Category Archives: Art

Palermo’s Royal Mountain

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The supreme example of that Sicilian artistic style which combines Byzantine, Norman and Arabic influences is the cathedral of Monreale. Even if I’d seen pictures of its wonders before I was utterly and wondrously stunned when I entered into the womb of this majestic building.  Its somewhat unprepossessing exterior does not prepare one for what lies within it for the façade is flanked by two towers, one of which is ruinous and the neo classical portico is nothing special.

But step inside and hold your breath. The interior breathes radiance; it’s literally ablaze with golden light reflected in the thirteenth century mosaics which cover its nave.

The Old Testament is illustrated above the cathedral’s left aisle and the New Testament is exemplified on its right side.

These mosaics lead the eye to what must be one of the most powerful representations of Christ as Pantocrator or Creator of the Universe. It is so noble, so powerful I think that gazing upon it would convert momentarily even the most stubborn atheist…

For this was the aim of the building of Monreale: to demonstrate the great earthly power of the Norman dynasty married to the heavenly power of God: to impress and to inspire at the same time.  Almost a thousand years later it has not ceased to do this.

As my old English master at school recently commented to me “Monreale is one of the most impressive places I have ever seen” and this is  coming from a true world traveller…

If the cathedral is probably one of my top five cathedrals (could you choose your top five?  I leave you to guess what my other four are – one of them in England) then Monreale’s cloister has absolutely no paragon. Uniquely extraordinary and intimate in its effloresce of columns with each one crowned by own distinct capital and with that amiable fountain within its own mini cloister in one corner the cloister breathes angelic love of  beauty and truth.

Palermo’s Royal Chapel

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Sicily is not just the crossroads of western world civilization; it is its very roundabout and Palermo is at the centre. Founded by the Phoenicians, it became part of the Carthaginian Empire until Rome’s conquest. After the fall of  Rome Palermo  became part of the Byzantine Empire. It then joined the Arab world until conquered by the Normans who raised the city to its greatest heights of magnificence as capital of Sicily under King Ruggiero II. Spain subsequently ruled the city until it became part of the kingdom of the two Sicilies under the Bourbon dynasty.  Even the British had a hand in the island’s history: Nelson was proclaimed Duke of Bronte, a town on the slopes of Mount Etna. and Woodhouse established Marsala as a centre for fine wine equalling (if not surpassing) port and sherry. Eventually in 1860 Garibaldi appeared on the scene with his ‘thousand’ expedition conquering the island for the Savoy king Victor Emmanuel II who, in 1861, became the first king of the newly unified kingdom of Italy..

Sicily, however, never quite saw itself truly as part of a new Italian nation, a major theme in  that masterpiece of a novel, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s ‘The Leopard’ . The independence movement was transmuted by government propaganda into brigandage. Unscrupulous groups took advantage of the unrest and by the 1920’s the notorious mafia had established itself as an international criminal organization controlled in large part from the USA.

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The Second World War did not help; operation Husky signalled the onset of the retaking of Italy from Axis forces and Palermo suffered greatly from Allied bombardments.  Unrest followed in the post-war years and the mafia was central in the further demolition of beautiful villas and the cementification of orchards and parks with their replacement by abusive concrete monstrosities right up until the 1980’s in the interests of land speculation. Meanwhile, the historic centre of Palermo was left to rack and ruin and its panoply of supreme examples of ancient architecture neglected.

The assassination of the highly respected judge Falcone in 1992 by the mafia helped to concentrate the mind of the authorities upon endemic corruption and extortion  and I have every hope that Palermo will once again regain its position as one of the most beautiful cities in the world with its equable climate, its stupendous setting and its marvellous churches and villas.

Driving from the airport on our hired car we spotted this monument marking the place where the great judge Falcone and his agents were blown up by the mafia in the ‘strage di Capaci’ of 1992.

Palermo needs more than just the two days we had to enjoy it. However, it’s still possible to get the feel of this amazing city. After we’d booked into our hotel near the centre we decided to take a sortie around the Sicily and walked to Ballarò, Palermo’s historic market.

As in much of Sicily we were constantly stunned by the juxtaposition of magnificence and squalor. I was reminded of a similar feeling when in India. Yet walking in the multi-ethnicity of these quarters by night I was entranced by the friendliness we met and felt rather safer than we have done in, say, London’s New Cross.

