Good Friday historical procession in Casole d’Elsa

Pubblicato il 5 Aprile 2012 da Genni

Every three years, Casole d’Elsa is cast beyond space and time and celebrates Good Friday with a historical procession. This lovely hilltop town in the province of Siena will, in fact, hold its next performance tomorrow evening at 9 pm. This ancient tradition was revived in 1992, when the parish priest of Casole discovered a number of objects hidden in one of the old cupboards of the collegiate. After a thorough research it was possible to reconstruct the ancient rite of the Good Friday Procession, whose last performance had been in the early ‘30s.

In ancient history the procession was a “parade of the Passion’s symbols”. Following a precise pattern, it opens with a legion of Roman soldiers on horseback, followed by lancers and Jews, while Simon of Cyrene carries the Holy Cross. Barabbas is preceded by a group of Jewish women together with Veronica, the woman who wiped the Christ’s face. Next come other prisoners, Pontius Pilate, the Roman senators and Caiaphas with the priests of the Sanhedrin. After Mary Magdalene and a host of other characters, the procession ends with the sacred image of the dead Redeemer. Following tradition, the procession silently meets up at the Cappella di San Pietro, interrupted only by the melodious singing of the town’s choir.

The pattern of this tradition, lost in the mists of time, has remained the same. The success of this suggestive event is due both to the respect for the origins of this tradition and for its deeper meaning, as well as to the involvement of most of the population, willing to play the characters in their sumptuous costumes.

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A day at Monteriggioni on the Via Francigena

Pubblicato il 30 Marzo 2012 da Genni

The beautiful medieval walled town of Monteriggioni, located on a natural knoll, is among one of the best preserved in all of Italy. Every year it not only attracts tourists but also medieval archaeologists and historians, as well as architects. The approximately circular walls, nearly 570 metres long, follow the natural contour of the hill and were built between 1213 and 1219. They are interrupted by two gates, Porta Fiorentina, facing Florence to the North, Porta Romana, opening towards Rome to the South, and 14 towers. A main street connects the two gates in a roughly straight line.

Entering through Porta Roma, originally provided with a heavy gate that was lowered in case of danger, one arrives in Piazza Roma, the main square and heart of the village which is dominated by the Romanesque church of Santa Maria Assunta. To date, the square is surrounded by gardens and orchards, which in the past were very important for the survival of the population in case of siege. In the local museum there is a collection of medieval and Renaissance arms and armours, faithful reproductions, of which some can be touched, handled, weighed and even worn. Furthermore, it is also possible to walk along two sections of the ancient battlements, from which one can enjoy wonderful views over Chianti and Montagnola Senese.

The town was originally built by the Republic of Siena for a defensive purpose since the position dominated and watched over the Via Francigena in the direction of Florence, historic rival of Siena. The Via Francigena, ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, was very important during the Middle Ages for merchant and travellers, as well as being the major pilgrimage route. In the stretch between San Gimignano and Siena, the Via Francigena crosses the territory of Monteriggioni, where one of the oldest stopping stations still exists today: the abbey of Abbadia Isola.

In recent years Monteriggioni’s municipal administration has embarked in the improvement of the Via Francigena as itinerary of both historic and cultural interest. In this part of the territory most of the route unfolds through fields and woods, passing in front of ancient castles , abbeys and tiny hamlets. The best way to appreciate it is to follow the path on foot, following the pilgrim’s footsteps who, like a thousand years ago, still today walk until Rome to venerate the tomb of St. Peter.

On the first of April, and again on the 15th, 25th, as well as May 1st, 13th and 20th, Monteriggioni invites visitors to an entertaining walk along the Via Francigena in the company of reenactors. The abbot of Abbadia Isola will start this journey into the past opening the doors of his magnificent monastery, a casket of art and history linked to the Via Francigena since its beginnings. Then a pilgrim, who will narrate his adventures along the road to Rome,  will accompany visitors to Monteriggioni, along a stretch of Via Francigena full of fascinating and breathtaking views. At the castle of Monteriggioni the company will be proudly received by the captain of the garrison, where a revival of the emotions of guarding the walls and the investiture of a knight will be attended.

Certainly a very interesting way of spending one’s Sunday.

