a B&B in Leeds. In the evening, I took out the map, trying to check if there's anything interesting around this area. I happily discovered that York is lying so close to Leeds and decided to visit the little town that I've been thinking to go since a while.

約克以維京人的考古遺址聞名於世，到此玩耍，必然不能放過著名的約克維京中心。這座開放於1984年的博物館，肇始於1976至1981年間，英國約克市發現了世界上保存最完整的維京人文物遺址。在挖掘的五年間，於此地出土的文物有上萬件，而且保存狀況非常的良好。於是，在考古發掘工作完成之後的第三年，這座由約克考古公益信託社（York Archaeological Trust）所經營管理的約克維京中心，便正式向世人開放。
York is famous for Viking heritage sites. The Jorvik Viking Centre is a must-go when one visits the town. The museum (center) was opened in 1984. From 1976 to 1981, some excavation works were going on and the most important Viking heritage in the world was found. During the five year excavation, more than 10,000 pieces of artefacts were found and they were all in excellent condition. Three years after the excavation project was completed, the Jorvik Viking Center operated by York Archaeological Trust was open to the public.

約克維京中心位於一座維京時期村落的遺址上。在考古挖掘之初，所有的出土文物都被移至實驗室中處理，之後再放回原先發掘的位置。此地所出土、展示的文物包括建築物與各種用具，其目的在於幫助參觀者了解考古發掘工作，以及千年以前的維京文化。
The museum is situated on top of an ancient Viking village. During the excavation, all artefacts were taken to laboratories for treatment and then put back to their original location. What were found include houses, utensils and objects that were used in everyday life. The purpose of the museum is to help visitors understand archaeological excavation work as well as Viking culture that existed more than one thousand years ago.

還記得我從一樓入口進入維京中心，購票以後將順著樓梯走下樓，經過一系列解說面板以後，便抵達了維京時期村落的水平面。此時，在館員的引導下，我坐上了小型軌道車，進行一趟時光之旅。神奇的是，除了身體以倒退的方向，觀賞一系列的歷史事件如第二次世界大戰、第一次世界大戰、英國內戰等，最後抵達大約距今一千年以前的維京時期以外，有關這一段時光之旅的語音解說，都透過設在軌道車座位兩旁與參觀者耳朵位置等高的喇叭播放，讓我彷彿置身於時光隧道，聽著故事慢慢步入古老的約克。
I entered the museum from ground floor. After I bought the ticket, I walked down the stairs and passed through a series of explanation panels before I entered the level where the Viking village is/was situated. I was guided onto a train track cart for a "back in time" ride. The striking feeling came from the fact that the cart is moving backward while visitors are introduced to a series of historical events, such as the second world wide war, the first world wide war, the civil war in UK, before arriving Viking period back in around one thousand years ago. I listened to the audio information from the built-in speakers in the cart. It's like stepping into the past through time channel along with old stories.

接下來，軌道車的方向改為正向朝前方行進，行進來到一個根據出土文物與資料所重建的維京時期村落。這個村落裡充滿了各種聲音、味道與視覺效果，當時維京人生活情景，從市集交易、住宅、漁市場、漁船到臭味撲鼻的老廁所等，都透過生態造景的方式，真實地呈現在我面前。這些維京時期街道的真實重現，所有的建築物都是以西元975年時的狀況，也就是考古挖掘之際所發現的位置來呈現，而且更令人訝異的是，即使是展示中所看到的蠟像，都是利用考古挖掘出來的維京人遺骨來製作。
After entering the actual site of the Viking village, the cart started to move forward. I arrived a Viking village that was re-constructed according to all the artefats and information found during the excavation. There're sounds, smells and visual effects to present how a Viking lived his life. Markets, houses, fishing boats, even odorous toilette are presented with diorama, to be as lively as possible dated back to 975 A.D. Even the wax figures were made according to the skeleton found during the excavation.

稍後，我穿過了一個黑暗的隧道，在一切豁然開朗之際，進入考古挖掘工作的現場。這段參觀過程將解釋考古發掘工作的過程，以及其後在實驗室裡的分析與研究工作，目的在於讓參觀者對學者們如何重現這個古老村落的方法，認識實驗室裡的工作，並且有機會能親身檢驗文物、使用各式儀器。
I passed through a dark tunnel. When everything was bright and back to daylight again, I was situated at an excavation site. It's trying to show the visitors the process of an excavation work and the later analysis as well as research work. So visitors might be able to get some idea as to how experts how to reconstruct this ancient village and how lab works are like. Visitors also get the chance to examine artifacts and utilises some apparatus.

在通過遺址進入展示區以後，則看到裝扮成維京時期人物的館員，透過超過八百件的展示品來了解一千年前此地的生活到底是什麼樣子。
The next area is focusing on static exhibition. Museum staff dressed as Vikings are presented. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the lives of Vikings through more than 800 pieces of artefacts.

自開放以來，已有超過一千三百萬人到此參觀。中心位址就在考古發掘的現址，利用挖掘出的文物重新創造出維京時代的約克市，運用包括聽覺、視覺、甚至嗅覺等各種人體感官來增進參觀者的經驗。事實上，這樣的手法在當時是極為創新的實驗，它不但持續吸引參觀者到此參觀，也因為維京中心的成功，讓世界上許多其他機構前仆後繼地運用類似的概念與想法，為遺址詮釋方式開啟了新的一章。在英國的那一年，不管是上課、閱讀文獻資料，都會不經意地看到這座博物館的名字，一切的一切，都在我參觀之際，馬上心領神會。
Since its opening, there're more than 13 million people that have visited the musseum. At the time of the opening, an interpretation incorporating human senses including audio, visual and smell to enhance visitor experiences was very innovative. It keeps attracting thousands of visitors, and for its success, many other institutes in the world tried to apply similar ideas and concepts. It opened a new page to heritage interpretation and is very often referred to in the heritage and museum sector. All these can be realised and understood with a single visit!

PS1. Year of visit: 2000
PS2. For images of the exhibition, please go to YAT Photographic Archive and find "JORVIK" on the left side.

Miho Museum (Shiga, Japan)

回想2002年六月的日本之旅，腦子裡閃過的還是京都府那座遺世獨立的山中小廟 – 美秀博物館（Miho Museum）。一座美術館為什麼會遺世獨立，我又為什麼稱它為山中小廟呢？就讓我娓娓道來。
Thinking of the trip to Japan in June 2002, the Miho Museum, what I called "a little temple isolated in the mountain" always came to my mind.