The following day we visited the Norman palace, the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The palace is the oldest royal residence in Europe, home to the kings of the Kingdom of Sicily, the imperial seat with Frederick II and Conrad IV and the historic Sicilian Parliament. We were cordially shown round the assembly chamber and the inner courtyard.

The palace’s highlight, however, is its royal chapel – a stunning piece of Arab-byzantine-Norman architecture, the likes of which I had never quite seen anywhere else before. This breathtakingly beautiful building was started in 1129 at the command of King Roger II of Sicily, and 1140 became the private chapel of the royal family.

The Cappella Palatina combines three main strands of architecture. Byzantine in the mosaics:

Norman in the arches:

And Arabic in the ceiling niches known as Muqarnas:

and which I had ever only come across when I visited the ladies’ mosque in Isfahan, Iran.

Palermo’s Royal Chapel is truly one of the most ecstatic places I have ever seen in my life. No wonder it is a UNESCO world heritage site!

The elaborate cosmatesque work of the floor is yet another extraordinary feature:

And we still had to see two other similar sites of equally dazzling magnificence….

After just one morning I was already beginning to suffer from ‘Stendhal Syndrome’ which is defined as “a psychosomatic condition involving rapid heartbeat, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations, allegedly occurring when individuals become exposed to objects, artworks, or phenomena of great beauty”. Would I make it to see the wonder of Monreale?

Saint Rosalia and the Plague

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“He who has not visited Sicily does not know Italy” said the great German, poet, naturalist, novelist, dramatist and general universal man, Goethe.

Following his advice, just after Christmas of 2011 we took a flight from Pisa to Palermo on the three-cornered Island. We’d previously visited Sicily on separate occasions but never together. Sandra had been to Erice as interpreter for a professional visit. I had first seen Sicily in the early sixties when my Uncle was university lecturer in French literature at the University of Catania. It was an invitation from the guardian of Vicopisano fortress, Giovanni Ranieri Fascetti, to visit his friends’ family in Syracuse for the New Year that prompted us to revisit the island .

We hired a car from Palermo airport and had a breakfast by the beautiful seacoast known as the ‘Conca Doro’ (the golden bay) before deciding to follow the road up Monte Pellegrino to the sanctuary of the city’s patroness, Santa Rosalia.

She was a twelfth century woman, born in an aristocratic family who, forsaking marriage and a courtly life, decided to become a hermit and spent the rest of her life as an anchorite in a cave on the hill which dominates Palermo to the west.

In the seventeenth century Rosalia’s remains were rediscovered and paraded through the city’s streets during a pandemic. Miraculously her presence wiped away the plague that was decimating the population. From that moment on Saint Rosalia’s shrine has become a popular place of pilgrimage attracting people from all over the world.

Among these was the great Goethe himself who, on setting eyes on the sweet effigy of the Saint in the grotto over which the sanctuary has been built, wrote in a letter home:

By the light of some dull lamps I caught sight of a lovely female form. She lay seemingly in a state of ecstasy—the eyes half-closed, the head leaning carelessly on her right hand, which was adorned with many rings. I could not sufficiently discern her face, but it seemed to be peculiarly charming. Her robe was made of gilded metal, which imitated excellently a texture wrought with gold. The head and hands were of white marble. I cannot say that the whole was in the lofty style, still it was executed so naturally and so pleasingly that one almost fancied it must breathe and move. A little angel stands near her, and with a bunch of lilies in his hand appears to be fanning her.

I don’t think I could have put this description any better – especially as it came from Goethe!

We left the shrine and began our descent down Monte Pellegrino. The wondrous city of Palermo lay spread out before us, its treasures waiting for our discovery of them.

 

 

 

Frisky Frescoes

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Murals – paintings on walls – have been around with us ever since Paleolithic man decorated his cave dwellings. In the UK advertising murals became very popular in the nineteenth century and murals with political messages have been a streetscape feature of Northern Ireland for many years. Increasingly, urban areas are again being enhanced by murals often focusing on historical and popular aspects of local life. Less common in northern Europe are interior murals although these have been making a considerable comeback. For example there are the intoxicating murals by Red Whistler at Plas Newydd, Wales and London’s Tate Britain and, more recently, a delightful mural has been created in Greenwich’s Fan Museum’s orangery in our area of London. I have mentioned an interior mural artist who regulary comes to our area and who is currently undertaking a major project at Marchmont house, Scotland in a post this month.