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La Fattoria di Celle between Prato and Pistoia: a world apart

Pubblicato il 28 Marzo 2012 da Beppe

On  June, the 12th  2012, Giuliano Gori is going to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the opening  to the public of his art collection in the  park surrounding his Fattoria di Celle, in the countryside between Prato and Pistoia.  An open-air permanent exhibition of contemporary art.  An interesting example of environmental art or site- specific art  (definitions still controversial among critics) where the work of art is on purpose created for that spot.  The sculptor  from the beginning  plans the piece in relationship to the background as an integral part of the creative process.  Displaced, it would lose its original meaning and communicative power. The existing environment is changed by the work of art  into a new unit which invites the viewer to participate. To take part in this unequalled exhibition,  the artist has to live and work on the site where  the park, the fields and the air  become essential elements of the process. World- wide known artists such as Melotti,  Karavan,  Pistoletto,  Staccioli ,  Le Witt,  Buren,  Paladino,  Vedova,  Folon were hosted for months at Giuliano Gori’s  late seventeenth century mansion,  extending over an area of roughly sixty acres. They lived the family life of their host, meeting regularly  around the family dinner table, sharing time, food and  conversation. They were asked to develop their ideas either outdoor or indoor,  even involving   some peculiar areas of the mansion such as  the Egyptian monument,  the tea house,  the aviary and other pre-existing  nineteenth century follies. All that results in artworks absorbed by the surrounding landscape they are integral part of.  They can’t be moved away and are eventually unsalable.  Giuliano Gori doesn’t like to be defined as an  art collector  and he as well dislikes to be asked about the economic value of the artwork, of something which,  according to him, is a whole  including at one time the artist, the relationships, the time, the words, the situations they lived.  Gori,  a silent  viewer and  listener and a discreet witness of the artistic process,  likes speaking about the changes entailing creation. He often underlines the metamorphosis of Magdalena Abakanowics who converted to bronze after having long neglected it or Robert Morris who abandoned minimalism for baroque. Gori’s attitude towards art can appear,  nowadays,  very idiosyncratic. As first step he feels he  has to be involved rather than with  the work, with the artist’s on-going swinging between joy and sorrow. This is Gori’s way of living the present,  its flowing and the mystery of the moment which only art can successfully express. That is why he doesn’t  like to call  himself a collector or patron of arts  who,  in a way, always keep an alert eye to the economical side.

When Gori chooses something for his collection he is taken away by a demon, by something undefinable, far away from any economic speculation. Difficult to say in time of the unrealistic evaluations of Hirst,  Cattelan or other superstars,  lost behind the tremendous outcry of the media. He has nothing to share with them.  He wants to  be faithful to the well rooted nature of a man living on strong passions, to his image of a postwar young boy,  sent by his father, a cloth fabric dealer from Prato, to a wholesaler who was  a painter as well. So dazzled by the paintings and  the colours,  Gori started to  ask questions not about cloth as he was supposed to but about art. That  was the path to be followed,  among the many which make up the labyrinth of life. Now, at 82,  he enjoys the event which is going to run on a double track.

From  March the 31st 2012 the Maeght Foundation of Saint Paul de Vence, Provence, will exhibit a part of Gori’s  20th century collection made up of paintings and  sculptures together with videos explaining his  life project. From June the 16th 2012  the event  will go on at Celle  to focus on  the unmovable works in the park, accompanied by  Giacometti’s Man Striding, borrowed  by the Maeght Foundation itself.

Is there  a better artistic metaphor to represent the adventure of Giuliano Gori?

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Camellias in the Cloister at Calci

Pubblicato il 27 Marzo 2012 da Genni

Calci lies at the foot of Mount Pisano, facing the plain of Pisa and the sea, enclosed by two valleys like a horseshoe, which form a natural amphitheatre called Valle Graziosa, the Pretty Valley. Since the Middle Ages the rivers of the two valleys, known as the Zambre, were conveyed into a masonry canal which enabled the development of mills driven by water wheel. The wool trade followed shortly after, together with olive growing and the picking of myrtle berries, which once retted are used to tan hides.

During the Middle Ages Calci followed the fortunes of the Republic of Pisa, to whom it supplied timber for building boats. In addition to the many churches and monasteries in Calci, there were also castles and towers which made the town a strategic area for the Republic. Nevertheless, it fell, together with Pisa, under the dominion of Florence in 1406. When the Republic of Florence ended in 1530, Calci and the State of Pisa were absorbed together with Florence, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Only in 1867 did Calci become an independent commune, and by that time it had 104 mills and 34 oil mills. Unfortunately during the two World Wars there was an economic crisis and many mills were converted into residential houses. However, the leather production went on together with olive growing, tourism, woodwork and even glasswork with achievements such as the Inverted Pyramid in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall, the rotating glass cupola of the world clock in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, and the glass bridge that connects the Aquarium of Genova to the Large Blue Ship, the exhibition space famous for its Mediterranean cliffs, coral reefs and the reconstruction of the Madagascar rainforest.