第一次聽到美秀博物館的大名，大概是幾年前無意間在某本藝術雜誌中讀到的，它之所以會如此引人注目，知名建築師貝聿銘先生大概是有力因素之一。頂著貝先生的光環，這座博物館在興建之初就吸引了高度的注意力，這幾年間，我也就一直引領企盼著，看看哪天真有機會一賭大師的作品。
I came across the info about this museum for the first time a few years ago, when reading a review of it in an art magazine. One of the reasons that it attracts lots of attention is for the fact that it was designed by the famous architect IM Pei. Upon its beginning it has been a highly discussed project, and I've been looking forward to going for a visit one day.

個人以為，在態度上而言，它並不是一座平易近人的博物館。為什麼這樣說呢？因為在位置的選擇上，就不是一個太容易到達的地點。坐火車至石山站下車以後，搭上前往博物館的公車，一路上顛顛倒倒，車子經過的地方越來越荒涼，周圍都是人煙罕見的田野山邊，經過大約一小時以後，我們一行人才抵達博物館。我為什麼會以「遺世獨立」這字眼形容它，不但是因為想要到館一遊的參觀者，真的必須要費一番功夫，如果不是有心人，大概也不會特地花上一整天到這裡朝聖吧！另一方面，貝先生在設計之初所採用的中心，是發自於中國荊、湘一帶「桃花源」這個民俗故事，與博物館所在地「桃谷」恰巧不謀而合，它與世隔絕，在這個紛亂的社會中，可謂清流一支，是人們沉澱心靈的安靜角落。
Attitude wise, it's not a very friendly museum. Why? For its location. It's not an easily accessible place. After getting off the train at the nearest train station, one has to take a bus ride for almost an hour, passing through countryside to arrive. It requires some efforts from visitor to go and if one wasn't intended to go he/she wouldn't spend a whole day for this pilgrimage. On the other hand, Pei's design was partly originated from the idea of the earthly paradise in the old Chinese tale, "Peach Blossom Spring." The valley where the museum is situated is called "Peach Valley". That's another coincidence. It takes people away from the chaotic society. A quiet place for those who long for an escape.

下了車，映入眼裡的是一座米白色建築物，是博物館接待來客的第一道關卡。我們一行人買了票，同行的母親與外公兩人，在館員的引導下，便搭上接待處與本館之間的交通車，而我，為了要經驗一下那種走進桃源的感受，便獨自踏上通往本館的路，慢慢步行至本館展示區。陶淵明在桃花源記中敘述的「忽逢桃花林，夾岸數百步，中無雜樹，芳草鮮美，落英繽紛」，桃花林在文中所代表的意涵，是由人間世界通往太平仙境的道路；我在這段路上並沒有看到真的桃花林，沿著走道兩旁，倒是重滿了櫻花樹，在貝先生的引導下，我來到一個通往美學殿堂的隧道，也許是心理作用所致，在穿過隧道、橫過天橋之時，心裡還真的有那種被淨化、被洗滌的感受，逐漸映入眼簾的，是一座融合廟宇特色的建築物。我拜訪博物館的當天並不是日本的假日，因此到館參觀的遊客並不多，在沒有旁人干擾的狀況下走過這一段路，周圍的蟲鳴鳥語也特別清楚，自然也就帶給我另一番新鮮感受。
Getting off the bus, a creamy white building came into y eyes. It's the "front door" of the museum. We got the tickets there. Under the guidance of the staff, my mom and grandpa went onto the shuttle which bring visitors back and forth the from entrance and the main building. To experience entering the "Peach Blossom Spring", I chose to walk. The story of Peach Blossom Spring was written by poet TaoYuan-Ming, and almost everyone of us read it at school. I remember the part describing the pathway into the Peach Blossom Spring, it represents the path from human world into heaven. I didn't really see peach trees but cherry blossoms. However, from Pei's guidance I did feel like walking into a temple of beauty. When I walked through the tunnel and bridge, I felt purified and cleansed. A peculiar building came into my eyes. Something that reminds me a Chinese temple. It's a pleasant week day, and there're not too many visitors. I was walking all alone and could clearly hear the birds singing. Quite a refreshing feeling.

穿過通往世界稀有珍寶的「夢之門」，我進入了以幾何圖形拼湊而成的正堂大廳。博物館內的展示廳分別依主題座落在南館與北館之中，展示以地域、文化宗教與年代等分別承現出秀明家族多年以來的精品收藏。所有展出物件之中，最讓我印象深刻的，大概就是那只宋代的耀變天目茶碗；根據館方所述，世界上被指定為國寶的耀變天目茶碗僅有三只，該館所收藏的，則是先前不為人知的第四只，茶碗上特殊罕見的結晶，是在燒製的過程中自然發生的，是中國福建省建窯所出產之陶器中的一種，該茶碗由前田利常開始在前田家流傳下來，碗的形態亦被記載於前田家茶道用具記錄中。
Going through "Dream Door", I arrived the main hall which brought to me a sense of geometry incorporated with nature. The exhibitions are divided into the North hall and South hall. The collections of the Shumei family are exhibited according to geographic area, culture, religion and chronology. One of the most impressive items is the yohen tenmoku teabowls from the Song Dynasty (China). According to the description of the museum, there're only three teabowl of this kind exist in this world, and the one in the museum is actually the forth which was unknown to the world before. The special crystals on the bowl was a rare thing to see. It was a kind produced in the Chinese Fujien province. It was passed down in the Maeda Family since Maeda Toshitsune and was also recorded in the utensil of tea ceremony of the family.

博物館配有極佳的展示語音導覽供參觀者租用，有中文、英文與日文三種可供選擇。語音系統中最可取之處，大概就是其資訊之深度採用分層之方式呈現，雖然館方選擇以CD播放的方式，在資訊點選後讀取的速度並不是很快，加上每位使用者都必須背著一台礙事的隨身聽，不過使用者可以自由地選擇想要瞭解的物件解說，加上在聽完解說以後，還可以選擇性地深入瞭解物件之文化背景，對於一個有心到館內慢慢參觀的觀眾來說，的確是極為方便的樂事。
The museum provides a good trilingual audio-guide service (Chinese, English and Japanese). Visitors can explore the info according to his needs and interest. Though the museum adopted CD player as media, the data reading was farely slow and it's quite a big thing to carry for the user, it is anyway a convenient device for those who intend to explore the museum in detail.