In Italy interior murals have continued to be created ever since Etruscan times as the rich decorations of the tombs of Tarquinia mentioned in my post at https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/etruscan-faces/ display so magnificently. In domestic interiors murals have been the Italian equivalent of wallpaper and in religious buildings they have attained the highest levels of artistic inspiration as anyone who has visited the Sistine chapel in Rome or the Brancacci chapel in Florence must agree.

In our area of Lucca there are fine religious murals using the fresco technique in the church of San Frediano and in several of the city’s palaces. Domestic interiors will also contain murals although these, except in the case of aristocatic villas and palaces, are rather less well known and, indeed, hidden away. For example, near Diecimo, a town in our Serchio valley famous for its beautiful romanesque church, I, quite fortuitously, came across these frescoes tucked away in a largely abandoned and decrepit dwelling.

Clearly these murals are in rococo style and probably date back to the second half of the eighteenth century. They are the only visible murals in the house, although others may be hidden under whitewash, and decorate a room which may have been used as a ballroom on occasion as the lyre on the ceiling hints at.

The pastoral landscapes reflect the area in which the mansion is located and which may well have belonged to a rich merchant from Lucca who used it as a country retreat. I particularly liked the figures in the pictures enjoying the rural pleasures of fishing and rambling.

I wonder how many other old buildings in our area conserve these charming glimpses from another age. Like so many lovely features in our part of the world which have no protection from goverment agences they are truly at the mercy of those who own them. Let us hope that they will appreciate these relics from a past, more leisurely time.

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Paint it Black

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Why is it that a black cat crossing one’s path will bring good luck in England – so long as it crosses from left to right – but bad luck in Italy? Black is such an ambiguous colour! Associated with evil, dark forces, violence and death it is also related to authority and justice as with the cloaks of judges and academics. Regarding dress how can a colour be connected with totalitarian shirts and, at the same time, remind one of that little black number worn by Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’? Sadly for many the colour is the black dog of depression. These thoughts entered my mind while artist Delfina Nahrgang guided me through an exhibition of her paintings on display at Bagni di Lucca’s Corona Hotel since October 10th. Delfina, who has a studio in New York’s Manhattan and, since 1981, in Italy’s Pietrasanta, eschews labels affixed on her work. However, it is clear that her artistic journey owes much to abstract expressionism, a movement which turned the Big Apple into a newly pulsating arts centre. Delfina mentioned the names of some painters she felt an affinity with: Robert Motherwell, that most refined of abstract expressionists, Willem de Kooning and the surrealist Max Ernst.

Looking at the canvases displayed in the hotel, happily reborn in its picturesque riverside setting, I sensed the power of black both liberating and controlling the surge of colours emerging from the depths of metaphorical caves and canyons within a redefined space-time continuum. I was intreagued by the dialectic between the paintings’ visual message and their titles, bestowed by Delfina’s literary husband. ‘Opera’, for example, invites one to dream of plush opening red curtains, spectacle, expectancy, the radiant oscillations of musical sounds.

‘Bagdad ‘, on the other hand, with its suggestion of crude power and primeval jungle, paints a harrowing battle between positive and negative forces and is as direct an emotive reaction to the Iraq war as Motherwell’s ‘Elegies to the Spanish Republic’.

Of particular relevance to today’s health situation is ‘Masks’. Here swirls of colour seem to liberate themselves from the blackness. A white mask emerges, there are shades of lagoon waters, of secret liaisons, of midnight trysts. But is this a festive carnival or is it a dance of death?


Most of the paintings use oil but there are two delicate works in pastel which the artist says she rarely uses. Delfina is also a wonderfully fluent watercolourist.

Few artists enjoy labels fixed onto them. However, I felt that in any art history book Delfina may safely be placed as one of the finest Colour Field movement painters of contemporary times. Her creations have both power and delicacy, forcefulness and lyricism. Above all they encapsulate an originality and an honesty all too rarely found in today’s artistic universe.

The exhibition was due to close at the end of October. Let us hope that our persuasion to have it extended is possible for it would be a real pity to miss Delfina’s art.

