Julio Silva from Paris to Lucca

Pubblicato il 7 Settembre 2011 da Beppe

Another good opportunity to spend next weekend in Lucca. You might book a nice holiday accommodation downtown  from Tuscany Holiday  Rent  and  profit, among the events of the ” Settembre Lucchese “ from an extraordinary exhibition,  right in the centre of the town.

On Saturday, the 10th September, 2011 .  the vernissage of  Julio Silva’s paintings  is going to take place in Lucca at 6 p.m..  A selection of his works from 19 72 to 2008 is on show here.

The showroom ”marmo|design|luxury”, located  in Lucca,  piazza XX Settembre, 2 will be hosting the French- Argentinian artist, up to September the 30th.

A fil rouge links the artist to the spot. Matteo Antonioli, Roberto Mosti, the owners of the showroom, and Julio Silva jointly share the same passion for marble. They both know its long journey  from the mountains to the workshop and the hard work upon it until the final shape when the idea is fixed in it.

In spite of the different points of view, the designer and the artist live and dialogue on marble as a living object, aiming at beauty .

On the occasion, Silva has abandoned the solitude of the castles ( Malaspina, Malgrate, Pontremoli, in Massa) as his ordinary exhibition sites, to land to Lucca,  a more urban  location. Yet, he has gone on with his passion and  dialogue.

It was marble, Silva’s great passion that urged him  to the the Apuan Alps, from Paris to his buen retiro in Torano , Carrara, a small village of quarrymen, hidden among the mountains.

Silva is somewhat reserved. No celebrities there, unlike Pietrasanta where the arch- artists  ( Botero and Mitorai just to mention some of them) live, even if France has already crowned him among  great artists.  In 1973 Silva was commissioned  Alice au Pays du Marbre at Villeurbanne, Rhone, in 1977 Madame Lune for the Esplanade de La Defence  and in 1979 the monumental group Pyègemalion for the Forum des Halles,  Paris. Not only sculpture. Sculpturing  comes from  drawing, the original source of Silva ‘s works.  He has approached marble as a painter,  who  constantly wonders  what is on the other side of the image. The two-dimensional perspective comes, according to his own words,  from his daily habit to drawing. Single movements, no adjustments. The spring is the vital impulse, the direct magnetism from the unconscious which urges him beyond any reflections. He is able  to pass by the controllers of the Ego,  to avoid the  controls  of what Silva calls the cultural automatisms in the interview “All’insegna del navalestro dei sogni, 1979” with Saul Yurkievich,   literary critic and  professor at the Paris Vincennes University. Silva, student in Argentina of the surrealistic painter Juan Batlle Planas, has been able  to soften his first cultural background  into a  visionary realism, a way of going beyond the European academic surrealism on his coming to Paris from Buenos Aires in 1955. In Paris, the year 1967 marks  a turning point in his personal growth. He starts a strong intellectual brotherhood with the Argentinian writer, Julio Cortàzar ,  who  publishes that same year ” La vuelta al dìa en ochanta mundos ” a work defying any  genre definition. It is a collection of poems, short stories and reflections on literature, Paris , jazz and even cats. The drawings accompanying the writings both  illustrate the texts and engender further meanings at the same time. Julio Silva is, here, the graphic planner. We are taken into Cortàzar’s world, made up of  many cronopios , idealistic, unconventional and libertarian creatures, according to his type classification. We meet musicians such as Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Thelonius Monk and  artists such as Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Julio Silva himself, to whom Cortàzar devotes affectionate pages in” Un Julio habla de otro. The adventures of Julio Pincel (brush) and Julio Pluma (pen) according to the definition of Saul Yurkievich

( Point of Contact, Syracuse University fall- winter, 1994) go on with another book  Silvalandia . They feel like-  as Silva loves saying – two acrobats,  hanging at the brush stroke and  at the pen mark respectively. In this collection of paintings  and stories, Silva draws and Cortazar translates the images into stories.

The imaginary characters such  as  Gustavo the octopus, the sphinx or the Ontok family are- as Cortazar  says- forms, colours, movements. Sometimes they speak, they let themselves be looked at, they are blue, white and they enjoy themselves They accept,  without any opposition, the actions our imagination suggests,  living, on their own,  a green, yellow and violet and secret life.Silva speaks about  Cortàzar’s  happy culture, about his personal pace, tasteful and joyous with which he crossed our time. Cortàzar is now buried in Paris Montparnasse cemetery, under the shadow of  two small  smiling  blue characters from Silvalandia, Silva’s last stone gift.