日本地區的博物館，最讓我驚豔的一點，通常是他們結合館藏、館徽與賣店商品的能力，精心設計的商品，往往讓人愛不釋手。本館也是如此，賣店裡除了販賣館內出版品以外，還有印上博物館館徽的日常用品以供購買，讓我最不捨擱下的，大概就是那套骨瓷茶具，白底金邊的設計，與博物館給我的感覺特別對味，若不是訂價高得嚇人，它大概已經躺在我家了吧！
One of the things I especially enjoy in Japanese museums is their museum shop. There're always a good selection of finely produced items or copies to be taken away as souvenir. I was attractly by the white bone china tea service set. If not for the high price, I would surely bring it back home.

受限於同行的母親與外公體力有限，加上回程公車時間上的限制，在館內徘徊三個小時以後，我們便踏上回程。在離館之前，我特地趕到館內的影片播放室，欣賞了一段有關貝先生設計建造本館的影片，再度讓我對於與事者對本館所耗費的心力與財力開了眼界。由於博物館之位址地處森林法保安林區域、砂防法指定區域與自然公園法縣立公園第三種特別地域，因此館方在建造時必須面對各種繁瑣的法令規章，加上貝先生在設計時特意將保護自然環境的概念引入，博物館建築物的80%被埋藏在地下，使博物館與周圍景色融為一體，建造時不但必須面臨愚公移山的難題，在硬體接近完成之際，還必須將地景恢復原狀，這種對於原始地景的尊重，是我從未想到的。透過巧奪天工的規劃與設計，美秀博物館和位於西班牙畢包爾（Bilbao）、由雕塑家Frank Gehry所設計的古根漢美術館一樣，都可說是極具特色的極品建築，不同的是，貝先生的創舉，讓美秀博物館在自然、藝術與建築物之間融洽調和的理念下誕生，對於以後的博物館建築師而言，不啻帶來另一種思考角度。
We were fairly tired after the visit and we also had to catch the bus. So we decided to leave after a three-hour visit. Before leaving, I went to the video room to see a short film documenting the whole project, and I was again surprised by how much efforts and money were put into this project. The museum is situated in a special protected area with triple kinds of limitation. So various laws and regulations have to be met. Also, Pei especially melted the idea of enviromental protection into his design and 80% of the building was actually buried underground so that the building can merge with the nature as much as possible. During construction, half a moutain was removed and then brought back when the building was about to be completed. A respect of the original landscape, it's something that I've never thought of before. Pei actually achieved a balance between nature and architecture and brought to the world another viewpoint.

博物館網址：www.miho.or.jp/chinese/index.htm

Miraikan (Tokyo, Japan)

PS. 這篇文章是還在明日報時期寫的, 這幾天整理照片又看到三年前參觀博物館的照片, 順手把文章貼上來.This article was written some years ago. I just remember to post it here now when I saw some photos taken during the visits recently.

難得重遊東京，當然不可錯過近年來發展迅速的御台場地區。恰巧先前在因緣際會下，曾經針對日本近年來新開幕的科學類博物館做過調查，對別名「明日館」的日本科學未來館留下了深刻的印象，如此大好機會當然不能放過，趁著一個星期在東京的閒暇時日，好好地逛逛。
It's been quite a while since my last visit to Tokyo. Surely the fast growing Odaiba area became one of the must-go this time. Just right before the trip I was engaged in a research project about newly built science museums in Japan and I was deeply impressed by Miraikan. Of course I had to go for a visit, since I had almost a week in Tokyo.

光看這座博物館之所以創館的原因與使命，就可以理解到日本人為何能夠在科技上有此長足的發展與競爭力。於2001年正式對外開放的明日館，是著眼於「促進發展，以科學技術立國」的概念，試圖創辦出一座透過最先端的科學技術展示、展示方法開發、研究交流等，提供科技資訊的設備。
Looking at the reasons of establishment and its mission statement, it can be understood why Japanese people have such an advanced development and high competibility in technology. Miraikan first opened its door to the public in 2001. It was born as a center for deepening an understanding of science and technology, and to fulfill Japan's aim of becoming a scientifically and technologically creative nation. It's an attempt to provide latest information about technology through demostrations, exhibitions, and exchanges of research results.

日本未來館由日本的日建設計與久米設計共同設計，地上8層地下2層的建築物，總面積8881平方公尺，樓地板面積40789平方公尺。展覽大樓外觀橢圓形，大樓外壁採用玻璃牆，這樣的造型和外觀裝飾充分體現了科學的開放性和透明性。建築內有一個展覽中心，一個科學圖書館，一個研究與發展區，一個球形影院（123個座位，銀幕嵌在半球內，播放逼真的影像）和一個創意廳（能當作錄影棚的多功能廳）；此外還有實驗室、會議室、大廳以及播音室，球形劇場和階梯會場。
It's co-designed by Nikken Sekkei Ltd and Kumi Sekkei. The building comes with 8 floors above ground and two floors below ground, with a total area of 8,881 square meters and total floor area of 40,789 square meters. The oval shape building is surrounded by glass wall. The structure and its appearance represents the openness and transparency of science. Inside the building there's an exhibition center, a library, an R&D area, a 123-seat dome theater, a multifunction room and other facilities such as laboratories, conference rooms, main hall, broadcasting room and so on.

日本科學未來館的設計概念，是要創造出觀眾之間、以及他們與科學科技互動的空間，在設計與技術層面上採用了許多創新的手法，以期能使博物館成為觀眾經驗尖端科技的最適場所。館內所有展示以「二十一世紀的夢想」為共同主題。為了幫助觀眾思考有關世界未來的視野，館方以四大展示主題來探討科學與科技，其中包括：地球環境與尖端科技、生命科學與人類、技術革新與未來、情報科學技術與社會。
The design concept is to create a space for the interactivity between the public and science as well as technology. So many innovative ways of design and techniques are applied so as to make the museum a suitable place for experiencing latest technology. All exhibitions come under a common key subject: the dream of the 21st century. In order to help the visitors think about visions regarding to the future of the world, the museum tries to explore science and technology from four main themes: the earth environment and frontiers, life science, innovation and the future, and information science and technology for society.

