Mykonos

Mykonos, between legend, myth and reality. You all know the clichés and urban legends that circulate about this beautiful island of the Cyclades? Well, they're all true… Mykonos has been for years the favourite destination of thousands of tourists for its freedom and its cosmopolitan air. Strolling through the narrow streets of the centre or relaxing by the sea, it's very easy to meet people from every corner of the world. From California or Australia (what hotties!), from Canada or Poland. The Italians are a fixture, with their typical stornelli (PoPopopopo… what a pain!…).

As far as I'm concerned, Mykonos is the most fascinating place on Earth, as long as you go with the right companions (I went with the Lawyer – a demiurge more precise and punctual than the Zurich–Bern shuttle, with an old fox who has survived every fur shop on the peninsula and with a maximum leader who will soon take the reins of Cuba and surroundings) and at the right time, that is from June until the first half of July, when Italians and above all my fellow townsmen born south of the Gothic Line are scarce. As for accommodation there are no problems. There's the Tagoo studio, at Tourlos Beach Tel. / Fax 0030 028927106, or you can contact Mrs Anna directly, mobile 0030 6972697096. The studios, with kitchenette and air conditioning, are very clean, 4 minutes from the centre, and the prices are excellent.

The main port of call for anyone in Mykonos is without the slightest doubt the Tropicana: there's no getting around it. A quick visit to the great Sasà is a must. About him almost everything has been said, heard, written and seen. He is the deepest soul of Mykonos, a character from far-off, disowned Lucania who has made his sexual swagger and his "tool" a certified trademark. But that's not enough. Over the last few years Sasà has become a true icon, the most enlightened representative of a way of being and conceiving life. All seasoned with a skilful self-referential marketing strategy that turns his personality into a boastful man of the people, a bit vulgar but inimitable. Thanks to him, from five in the afternoon onwards the Tropicana turns into a veritable earthly Paradise, with alcohol (or bizzulfo, as my friend and life master Raffaele Buonasera would say) as an accomplice.

With Sasà on stage, his chance damsels and his entertainment built on easy-to-pick-up phrases and catchphrases, what had been until a few moments earlier a quiet beach for basking in the sun becomes a bedlam ruled by exhibitionists, revellers, old hags and horny youngsters (a category swelled, on our part, from last 9 July onwards). Moments of pure madness mixing with strong sensations, on the verge of collapse. With Sasà you never know what can happen, as Forrest Gump said about the famous box of chocolates. All this goes on until 10 pm. For anyone wanting to go on holiday to Mykonos, a dutiful warning: pace your strength and energy well if you don't have the luck to have a beast of a physique like that of my friend the Prince of the Bar (note capitals and lower case) Lello, a healthy carrier of swans between arm, forearm and elbow, to quote the unforgettable Totò.

Seven days in Mykonos – spent as they should be, and a word to the wise is enough – require as many days of rehabilitation on your return…. The highlight, in my view, is the Mykonos night, where between the Cavo Paradiso (a place that calling legendary is an understatement, and where His Holiness the Prior dusted off his gifts as a great, immeasurable entertainer and host) and the Scandinavian, between the little restaurants and the bars, you can meet lots of merry people whom, as we know, God helps. This is the strength of this island. Here everyone lets themselves go (except some hysteric from the Ionian coast) and does more or less as they damn well please, without worrying about formalities or stale, dime-a-dozen moral rules. To put it in political terms, Mykonos, with its honorary mayor Sasà from Potenza, is the true House of Freedom! p.s.

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