 

From Power Stations to Hospital Trains in Tuscany

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This autumn FAI, ( Fondo Ambiente Italiano), the Italian counterpart to England’s National Trust, is organising special openings to several unusual places. In Tuscany thirty five sites from Florence to Livorno and from Lucca to Grossetto, will be open (with booking recommended) to the public.

The places it will be possible to visit include the thermal power plant of Santa Maria Novella station in Florence, a fine example of twentieth-century architecture, the maze of underground passages in the New Fortress of Livorno and the little theatre of Vetriano, in Lucca, the smallest historical public theatre in the world.

There is also a natural monument, the oak of the Checce in Val d’Orcia (also known as the oak of the witches), as well as a train-hospital in Massa used as the set of the ‘English Patient’.

The dates for these special visits are Saturday 17, Sunday 18 October, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2020. Booking is recommended as entry is not guaranteed and the locations can only be visited if there are free places left.

Because of an agreement National Trust card holders are admitted free to the sites. Otherwise a minimum contribution of three euros is required (paid by credit card or PayPal). Children under six enter free.

Anti-Covid rules obviously apply: during visits it is mandatory to wear a mask, keep a safe distance and wash your hands often.

Near us at Bagni Di Lucca the following places will be open:

Church of Santa Caterina, Lucca

(Described in my post at https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/luccas-baroque-flower-blossoms-anew/)

Oratorio degli Angeli Custodi, Lucca

Little theatre of Vetriano, Pescaglia (Lucca)

San Cassiano di Controne (Lucca)

Village of Vico Pancellorum, Bagni di Lucca

Carlo Niccoli marble sculpture workshops, Carrara

Centoporte Hospital train, Massa

Further details are available including how and where to book at:
https://ilreporter.it/sezioni/eventi/giornate-fai-autunno-2020-toscana-firenze-luoghi-aperti/quote

See you there?

Hidden Frescoes in our Valley

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Fresco is a typical Italian painting technique which continues to be used to perfection by several practitioners. For example, there’s Julia Mee whose family has spent many years here. Her web site at https://www.juliamee.co.uk/ will explain more about this fascinating art which is now in full creativity in Scotland at Marchmont House:

https://www.facebook.com/marchmonthouse/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1017413621794230&__xts__[0]=68.ARBRcZ0imZsB7sVWx81UhwLwP5GBYOrfsGtXuyBc2qhF3dhG6GnQYkjh3s0kpTGeJhdbS6t_znQMYjsGlRndPu9aSd7edBS2PadBF4DoeRE9xjnBDYuce0Ab4DzCXI7tviJI-xQrlKrPnmh6gbNYi3t-bMIR-XLS7C6vhoy7rq_ULKWKS-mdGz5ASJRtQOz3x5gSCNMD2y9bohY3bR3oaAVyR7RVMeIkk3KNhVAep-u6lWb5fHEWPM8TNB7z_I5qENFkieridZp0tkTdv7vww2-nLK0CVzJQkL1bwXfucm-cMQWXgALvLyFI4MfrAdvc2b2u

‘Fresco’ means ‘fresh’ (since the paint is applied to still wet plaster) and also has connotations of open-air as in ‘al fresco’ for many frescoes are, indeed, painted on outside walls. Highlights of any visits to Italy include looking at some of the magnificent cycle of frescoes this country holds: for example, the Sistine chapel (Michelangelo), Brancacci chapel (Masaccio), the Vatican palace (Raphael), and the Arena chapel (Giotto). What is often not noticed is the fact that frescoes can also decorate palaces, villas and even the most unassuming mansions? We don’t have to go far to discover them here in Bagni di Lucca. Last week we visited a nearby house with a somewhat forbidding inelegant exterior. Stepping inside upon invitation we discovered a multitude of rooms a few of which (on the ‘piano noble’ of the first floor) had some elaborate frescoes as decorative features.

In one room I was enchanted by this series of fine tropical birds.

When were these frescoes painted and by whom?  Their style suggests the turn of the nineteenth century and particularly the ‘Empire style’ introduced by Princess Elisa, Napoleon’s sister, who ruled Lucca. These frescoes were the ‘wall paper’ of the times. They were used to update a formerly undistinguished, even primitive, building into something more aristocratic and sophisticated especially appropriate if the owners had gone up in the world and were aiming for a more stylish way of life. Clearly these rooms could be used as ball-rooms and when there were marriageable daughters in the family show them off in a more enticing way and gain a greater variety of suitors.

