Come to the Fair

Rio had seen floating fairs before. But the new arrival from Italy--a Government-sponsored job with actors and opera and a portable stadium--was even more elaborate than the showcases that the Japs had sent over before the war.

Last week cariocas by the hundreds queued up on hot Rio docks to board the Lugano, a rehabilitated 13,000-ton troopship. On board, they gaped at a 250,000-book exhibit, some 1,000 paintings (mostly bad), modern ceramics, Chianti in wicker baskets, baby pants and electric iceboxes. All displays were for sale; they sold like nylons to Brazilians, who were used to paying more for their own shoddy products.

Ashore, the Italians came off less happy; at the Municipal Theater a comedia company flopped in two Pirandello plays. But this week there might be a comeback ; the Italians intended to set up their portable stadium before the massive, stolid Treasury Ministry, parade La Scala stars in La Traviata and La Boheme.

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