Pubblicato in Culture in Tuscany | Lascia un commento

September in Lucca

Pubblicato il 2 Settembre 2011 da Beppe

A happy welcome to the visitor to this extraordinary town, one of the Tuscan purest gem, still untouched and preserved by its medieval walls. The town has kept  the entire charm because it has always  jealously guarded the traces of the past,  its commerce tradition  and  civic pride. The urban fabric studded with palaces and churches mirrors its history.
It is the place where to spend a few days’ holiday. The accomodations offered by Tuscany Holiday Rent are various and interesting. You can choose a holiday apartment in a 18th century Tuscan villa in the luxuriant nearby countryside or a rental apartment in Lucca, right in the centre of the town in front of  its walls. You will be able to take part to the” Settembre Lucchese”. Like every year, the town council organizes events of different kinds in its historical center and in its immediate surroundings. The clue is the festival of Santa Croce on September the 13th. The Luminaria is the solemn procession celebrating the Volto Santo, the wooden crucifix of the Cathedral.
The legend says that the sacred image was carved in Lebanon cedar by Nicodemus, who meant to hand down Christ’s countenance. Among prayers and hymns the people wind  through the medieval streets from the basilica of San Frediano up to the Cathedral.
The evocative setting easily involves the beholder religiously, nightlights and candles are, on the occasion, placed on the facades of old palaces and on the windows of ordinary houses as well. The sacred in its devotional attitudes is at its height. Nevertheless the profane is not missing, the procession will be ending up into fireworks. The following day the locals are requested by the tradition more intimate and private  moments. They will head to the chapel of the Volto Santo to  offer their prayers. Historically Lucca has always characterizes itself for the religious feeling. It is easy to bump into churches either gorgeous or simple, at any corner of its narrow streets. Strangely enough, devotional attitudes mingle with more secular ones. Lucca has never forgotten its manufacturing past, its richness based on wool, silk and banking. The rich merchant class favoured its entrepreneurial growth which allowed, between the 14th and 15th centuries to lend money to European sovereigns. Much of its strong merchant view of life is still surviving today. Thence the many fairs and markets inside the Settembre Lucchese such as the livestock fair in Monte San Quirico or the bird show, the market in Piazza San Michele, displaying the best of Lucca typical products of the short supply chain such as extra-virgin olive oil, DOC wines, honey and farro. At the same time, on this day Lucca can’t forget its most famous citizen, Giacomo Puccini, born here in 1858.
The composer is celebrated in the event  called Il Maestro torna a casa, following the new restoration of his apartment in  Corte San Lorenzo, number 8. Here Puccini lived his first years of musical training, before leaving for Milan. The site is very evocative because of his precious  Steinway & Sons piano on which Turandot was composed. Autographed compositions, letters, paintings, photographs, sketches and other valuable documents enhance the spirit of the place.
Puccini has always kept a special affection for this house in spite of his other numerous residences in Torre del Lago, Boscolungo, Chiatri, Orbetello and Viareggio.

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At Chiusi, Siena, the 110th anniversary of the National Etruscan Museum

Pubblicato il 31 Agosto 2011 da Beppe

On the 23rd of August  2011 the National Etruscan Museum exhibition, called “+110 “ started the celebration of its glorious  past. It is going to last up to October the 9th 2011. On the occasion Etruscan archeological finds have come out from the warehouses, together with architecture plans, invitations, signatures of the visitors. Never seen findings are on show, often accompanied by nineteenth century drawings by skilled authors from the German Archeological Institute in Rome, who in 1871 reproduced the objects of the museum and of the newly opened tombs.

In a way it is a sort of an ideal voyage into the museum history . At the beginning of the nineteenth century the professional diggers, the so-called scavini, noble ancestors of the contemporary grave robbers, in accordance with the local landowners unearthed the Etruscan treasures for the antiques international trade. Later, from the business a new historical awareness developed , giving way to private collections and gradually to the idea of a museum. In 1901 a new neoclassical building designed by Giuseppe Partini opened, near the medieval cathedral. It actually represented a special exception in Tuscany where most museums were adaptations from former palaces, cathedrals or even military barracks.

Beautiful Attic vases, rich in figured scenes, fragments of frescoes and Bucchero wares are here  shown as witnesses of a great past.

Chiusi  was, between the 7th and the 5th centuries B.C, the most important centre of the Etruscan civilization, of the dodecapoli , that is of  the league of 12 towns, under the reign of the mythical king Porsenna. According to the Roman hystorian Pliny The Elder he was buried in an

underground labyrinth. The medieval legend speaks about his fabulous sarcophagus, inside a golden carriage with 12 horses, guarded by a golden brooding hen and its 5,000 chicks. Actually what is now known as Porsenna’s labirinth is a network of underground passages, forming the draining water system connected with external wells. The visitors can get through the Cathedral Museum into a mysterious place back to the roots of Tuscany, which was later absorbed by the Roman civilization .The ancient Etruscan vitality  is still perceived today in multiple forms. The contemporary inhabitants of the area have surely inherited from the past the typical Tuscan witticism, the creativity  in its multiple declinations among which the varied  local cooking, made of  olive oil ,barley, venison. .We might even say that  the Etruscan flavors  still survive here.

A journey into a place proud of its historical past.

The right place for a holiday.