But who painted them? Has any significant research been made into these high-end painters and decorators?

In another building, Borgo a Mozzano’s library where I have taught, there are further examples of fine decorative frescoed rooms described in my post at:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/a-lovely-library-ceiling-at-borgo-a-mozzano/

Sadly there are several instances where beautiful frescoes are allowed to go to rack and run. Nowhere is this more apparent than the abandoned village of Bugnano just up the road from us.

I describe this desolation further in my post at:

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2014/03/16/abandon-all-hope-all-ye-who-enter-here/

I just wonder how many more frescoed rooms are tucked away in buildings which appear to have nothing special about them. The frescoes are clearly not of the highest art but their exquisite decorative value should not be overlooked especially as they are so typical of a tradition which England’s damp and dreary climate has been largely unable to support.

The Forgotten Fiesole

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Going up from Florence towards the beautiful heights of Fiesole there are two buildings that are easy to miss. Yet they contain much that is of beauty. One of them is the Badia Fiesolana which stands by a very steep road. We almost saw it a couple of weeks ago. I say ‘almost’ since the Badia is in the midst of a thorough refurbishment and was completely covered by scaffolding and plastic sheeting. This is what the unfinished façade should normally look like.

The second building of note is half way up the main road to Fiesole and is the convent of San Domenico.  We were always passing it but finally decided to stop. Just as we were approaching the building the front door closed and was locked. I made what I thought would be a vain attempt to see if anyone would open it for us. I gave two knocks and the door opened. We asked the elderly gentleman who unfastened it for us whether it would be possible to have a look at a painting I knew was housed in the church. He very kindly obliged and I was set thinking ‘He seems very trusting. What if we were thieves? “I was somewhat taken back at its lack of security especially as Italy continues to suffer considerable depredation of its artisti treasures. However, I could not resist the invitation to see the picture.

I was struck by the fantastic entrance stairway into the convent:

We entered the church, which was redone in the seventeenth century in baroque style,

I almost immediately gazed upon the painting which is by Fra Angelico, and represents one of his most significant works: the Madonna and Child with Saints Thomas Aquinas, Barnabas, Dominic and Peter Martyr dating from 1425. Interestingly the usual golden background that Fra Angelico used for most of his paintings was here replaced by a landscape painted by someone a hundred years after the original picture had been completed.

The convent of San Domenico in the locality of San Domenico, Fiesole, is a Dominican monastery founded in 1406. It was founded on the initiative of Giovanni Dominici and the bishop of Fiesole Jacopo Altoviti, both of whom were Dominican friars of Santa Maria Novella, one of Florence’s two great gothic friary churches, the other being Santa Croce which belongs to the Franciscan order.

It was, therefore, the second Dominican convent in the Florentine area before the construction of the convent of San Marco in Florence, where the friars moved towards the middle of the fifteenth century and where Fra Angelico painted some of his sublimest frescoes. I have described these masterworks in my post at https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/a-museum-all-to-myself-in-florence/

The elderly gentleman who opened the door for us turned out to one of the convent’s Dominican friars and showed us round the rest of the building where there are also two wonderful Beato Angelico frescoes: a large crucifixion:

And a Madonna and child together with its sinopia (background sketch):

The front portico, by Matteo Nigetti, was financed by the Medici Neofiti family, a family of converted Jews who was protected by the Medici and who had the identical coat of arms by concession.

Outside the convent is a fountain which supplied refreshing waters to a variety of ancient and modern personages as its inscriptions relate:

We are so glad that we finally decided to stop at San Domenico and not pass it by!

Fiesole’s Holy Field

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Fiesole is well known for its classic grandstand view of Florence. It is also visited for its ancient ruins which date back to the Etruscan era and its picturesque Franciscan monastery. For us this beautiful and tranquil place has another location whose special significance will become evident at the end of this post.

Fiesole cemetery, situated by a hillside between the town’s cathedral and the monastery, was founded in 1792. It remained relatively bare of monuments until the late nineteenth century when Michelangelo Maiorfi expanded its area and built a loggia designed to accommodate loculae and private chapels.