整座博物館，都會感受到日本人重視「服務」的程度。從一踏進大門，就有館員引導購票與參觀方向以外，整個館以義工為主的營運手法，訓練有素的義工會主動積極地與參觀者互動，再再令人對館方實踐自身使命的承諾刮目相看。
In the museum, one can really feel the way they emphasize "service" in every aspect. Since one enters the museum, there're people giving instructions for ticket purchasing and orientation. The museum is mainly run by volunteers, who actively lead visitors for their visits and engage in interactions with the visitors. It's very impressive how they try to put their mission into practice.

在東京停留的一個星期之中，我拜訪這座博物館達三次之多，主要的原因，倒不是因為博物館的規模龐大，而是因為展示之精緻，讓人想要把每一個廳都好好地參觀品嘗。
I went to the museum for three times during my one-week stay in Tokyo. The reason? It's not really because of the size of the museum, but for the depth of the content of exhibition that inspired me to visit all of them carefully.

館內最讓人印象深刻的焦點，是位於館內前部從一樓到五樓巨大天井中央所懸掛的GEOCOSMOS球形顯示器。這個世界上最大的球形螢幕其直徑6.5公尺，重15噸，比例為地球的200萬分之一。從三樓到五樓沿天井繞球體設有一條螺旋通道，是我最喜歡的地方之一，讓我可以由不同方向、不同角度來觀看球形螢幕。GEOCOSMOS上貼有3715片LED模組，LED總數是951040個。這樣的設計是為了讓這些LED片真實地呈現由NASA所提供的即時地球資訊，也就是說看到GEOCOSMOS的外觀，就可清楚地瞭解目前地球的狀況，比如地球的夜晚部分與白晝部分、雲層的範圍變動等，這些資料的顯示方式是輪流表示從今天開始至一個月內的情景。非常生動豐富地展示地球之美。
The main attraction of the museum is the GEOCOSMOS which is hanged in the five-floor atrium. It's the biggest sphere monitor in the world, with a diameter of 6.5 meters and weight of 15 tons. It's 1/200 scale of the Earth. There's a spiral walkway from the 3rd floor to the 5th floor around the monitor, and it's one of my favorate places in the museum. It gives me the chance to look at the sphere from different angles and different directions. The sphere is composed of 3,715 panels with LED set, with a total of 951,040 LEDs. The design is to realistically showthe real-time information of the Earth provided by NASA. Looking at the sphere one can clearly sees the conditions of the Earth, such as day and night zone, changing clouds. The images presented include information collected in the past thirty days and lively show the beauty of the Earth.

這座博物館內的另一個大明星，無非是由本田公司（Honda）所開發的機器人ASIMO是目前全球唯一具備人類雙足行走能力的類人型機器人，據說到目前為止，ASIMO的開發已經進入第三代。博物館三樓的展示廳內有一個小舞台，每天定時有展演活動，也就是在這裡，我第一次看到了ASIMO，以及SONY公司的普奇狗AIBO。現場看到的驚奇，比起在電視上看到報導更讓人印象深刻，動作的流暢讓人瞠目咋舌，倘若沒有親眼看到，我大概是不會相信的。發展到現在，這些機器人似乎都已經具備了人工智慧，能夠依據聲音手勢等指令來動作，同時也有基本的記憶、辨識、甚至於學習能力。光是看到這個，就已經讓我覺得不虛此行了。
The other "big star" of the museum is the robot Asimo developed by Honda. For now Asimo is the only robot that can assimulate human walking. It is said that the development of Asimo is entering the 3rd generation already. On the 3rd floor of the museum, there's a small stage where demonstrations are held periodically. And it's where I saw Asimo and robot dog Aibo from Sony for the first time. Surely it is more impressive and surprising seeing them with my own eyes. Movements are surprisingly smooth and it's hardly believable if not seeing it myself. The latest robots all come with artificial intelligence and can follow instructions according to sounds, voices and hand gestures. They are also equipped with basic abilities for memory, identification and even learning. Just by seeing them, the efforts for the trip and time spent were paid back.

日本人在禮品項目開發上的投注，向來值得他國效尤。小小的賣店，擠滿了來館參觀的小學生，各式精美的商品讓人愛不釋手，尤其是針對ASIMO所設計的一系列商品，在賣店中真的是人手數項，紅到不行。然而，館方並沒有在教材上面有所著墨，這倒是有點可惜了。
The ways Japanese museums develop their museum shop inventories are also worthy of attention. The shop is small and full of students who come here with school trips. Beautiful items are so attractive that it's so difficult to choose from. The Asimo series is especially popular and many visitors leave the shop with at least two to three Asimo items with them. It's a pity that the museum didn't spend much efforts in teaching materials and equipment though.

有機會到東京玩耍，造訪御台場，除了逛街購物以外，別忘了，這個區域還有像是明日館、船之科學館等六座博物館等著拜訪喔！
The Tokyo Odaiba area is not only a great place for shopping. Apart from numerous shopping malls, there're also six museums such as Miraikan, Funenokagakukan (Museum of Maritime Science) awaiting for visits.

Museum official web site: http://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/

Teatro Olimpico (Vicenza, Italy)

維琴察（Vicenza）除了是世界黃金飾品重鎮以外，也因為十六世紀兩位著名的建築師帕拉底歐（Andrea Palladio）與其弟子斯卡莫齊（Vincenzo Scamozzi）聞名於世。帕拉底歐在維琴察省思所留下的許多經典建築，是許多建築人朝聖之地，而被聯合國科教文組織列為世界遺產的奧林匹克劇院，是大師的最後遺作。
Vicenza is not only famous for its gold fairs. Its fame also comes from two world renowned architects, Andrea Palladio and his pupil Vicenza Scamozzi, in the 16th century. Palladio left behind many classic villas in Vicenza province, and the area thus becomes a pilgrimage place for architects. The Olympic Theater, which is listed in the World Heritage List, is the last work of Palladio.

在所有早期興建的劇院中，維琴察的奧林匹克劇院是至今尚存的古蹟之一。西元1555年，維琴察市奧林匹克藝術學院（Accademia Olimpica）成立。學院在成立初期的宗旨，主要是研究希臘悲劇，而為了要上演戲劇作品，便延請當時已經相當知名的帕拉底歐替學院設計一座劇場。然而，劇場開始施工的第一年（西元1580），帕拉底歐便去世，因而由弟子斯卡莫齊接手，因此奧林匹克劇院其實是兩位大師的心血結晶。
The Olympic Theater in Vicenza is one of the early theaters that remains intact until now. In 1555, Accademia Olimpica in Vicenza was established, with a mission to study classical Greek dramas. To put the works on stage, the Accademia invited Palladio to design a theater for it. However, Palladio passed away in 1580, the very first year when the construction began. His pupil Scamozzi took over and completed the project. The Olympic Theater is actually a work from both masters.

