By Stefan Jonsson
Outside La Spezia train station in Italian Liguria there is an old plane tree. The branches are not strong enough to bear their own weight but are propped up by steel girders that are attached to the concrete foundations. From the tree of life by the station, I walk along winding streets through a town that seems to be both freshly painted and public-spirited. Sheets and garments flutter from clothes lines stretching across backyards and alleyways.