One of the odd things about this loggia is the sudden abrupt change in the design of the arches at two points. I don’t know this should be so; perhaps the architect couldn’t make his minds up. Which arch design do you prefer?

Between 1913 and 1915 five municipal chapels were also built at the base of the loggia. These are named after saints linked to Fiesole and its territory: Antonino Pierozzi, Bernardino da Siena, Alessandro di Fiesole, Andrea Corsini and Saint Romulus. They were all decorated by the Chini pottery and ceramics manufacturers. Galileo Chini was the firm’s leading light and I have discussed this major art nouveau creator in my post at https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/tiger-hunting-in-viareggios-most-exquisite-art-nouveau-villa/

Galileo Chini himself lavishly decorated the Fiocchi chapel, with glazed ceramic inserts which suggest a Viennese secessionist style.

Between 1930 and 1947, the entrance was completed with the addition of a bay to the loggia intended to contain the fallen of the First World War. Finally, in the 1950s, the last extension was completed with a modern building, loculae and ossuaries.

There are some notable citizens buried In the cemetery, not only Italian but also from the large community of foreigners residing in the surrounding area. These include the chapels dedicated to the Spence and Dupré families.

The first contains the memorial to Luisa Teresa Renard, the wife of the painter William Blundel Spence who lived at the Villa Medici. Her sensitively modelled effigy is among the most significant works of the sculptor Odoardo Fantacchiotti. The two little children are particularly charming.

The second chapel contains the tomb of the sculptor Giovanni Dupré and his family, including his daughter Amali who was also a sculptor. On Giovanni’s grave is a copy of a ‘Pieta’ (term used to describe the figure of the dead Christ) which he carved for Siena cemetery while Amalia carved the monument for her sister Luisina, who died at a young age. There are also other sculptures and a painting of the resurrected Christ by Antonio Ciseri.


However, despite the fine art displayed by these memorials we are drawn towards a more intimate plaque placed on the inner face of the entrance wall and shaded by a cypress.


It is the last resting place of my wife’s parents.

Monoscopica – An Exhibition at Barga’s Via del Pretorio no. 4

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On our trips to Barga we had always found time to have a slice of pizza at the little pizzeria just inside the town’s main gateway, the Porta Reale, in the Via del Pretorio. This street, which leads up to Barga’s fine cathedral, has new significance for us in the attraction of an art gallery at no .4. I can’t do better than to quote what this gallery’s web site at https://www.viadelpretorio4.it/?l=en says about itself:

Via Del Pretorio 4 is not just an address. Via Del Pretorio 4 is not only a physical place, it is also a point of reference, via Del Pretorio 4 is a soul space.

Between the walls which embrace the studio of the artist Giorgia Madiai, over time, a conservatory has been created where the arts evolve and are expressed in all of their diversity and potency.
This corner in the historic centre of Barga, in a short time, has become a “speakers’ corner”, where art and knowledge take shape and are freely expressed.

Cultural events by numerous artists and musicians of national and international renown have been presented here: Alessandro Cavalloni, Nicola Perullo, Federico Maria Sardelli, Dimitri Grechi Espinoza, Nicolao Valiensi, Giuseppe Venturi, Zeno Marchi, Patrizio Alaimo, David Dominici, Azzurra Tanzini, Gabriel Feld, Candida Abbondio, Nicola Salotti, Mario Madiai, Stefano Tommasi, Nicholas S. Kraczyna, Sara Saccomani, Sandra Rigali, Noah Tortelli, Fabrizio Da Prato, Luca Salemmi, Walter Nenci, Keane, Kerry Bell, Claudia Haberkern, Masahide Kudo, Francesco Piacentini, Andrea Landi, Andrea Convalle, Sally Li, Angela Guadalupe and many others.

My greatest wish is to continue to organize events, to involve artists and anyone who would like to exhibit their work in any form: actors, musicians, writers, painters, sculptors, performance artists, free thinkers, as well as events, presentations, conferences, plays, and courses open to anyone who wants to learn: #viadelpretorio4 should become a forge where art is not just to enjoy, but something to participate in collectively, and then we’ll add to the mix, hospitality, oenology and gastronomy.