日間的奧林匹克劇院是維琴察市的觀光勝地。穿過一座地上鋪滿碎石且擺滿石雕像的小花園，訪客進入了一座古意盎然的建築，漫步走過廊道，欣賞壁上畫作，偶爾，還會看到破碎的壁畫，闡述著維琴察在大戰中慘遭轟炸的遭遇。隨著參觀方向，穿過了一個狹小的通道，眼前豁然開朗，美輪美奐的劇場映入眼簾，長方形的舞台配上木製的階梯型觀眾席，周圍高牆聳立，飾有各式古典石膏像，讓訪者的思緒聯想到羅馬時期。天花板被化作美麗的天空，顏色像極了威尼斯的落日餘暉，混合著藍橘紅等粉嫩的浪漫，讓我想起某次拜訪威尼斯的領悟，體驗到藝術家們以畫筆紀錄下的真實。舞台上又是另一番景色，五條按照透視法設計製作的街道，是斯卡莫齊眼中的古希臘城市底比斯，利用視覺效果在短且小的空間中創造出深度的錯覺，觀眾席上每一區的感受各異，古希臘與古羅馬的時空交錯，讓人頓時沉浸於大師創作之中。這些木製的舞台背景又為何能夠經歷戰火的蹂躪而被保存下來？據說在二次大戰開始之初，有心人士害怕這些珍貴的文物受到戰火波及，暗地裡逕自把台上的佈景搬到鄉下藏了起來，直到大戰結束以後才把它們交還，也因此讓這些作品能夠流傳至今。
In the day time, the Olympic Theater is one of the tourist attractions in Vicenza. Going through a small statue garden with pebbles on its passage, visitors enter an old building. On the corridor hang paintings of nobles from various painters. Signs of wars can be spotted on the frescos. Following the direction through a narrow walkway, a splendid theater opens up the eyes of the visitors. The stage, wooden seating, the setting and various plaster statues bring its visitors back to the Roman age. The ceiling is turned into beautiful sky, with colors of Venice sunset. A mixture of light pink, golden orage and sky blue bring such a romantic touch. It reminds me the very first time I visited Venice. The painters recorded what they saw with their own eyes. On the stage, there are five passages designed according to perspectives, showing Scamozzi's interpretation of ancient Greek town Thebes, creating depth with visual effects in such a small space. How can these wooden works survive the war? Iwas told that during the war, the manager of the theater was afraid that these presious works would be damaged, and took the initiative to hide the whole set in the country side. It was returned only after the war came to its end. Thanks to his good will, we can still see these masterpiece with our own eyes.

Museum of Grappa (Bassano, Vicenza, Italy)

義大利著名的餐後酒之一，是將釀造葡萄酒的過程中所殘留下來的酒糟（包含皮、肉、梗、子）拿來蒸餾而出的烈酒，酒精濃度通常在40-52%之間；由於它實際上是釀製葡萄酒的副產品，因此盛產葡萄酒的地區自然也就成為它的主要生產地，以法國和義大利為主要產區。在法文中一般稱為Marc，在義大利文中則通稱為grappa，中文譯為「渣釀白蘭地」。
One of the most popular Italian digestives is a kind of distilled spirit made of "vinaccia", the leftover including pressed skin, seeds and so on of wine making. It normally comes between 40 to 52 percent alcolhol content. For the reason that it's the by-product of grape wine making, areas of wine productions are natually production area of this kind of spirit, that is, France and Italy. In French it is called "Marc" and in Italian "grappa".

格拉帕是我搬到義大利以後所認識的第一種餐後酒，酒足飯飽之際，來一小杯芬芳濃烈的格拉帕幫助消化，或者，在濃縮咖啡中加入幾滴”校正”一下咖啡的味道，實在是一種享受（義大利人喜歡在咖啡中加入一點兒烈酒，將此種咖啡稱之為「cafe' corretto」，中文直譯為「校正過的咖啡」）。
Grappa is actually the first digestive I got to know after I moved to Italy. People like to have a small glass of straight grappa after dinner for digestion, otherwise adding some grappa in coffee to "correct" the taste is also a great enjoyment. (Italians like to add some liquor in coffee and it is called "cafe' corretto".)

離家不遠有座山麓小城叫做巴薩諾（Bassano del Grappa），我對這地方情有獨鍾，有事沒事常常到這兒散步閒逛。巴薩諾位在格拉帕山山腳（這也就是為什麼名字後面有”del Grappa”），每次想到這個名字，心裡總會有個疑惑：到底是因為這裡是這種酒的來源地，使酒因地得此名，還是因為這片山麓產的格拉帕酒特別好喝，而因此被如此命名呢？我想，這些都不重要，不論如何，巴薩諾目前是威內多地區（Veneto area，以威尼斯為首府）格拉帕酒的中心。
Not far from where I live, there's a smal town named Bassano del Grappa. It's one of my favorite places and we go there quite often. Bassano is situated at the bottom of Grappa mountain (that's why the name comes with "del Grappa"). Every time I think of it, I always wonder if the name of the grappa came from the place or the grappa of this area is so good that the spirit itself made the place famous. Anyway it doesn't matter. No matter what, Bassano is now the center for grappa in the Veneto area.

巴薩諾的重要地標之一，就是由義大利著名建築師帕拉底歐（Palladio）所設計的老橋（Ponte Vecchio），是觀光客來到此城必定參訪的地點。老橋的橋頭有一座全城最著名的小酒吧，不論是觀光客還是當地人，都喜歡到酒吧中啜上一杯好酒、閒談八卦，每次經過該地，總是熱鬧非凡，酒客絡繹不絕。就在酒吧往上坡方向幾步路不遠的地方，有座小而美的博物館，平心等待有心人到此一訪，週遭的靜謐與下頭的酒吧成了強烈的對比。
One of the most important landmark of Bassano is the Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) designed by the famous artichect Andrea Palladio. It is one of the must-see of the place. At one side of the bridge, there's a famous bar which is popular among locals and tourists. It's always full of people every time I pass by. Going upward opposite the bridge, there's a small but beautiful museum. Just a few meters away from the bridge the atmosphere becomes so quiet. Among the quietness the museum sits, awaiting to be discovered.