The landscape around Calci is beautiful, embellished by the ancient churches and monasteries of which this territory is rich. Its main attraction is the magnificent Calci Charterhouse, la Certosa di Calci, which houses a natural history museum of the University of Pisa, yet nearby, in the tiny hamlet of Nicosia, lies hidden the Church of St. Augustine. Both the convent and church were built between 1258 and 1264 on initiative of Ugo da Fagiano,  bishop of Nicosia in Cyprus, for the Augustinians. Except for the church and the bell tower, which are used by the parish of Calci, the convent is unfortunately in a state of complete abandonment.

However, in the cloister of the Convent of Nicosia there are citrus trees and two secular camellias, one with pink flowers and the other with white. The camellia has always been a symbol of beauty, with a taste for the exotic, as well as a fundamental element of many beautiful parks. The convent’s cloister, usually closed to the public, is opening its gates from the 31st March to the 1st April so as to let everyone admire the magical spring magnificence of these camellias. The event, at its sixth edition, is known as Le Camelie nel Chiostro, the Camellias in the Cloister. There will also be various installations on the theme of “Testimonies and Memories of Life in Nicosia”, which will show how the convent was once lived, the daily life of the friars, religious rites and festivities, war stories, as well as games for children, folk music, a photo contest, observation of the sky, workshops for both adults and children, a visit of Nicosia and its surroundings and a snack of bruschettas. How to unite the sacred and the profane.

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Volterragusto, olive oil and truffles are served

Pubblicato il 23 Marzo 2012 da Genni

This weekend and next week, from 30th March to 1st April, Volterra, within the Spring appendage of the Volterragusto show, returns as showcase of the local food and wine excellence, celebrating two of the most important products of its territory: truffles and extra virgin olive oil, protagonists of competitions, stalls, events and tastings created for a public of onlookers and enthusiasts.

Already famous for its prized white variety, on show between October and November, Volterra pays homage to the equally noble, though less known, March Truffle: a superb specimen still to be discovered, which will here be accompanied by many other typical products of the territory.

Among these the olive oil, another ambassador of both Volterra and the entire olive oil production of the province of Pisa. The first priority of this year is to raise awareness and promote this product and its century-old tradition, so deeply rooted in the territory.

In this sense, the 7th edition of “As Smooth as Olive Oil”, Liscio come l’Olio, the most important competition regarding the best first pressed olive oil in the province of Pisa. The awards ceremony, open to the public, will be held on Sunday 1st April at 4.30 pm, in the picturesque setting of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio of Palazzo de’ Priori. Following will be the presentation of the book “A Selection of the Extra Virgin Olive Oils in the Province of Pisa 2012”, a comprehensive and precious handbook containing data and information on all companies producing extra virgin olive oil in the province of Pisa. The colonnade of the ancient Loggias of Piazza de’ Priori will host the very original “Oil Bar”, with exhibition and tastings of all the olive oils competing.

Not only olive oil and March truffles in Piazza dei Priori this Sunday, and the next, thanks to “Get in a Stock of Short Supply Chain”, Fai Scorta di Filiera Corta, which will be exposing the full range of Volterra’s specialities. In the square, in fact, will be set up stalls  with various kinds of cold meats, wine, cheese, chocolate and much more for tasting and sale. A unique opportunity to get a close-up of the excellent products this territory has to offer.

A tasting of excellence and flavour with Volterragusto, which also gives the opportunity to discover one of the most charming towns of Tuscany with side events thought for the whole family.  Among these the “Tournament of the Two Parks”, Torneo dei Due Parchi, this Sunday, 25th March, an amusing competition, in which the participants, dressed in medieval costumes, will demonstrate their skills, especially their good shot, with bow and arrows.

For those more interested in the truffle-side of this event, next Sunday, 1st April, there will be “All in Search of the March Truffle”, Tutti a Caccia di Marzuolo. A great opportunity to see how the local hunters and their inseparable truffle hounds go around searching for their prized tubers.

Also Sunday, 1st April, in the afternoon, will also be held “Bread with Mother Dough”, Pane con Lievito Madre, a workshop entirely consecrated to bread and its traditional making, with emphasis on the different types, on rising, on the qualitative characteristics and above all on the importance of this particular food on a health and food level.

The diffusion of quality products will also be done with the involvement of local restaurants. The 15 finalists of the olive oil competition (the first three in each category) will be coupled to as many restaurants of the area, so as to permit clients, tourists, visitors to taste them, along with the other products of the short supply chain; this for the whole period of the event. A unique showcase with the choice of a menu dedicated to the event, which will lead us in the discovery of the excellent products of this territory.

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