Tuscany Holiday Rent offers plenty of accommodations, one in particular, a B&B with a swimming pool, the quiet place where to relax and, at the same time, to start  a personal discovery of the Etruscan surroundings

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Archery feat at Pescia

Pubblicato il 26 Agosto 2011 da Genni

Pescia

Hidden in Chianti, between Lucca and Florence, is the city of Pescia. It is located at the bottom of a valley, acting as a hinge between the hills and the plains, covered with olive groves that give the impression of being gardens. The river running through the city bears the same name and together unites and separates Pescia with the Cathedral Bridge acting as city centre. In the Middle Ages, on the left bank of the river, the houses once surrounded the Parish Church, today the Cathedral, which formed the hub of the city growth. On the opposite bank, a castle, a market and a feudal court spurred the arrangement of houses in long rows, parallel to the river. A fortified bridge assured the union between the two city souls. Today Pescia has many interesting sites to visit in town, relics of its glorious past, as well as in its surroundings, the province of Pistoia, only a few kilometres from great art centres such as Florence, Lucca and Pisa. For information on holiday accommodations in the province of Pistoia please visit Tuscany Holiday Rent.

The water garden of Villa Garzoni

Known in the 19th century as “the little Manchester of Tuscany” for its importance in silk production, today Pescia is notorious as an international market centre for carnations and for the magnificent water garden of Villa Garzoni, which also houses the Pinocchio Theme Park, in nearby Collodi. However, every year, on the first Sunday of September, Pescia’s name is linked to its Archery Palio, Palio degli Arcieri, during which the city assumes a striking guise with the streets and the squares of the historic centre embellished with the standards of the four contending quarters.

From the 27th August to the 4th September, therefore, Pescia will be busy with many events. Starting off with the opening ceremony with street performances, such as tumblers, fire-eaters, jugglers and much more, the event proceeds on Sunday 28th with the first challenge, a daring game of “Palla al Paniere”, something similar to basketball, as well as the medieval arts and crafts market with the display of the local products of the 10 Castella, the small medieval villages that make up, what Genevois historian and economist de Sismondi baptized, the Switzerland Pesciatina.

Palla al Paniere

The following week, Monday to Thursday will be dedicated to the gastronomical abilities of the 4 quarters’ chefs, who will in turn, present sumptuous, at times unexcelled, menus, alternated with performances by buskers. On Friday 2nd, the official presentation of the “Cencio” (the ‘Rag’) for which the quarters are competing. Every year the banner is painted with a different subject having to

Il Cencio

do with the city’s history. The “Cencio” is then delivered to the representatives of the quarter who won the preceding edition to be conserved until the prize awarding. The ceremony takes place in Piazza Grande at the rhythm of drums and trumpets, with flag-wavers and the girls of the historic dancing company. Then it is the turn of the sword duellers and finally the true stars of the event appear, the archers. The day carries on with the blessing of the Palio and the Standard of the four quarters, the evening historic retinue by torch light  and ends with the proclamation of Lady Pescia who will participate at Saturday evening’s 12th Edition of “the Beauty and Elegance of Women in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” contest. Every year this event draws to Pescia beautiful girls from many other towns, all dressed in precious vintage clothes.

Sunday 4th will start with the herald proclaiming the beginning of the Palio. A historic retinue of 600 participants will parade through the streets in his wake until Piazza Grande where visitors will be awaiting the start of the competition. Each quarter has four archers, plus a reserve, who compete in three volleys. The targets consist of a disk of straw, or straw mattress, with a diameter of 130 cm on which are chalked circles. At the end the winner is proclaimed by the Podestà and the evening concludes with the typical Palio dinner in honour of the winning quarter.

Pubblicato in Culture and accommodations in Tuscany, Festivals and feasts in Tuscany | Lascia un commento

The Guidis Taste – Wine Festival at Poppi

Pubblicato il 23 Agosto 2011 da Genni

Poppi in the Casentino Valley

The beautiful historic centre of Poppi, among the most beautiful in Italy, is hosting from the 25th to the 28th August “The Guidis Taste – Wine Festival”, a vast Exhibition of both Tuscan wines and traditional and organic products of the Casentino Valley. Now at its 15th edition, this year it boasts the first prize for  “Wise Festival”, sponsored by the Casentino Ecomuseum.

This year’s guest of honour will be the region of Umbria which will add an excellent selection of wines to the over 400 labels already waiting in the old town cellars. The event kicks off with the opening ceremony on Thursday, followed by an extraordinary dinner organized by the Chef’s of Arezzo Association. Wine cellars will be opened in the following three days, while along the streets stalls will offer traditional dishes. Saturday and Sunday will see the addition of a market selling typical products of the valley.

Saturday afternoon visitors will also be entertained by a magnificent show of falconry as well as events organized by the National Park of the Casentino Forests. Furthermore, in the superb setting of the Castle of Poppi, aka Count Guidi’s Castle, will be held the 5th Award of the IGT Super Tuscans Reds, regarding the latest wine selections and the official prize giving to the winner of the 2011 Edition.

A great opportunity to visit this part of Tuscany and to savour its fruits. Tuscany Holiday Rent offers a selection of villas in the Casentino for those wanting to spend their holidays here.

Pubblicato in Castles in Tuscany, Culture and accommodations in Tuscany, Festivals and feasts in Tuscany | Lascia un commento