這座格拉帕博物館的成立，是現今酒廠負責人雅可波的心血結晶。波利家族與格拉帕的淵源，可回溯到一百多年前的十九世紀末；當時，雅可波的曾祖父喬巴塔以製造與販賣草帽為生，蒸餾酒只是他個人私底下的興趣。傳到了下一代喬凡尼，也就是雅可波的祖父，不但延續了喬巴塔的興趣，還加以發揚光大。喬凡尼將廢棄的蒸氣火車頭加以改裝，藉著這個廢物利用製成的蒸餾器來蒸餾格拉帕酒；同時他也很有生意頭腦，成立酒廠，將蒸餾酒商業化，而蒸餾酒自此就成為波利家族的家族事業。到了雅可波的父親，也就是湯尼的時代，則是潛心研究，替家族的蒸餾酒事業奠定了更穩固的基礎，他於1956年改良的蒸餾器一直持續至今，到目前為止仍是蒸餾酒廠製造蒸餾酒的主要設備。家族傳承到了雅可波手上，則致力於格拉帕酒的推廣，期望「讓人了解並欣賞蒸餾酒製作的功夫與其中的堅持，也希望人們能夠體認到一瓶格拉帕酒中所濃縮凝聚的萬種熱情」，本著這樣的精神，他在深入研究有關蒸餾酒的各方面知識，並且於八O年代末成立博物館，將研究結果以展示的方式呈現在世人眼前。
The foundation of the museum is attributed to the hard efforts of the current owner of the Poli distillery, Jacopo. The story of the grappa and the Poli family can be traced back to more than a hundred years ago, to the end of the 19th century. Jacopo's great grandfater, Giobatta, made his life making and selling straw hats. Distilling spirit was just Giobatta's hobby. When it came to Giovanni, Jacopo's grandfater, the hobby was carried into a business. Giovanni made use of antiquated steam engine and turned it into a grappa distiller. His business mind made him open a distillery and commercialize grappa making, and thus made distilled spirit the family business of the Poli family. Jacopo's father Toni spent much time and efforts study spirit making and hence set up an even more solid foundation for their business. He improved the distiller in 1956 and the very distiller is still in use and actually the main equipment even nowadays. When it comes to Jacopo's hand, his main focus is the promotion of the grappa, hoping to "make people understand and appreciate the efforts and spirits of grappa making, and thus realize the passion concentrated within." With this spirit he tries to exlpore various aspects of spirit making and then found the museum at the end of the 80s to present his studies.

整座博物館包括兩間展示室、圖書室和賣店。展示呈現的主題有二：「蒸餾的歷史」以及「格拉帕酒的蒸餾」。由於波利家族製酒已有超過百年的歷史，家族保留了豐富的文物，配以深入的研究與解說，得以帶領參觀者仔細了解蒸餾酒的歷史、器材、方法與製作，可惜的是，所有的解說文字都是義大利文，對於來自外地不諳義文的參觀者，就只能仰賴導覽手冊上較為精簡的說明了。大約不出三十分鐘，我們已經參觀完畢，踏進賣店品酒去也。賣店裡的酒都是自家商品，因此參觀者也可以藉此品嘗各種不同口味的格拉帕。整間店裡最吸引我的，就是那專門品酒用的鬱金香杯和杯架。只是不論是酒是杯，都是價格不斐的高級品，也只好忍痛割捨，帶著一絲絲的遺憾離開博物館，逕自到平民化的橋頭酒吧另享一番滋味。
There're two exhibition rooms, a library and a shop in the museum. Each room is dedicated to one single theme, one is "history of distillation" and the other "distillation of grappa". For the rich family history lots of original artefacts are preserved. With in depth explanation visitors are able to have a glimpse of the history, equipment, and methods of spirit making. However, most of the information are in Italian and for those who don't speak the language the only reliable source of information is the brochure, though the information is much simplified. We finished the exhibitions in 30 minutes and into the shop we went. We're there for spirit tasting. All the products are their own production and there're lots of flavors to choose from. The most attractive items for me are the tulip wine glasses and glass holder. However, no matter the grappa or the glasses all come with high price that I just had to leave them where they are and left the museum with a little bit of regret. Off we went, to the bar for the commoners.

The Instant Ramen Museum (Ikeda City, Osaka, Japan)

孤陋寡聞的我，其實是一直到某次不小心在網路上找到這個博物館的網站，才知道泡麵確實是台裔日人發明的，不過不知道為什麼，到目前為止我對這件事情還是有點半信半疑…
I found this museum by accident on the internet. Not until then, I didn't know the instant noodle was invented by a Taiwanese Japanese. For some reasons, I am still suspecious about the fact even now.

這一座於1999年開放的紀念館，是世界上第一座以速食麵為主題的博物館。背後的日清食品，與泡麵的淵源非常深遠，因為泡麵這東西，就是日清食品的創始人安藤百福在1958年所發明的。這座兩層建築的紀念館，主要就是在介紹泡麵的發明與發展，第一層為接待處與展覽室，第二層則是活動教室。
The museum was established in 1999. It is the first museum of instant noodle in the world. The founder, Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd., has had a very long relationship with instant noodle. Actually, instant noodle was invented by the founder of the company, Momofuku Ando, in 1958. In memory of Ando, this two-floor museum was built. Its purpose is to introduce the invention and development of instant noodles. The first floor includes reception area and exhibition hall, while the second floor is mainly activity room.

入館後很高興地發現紀念館免費開放參觀，不過當我和表妹兩人詢問有關泡麵製作體驗活動的時候，卻發現名額全被之前來的小朋友們佔滿了，心裡不免感到遺憾，不過這種活動總有個先來後到，我們也沒有辦法等到下一個活動時間，所以只好讓它成為當日的第一個遺珠之憾。
My cousin and I happily discovered that the museum offers free admission. However, when we inquired the activity of instant noodle making, we were told that only limited number of visitors can participate the activity and it was full booked already. It's such a pity. We couldn't afford to wait until the next session, so it became the first "regret" of the day.