The gallery’s space was conceived for conversation and presentation and will host artists, musicians and performers in exhibits and events which will be presented monthly by resident artists, Giorgia Madiai, Fabrizio Da Prato, Caterina Salvi, Stefano Tommasi, and Kerry Bell as well as many guest artists, musicians and performance artists.

Currently there’s an exhibition, open throughout September, on weekdays from 4 pm to 6 pm and at other times by appointment, showing works by the following artists: Giorgia Madiai, Fabrizio Da Prato, Kerry Bell, Caterina Salvi, Stefano Tommasi, Cinzio and Andrea Tessieri. These artists each so different from the other in their techniques and aspirations have put together a show which cannot possibly be missed and it is to be singled out for its very high standard.

“Monoscopica” is the title of the exhibition. Translated into English it means a television test card used to help viewers tune their set to the best picture and which, before the explosion of new channels occurred, used to occupy much of the time a television screen was switched on. Perhaps then this exhibition is a way of attuning viewers’ reactions more clearly in perceiving life details they may not have been aware of, or if they had been aware, to have discarded these images as being of little importance without realising their significance.

Let us look then at some of the art creations presented in this very eclectic and certainly stimulating exhibition. I have very little to add to Kerry Bell’s comments she kindly sent me on the works presented which also include her own. Her comments are shown in italics below.

Giorgia’s work currently on exhibit includes powerful imagery of the double tailed mermaid seen throughout Italy in churches and archaeological sites. It also includes intriguing references to the Tarot, as well as emotionally evocative symbolism of the divine and not so.


Giorgia Madiai’s ‘Sirena’ is a mixed media work which, although highly original, evokes in me reminiscences of Chagall, in particular his stained glass designs. Indeed, I think Madiai’s work could very easily translate into glass. This detail from the work pictures a dream sequence delving into fantasy with the wonderland rabbit. It is also suggests a nightmare appeased by a phrase which, translated means, ‘give her peace’. I especially love the composition’s colour chromaticism with its autumnal shades.

Fabrizio’s work here is part of his on-going exploration of materials and imagery that promote Fine Art in construction, home, and advertising. He is currently installing a series of paintings in place of advertising, as billboards, in Parma, the designated capital of culture in Italy for 2020. These are a continuation of his work in the same field shown in Palermo and Pistoia.

I have known Fabrizio since he was one of my English language students at the Materis paint works in Capannori. I do think that getting a job in a paint factory as an artist must be a very empathic occupation and it certainly adds vividly to the artist’s handling of his medium!

Caterina (Debbie) Salvi presents a series of photographic abstracts with sharp contrast and detail, showing exquisite depth and texture, in addition to a fascinating black and white series done of Casa Pascoli, which is featured in two books.

Black and white photography has tended to be displaced by the current emphasis placed on colour, especially in this digital age. Yet monochrome represents classicism and indeed, evokes in me some of the finest thirties and forties era mostly black-and-white Hollywood films, especially film noirs with their empathic shadows and unusual camera angles bordering into the non-figurative like Billy Wilder’s ‘Double Indemnity’.

Stefano Tommasi is showing black and white photography of thought provoking detail.

Stefano is another acolyte of monochrome photography. His skill is such that it  tempts  me to turn off the colour option on my own camera and start concentrating on what for a long time used to be considered inferior, if only because its printing was cheaper, to colour photography.

Kerry Bell’s textiles range from garment to sculpture which arouse and evoke our profound emotional connections to clothing.

I have discussed the last exhibition I visited featuring Kerry’s work at Barga’s Oxo gallery at my post at:

https://longoio3.com/2019/09/25/elusive-elegance/

I can only repeat a paragraph in that post as it continues to sum the special qualities of Kerry’s work in this exhibition:

“It was the folds in the dresses that principally engaged my attention: those sinuous contours, the interweaving lines, highlighted by the subtle use of lighting, which continued their journey, projecting multi-layered silhouettes onto the gallery walls and forming a profound dialogue between the object and the aura it created”.

Andrea Tessieri’s print delicately and warmly evokes a place lost in time.

I can add very little to this succinct reflection on Andrea’s work except to say that, again, it leads into a parallel universe beyond our mundane concepts of time and space.

The gallery is open generally from 6 PM and by appointment. For more information contact giorgiamadiai@gmail.com or 334 368 8592 and follow us on Instagram viadelpretorio4