一進入展示廳，馬上就被中央的草屋給吸引，上前一看，猜也知道這是在陳設安藤百福發明泡麵當時的環境。我每次遇到這種生態造景就很沒輒，進去也不是，不進去也不是，裡面的東西要碰不敢碰，東西看起來要真不真的…最後還是悻悻然地走了出來，這間小草屋其實也沒有什麼太特別的地方。
The diorama of a shabby house in the center attracted my attention when we entered the exhibition area. It is a reconstruction of the environment where Ando invented the very first instant noodles. I wasn't very keen on this kind of exhibition, because I always got the feeling whether to enter or not, whether I can touch the set or not, and the objects somehow look unreal. I came out of the tiny house in disappointment. There is nothing too special about it.

接下來看到的東西就真的很有趣了。左半邊的牆面是一條很常的時間線，配合日本國內重要大事發生的時間道出日清食品的發展史。在時間線的最前面，有一堆泡麵和紙箱，從小在日本長大的表妹告訴我，這是日清食品推出的第一種泡麵，如此說來也就是泡麵之祖囉！漫步讀著，來到展示廳的另一頭，偌大的白色牆面上連續地播放著影片，看了一下，原來是在講杯麵發明的故事啊！整個看下來，才發現原來這也是挺有學問的，麵的形狀要怎麼樣做、什麼樣的配菜、杯子要用什麼樣的材質，都經過縝密的思考研究…吃泡麵就吃泡麵，來這邊之前其實根本不會去想這些，這次也許又讓我體會到，生活中習以為常的事情，實際上也有著許多的小聰明小智慧在裡面。
The following part of the visit was really interesting. On the wall in the left hand side, there's a very long timeline, introducing both the important event in the Japanese history and the history of Nissin company. At the beginning of the timeline, there're many packs of instant noodles and some carton box. My counsin, who grows up in Japan, told me, it is the very first kind of instant noodle that Nissin produced. Walking around the area, I arrived the other side of the exhibition. Films were projected on the white wall. I took a closer look. It's telling the story of the invention of instant noodle. After I finished watching the film, I finally realized there's also very "profound" knowledge in it. The shape of the noodle, what kind of dried vegetable to use, what kind of material for cups, etc. all need to be concerned and checked. I've never thought of it this way, coz instant noodle is just too common in my life. I came to understand that there's always something smart out there, even for something very common in our lives.

看完影片，我們倆在一台沒有人使用的觸碰式螢幕前坐了下來。這裡有許多節目可以選擇，我們依序看完了泡麵的製作過程（十一個步驟）、日清食品暢銷商品的秘密、泡麵的煮法與吃法（還可以列印食譜）等，然後玩玩有獎問答，高興地拿著獎品兌換卷往下一區前進。（不會講日文的我怎麼有獎品？嘿嘿…當然是聰明的表妹連續玩了兩次幫我拿到囉！）
After we finished the film, we sat down in front of a touch screen monitor. Many programs can be chosen. We watched the sequence of instant noodle production (11 steps), the secret of popular Nissin products, how to cook and eat instant noodle (with recipe to be printed), and then played the quiz. I don't know a single Japanese word... and how did I win the prize? Well, of course, with the help of my counsin, I could also receive a souvenir from the museum.

在這些觸碰式螢幕的周圍有幾個展示櫃，是蠻容易被參觀者忽略掉的地方（因為根據我的觀察，一般人通常在螢幕前玩一玩就走了…）好奇的我們上前一看，原來是展示著在世界各國賣的泡麵，說明各大洲各國的產品有些什麼不同點，這時我才知道，除了可以想像地到的配料和口味以外，原來麵的長短也不一樣，亞洲的比較常，美洲歐洲的都比較短，據說是因為飲食習慣的關係。
Exhibits around the touch screen monitors are easily neglected by the visitors. According to my observation, most visitors leave the area after they finish the touch screen program. Curious as we were, we stepped ahead and found that it's an exhibition of various products sold in different countries. It explains the characteristics of products in different countries. For example, the noodle is longer in Asian countries, and longer in Europe and America due to dietary habits.

另一側牆上貼滿了泡麵的包裝和盒子，展示的是日清公司從創辦以來推出的所有產品，下面則設了兩個螢幕，不段地播放從前的泡麵廣告，走道旁還展出公司針對泡麵所推出的各種週邊商品，不禁讓人佩服日本人的生意頭腦。在這「麵牆」上看到的眾多產品中，最令我訝異的大概就是義大利麵的泡麵…搬到義大利以後，我對義大利麵也變的和義大利人一樣挑剔，實在是無法想像這東西到底怎麼做成泡麵，如果哪天有看到，真的會很想買來試試看。
The other wall is filled up with packages and boxes, showing all the products of Nissin company. Two screen under these products are broadcasting old advertisements. On the corridor, there're also peripheral products that were developed along with instant noodles. Japanese are so brilliant with their business mind! Among all kinds of instant noodles I saw on the wall, the most surprising kind is the instant spaghetti. After I moved to Italy, I became picky as Italians when talking about cooking pasta. I really can not imagine how spaghetti can be made into instant noodle. I will definitely try it if I see it in the market.

展示區的最後一個單元，展示的是日清食品與安藤百福曾經受頒的獎項，其中還有一個是有關於安藤氏對於世界飢荒所做出的貢獻。這個我真的覺得很有趣，因為我一直覺得泡麵是很沒營養的東西，不過當時忘了把那個機構的名稱給抄下來，所以…
The last part of the exhibition is about all the prizes Ando and Nissin received in the past. One is about Ando's contribution and help to solve world famine. This is very interesting, because I always take instant noodle as something innutritious. However, I forgot to write down the name of the organization that awarded the prize to Ando, so I've got no clue to do some further check now.

參觀完畢，也耗上一個多小時，所花的時間真的比我想像中的還久，上樓去瞄了一眼所謂的體驗活動，發現用看的實在是很沒趣，和表妹兩人就決定到接待處去買杯泡麵來吃（沒錯，真的有一區隨時都有熱水跟筷子，你只要買了泡麵，當場就可以在那邊泡來吃，我覺得這個經驗還蠻新鮮的。）唯一遺憾的，大概就是館裡沒有設賣店，如果裡面能夠買到日清食品全系列商品，我可能就真的會搬著大包小包的泡麵回外公家嚇人去了…
The visit took us about an house to complete. It's much longer than I expected coz the exhibition itself is not that big. We went upstairs to check the activity. It's not too interesting just looking at it, so we decided to go down to the reception and eat some instant noodles. Right, there's an area where the museum offer hot water and chopsticks for its visitors. You can readily prepare your own cup of noodle once you purchase it from the reception. It's quite a new experience for me. It's a pity that there's no museum shop. It will be wonderful to have a place where I can find every kind of Nissin products. If there's such "service" in the museum that day, I probably would buy lots of different stuff and move them all back to my grandpa's place.

PS. 紅色的文字是2005/8/30看了時報週刊的非常人物以後改的, 原來安藤百福原名吳百福, 是台灣台南人!
I corrected the read word after reading an article about Ando in a Taiwanese magazine. He is a Taiwanese who emmigrated to Japan in his twenties. Wu is his original family name, from Tainan, Taiwan.

Casa do Fado (Lisbon, Portugal)

西元二OOO年秋末，正式搬到歐洲沒多久，對義大利還處於人生地不熟的狀況中，不適應沒有手帕交可以八卦談心的生活，所以便毅然決定隻身到葡萄牙拜訪在倫敦留學那年的知己 – 安娜，散心、旅遊、回憶過往。
End of autumn in 2000, not too long after I moved to Europe, I was a bit depressed for my life in Italy for the reason that I've got no bosom friends around and there's no one to talk to. I decided to take a short trip to Portugal and visit my best friend Ana, whom I met when I studied in London.

到了里斯本，除了當個典型的觀光客以外，也免不了在各大小博物館之間穿梭漫遊。某天晚上跟安娜聊到音樂對於情感的抒發、表達，在她的推薦下，便決定隔天到著名的法朵博物館拜訪一番。
After arriving Lisbon, I enjoyed myself as a typical tourist. Apart from that, I also spent some time visitings various museums in town. One night, Ana and I talked about traditional music. Following her suggestion, I decided to take a look of the famous Fado museum in the next day.

法朵博物館（Casa do Fado）是一座專題的小型博物館，館內設有一個小而美的常態展示，介紹法朵之歌的發源、歷史、樂器與著名歌手。展示企圖透過音樂的層面，讓參觀者更進一步地了解葡萄牙的文化與歷史，以文字說明、影片、音樂片段、相關文物呈現出法朵的美。
Casa do Fado is a small museum with a very special theme. There is a well organized permanent exhibition, introducing the origin, history, instruments, and famous singers of this traditional music of Portugal. It is an effort to lead the visitors to a deeper understanding of Portuguese culture and history, showing the beauty of Fado through texts, short films, music passages, andrelated artefacts.

對我來說，法朵之於葡萄牙，就如同佛朗明歌之於西班牙一樣。Fado在葡萄牙文中，是「命運」的意思。過去的法朵大多吟唱著民間生活的困苦，現在則不再侷限於悲傷哀愁的主題，也開始出現帶著詼諧的輕快調子。從前的葡萄牙有著一段輝煌的航海歷史，由於開拓海外之故，許多人上船成了水手出航冒險，然而由於當時地理常識的欠缺，水手們出海以後也不確定回不回得來，也不太清楚要到什麼地方去，因此臨走之前跟家人生離死別，吟唱的曲調漸漸就成了法朵；而到了巴西，則成了水手們抒發鄉愁緬懷故土的表達方式。
For me, Fado to Portugal is like Flamenco to Spain. In the Porguguese language, "fado" means fate. In the past, fado sang the difficulties of life. Nowadays, it's not any more limited to the nostalgic or sad songs. Some pleasant and fast tunes start to appear. Portugal got a splendid history for its strong naval power. To expand their territory, many sailors sent on board for adventures. Lacking in geographical knowledge, sailors did not really understand where they were going, and were not sure if they would ever go home again. Before they departed, songs were sung to express these painful departures. These tunes gradually turned into fado. When fado arrived Brasil, it became a way to express nostalgic feelings and remembrance for sailors.

整個展示中最吸引我的地方，是展示末的造景。進入這個房間之中，就如同置身於一間小酒館一般，找張椅子坐下，在微暗的燈光下聆賞法朵、觀賞影片。在音樂片段銜接的空檔之間，我的眼睛也沒閒著，眼光隨著沿著房間內三面牆上此起彼落的緩和燈光，觀賞著各種專題展示。那是個遊客極少的下午，全館只有我一個參觀者，也正是這種孤獨寂靜的氣氛，讓我更容易進入法朵的情緒之中，整個人陷入一片鄉愁而無法自拔。
The most appealing part of all is the diorama at the end of the exhibition. Entering this tiny small room, I found myself in a tavern. All by myself, I found a seat, enjoying fado music and films in the dark. During the "break", my eyes were following the spotlights, browsing through every single themed exhibits on the three walls. It was a quiet afternoon. I was the only visitor. This quiet and lonely atmosphere led me into fado. I was flooded with nostalgia, feeling lost.

里斯本的阿爾法瑪（Alfama）地區處處都有這種法朵之家，它可以是餐廳或酒吧，人們在晚餐時間到這些法朵之家或用餐或小酌，順便享受著歌手樂手的演出。伴著兩把西班牙吉他與一把葡萄牙吉他（葡萄牙吉他起源於英格蘭，是一種狀似琵琶的十二弦樂器），歌手悠悠地唱出法朵的曲調。現在的法朵，就如同流行音樂一般，把各種主題都唱了進去，當然，絕大部分有關於愛情。
In Alfama area of Lisbon, many fado taverns and pubs can be found. People go to these places for dinner or a drink while enjoying the performances. Accompanied by two Spanish guitars and a Portuguese guitar, the singers slowly sing the tunes of fado. In modern Potrugal, fado is like pop music. Various things can be expressed through fado. Of course, most of them are love songs.

法朵歌手中最著名者，莫過於艾瑪莉亞（Amalia Rodrigues）。她廣受觀眾所喜愛，將法多帶到世界各角落，她一生的成就成為葡萄牙的傳奇，是到目前為止最偉大的法朵歌手。也許是當時受到情緒所挑撥，當天晚上就央著安娜帶我去買了艾瑪莉亞的CD。她所吟唱的故事與語言也許離我很遠，不過透過音樂所傳達出來的，卻正呼應了我身處異鄉的淡淡鄉愁。
Amalia Rodrigues is the most famous fado singer ever. She brought fado to every corner of the world and is much loved by her people. She became a legend in Portugal and is the greated fado singer. Probably I was too much moved by the fado tunes, I asked Ana to take me to a place to buy Amalia's CD. What stories she's singing in her songs or the language itself were probably too far from me, but what was expressed through her music reflected my nostalgic feeling.