Borgo Blooms Again for its Azalea Festival

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Francis

Borgo a Mozzano’s azalea festival has achieved great fame and I have described it in various previous posts including those at:

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/legging-it-in-leghorn/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/17/another-fabulous-borgo-azalea-festival/

It’s a biennial festival (i.e. it happens every two years) but that did not stop Borgo celebrating flowers last year in its May flower festival which I’ve also described at

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/05/21/my-flower-is-at-borgo-a-mozzano/

Yesterday was a gloriously sunny day with some of the warmest temperatures we’ve had this year and the Azalea festival was definitely the place to be. The imagination of Borgo’s inhabitants in transforming their ancient high street into a panoply of colour, music, exhibitions and much else with often the most limited resources is remarkable. Everyone joins in from the local schools to the shop-keepers and the commune to make it a great day out.

The entrance to the (free) azalea festival was marked by this burnt out fifties Fiat 1400 with the heading ‘my guardian angel’ on it. I thought of our near miss from being dispatched to the next world in our cinquina last year and felt that we too had a guardian angel watching over us.

There was a fine bonsai exhibition:

Artist and art teacher Simonetta Cassai presented an illustrated book project she’d carried out with nursery and primary school pupils. Because of the dismal weather we’d been having Simonetta explained how colours used can truly help children through often dark times. Red and yellow, in particular, can bring joy and happiness – and blue can calm one down..

Regarding colours in painting and flowers I found this a particularly witty street display:

Students from the Barga catering and hospitality college (Alberghiera) demonstrated some delicious cocktails using chestnuts, wild herbs and flowers.

There were fine art and photo exhibitions:

Animals of various shapes and sizes appeared:

There was the inventive use of QR codes to point to Annalisa’s class project plus, of course, her special handicraft stall:

Music was provided by an excellent folk band called I briganti (brigands) from Partigliano:

There was a nostalgic evocation of an old school room from 1948 (does that date ring bells with some?) complete with original exercise books and a cane.

There were great assortments of azaleas and other flowers from the surrounding nurseries:

… and so much more to make for a most enjoyably sunny day out.

If you weren’t there yesterday I hope you can make it today although clouds seem to menace us with more rain (but without which the azaleas wouldn’t flourish!)

L’Incanto delle Camellie

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Francis

La mostra delle antiche camellie a Sant’Andrea e la Pieve di Compito, ora nella sua 29 esima edizione, è conosciuta mondialmente per la sua suprema bellezza, il suo ameno sito sul Monte Pisano e la sua organizzazione cortese.

Un mio articolo nella rivista ‘Grapevine’ di questo mese celebra questa veritevole ‘camellia all’occhiello’ italiana.

Come si saprà, sono stati gli inglesi che hanno introdotto in Europa le prime camellie trasportate sui loro velieri dalla Cina nel settecento. Il clima del Compitese era idoneo per la coltivazione delle camellie e, in più, una varietà poteva offrire la possibilità di preparare una buona tazza di thè, senza la quale nessun vero anglo-sassone potrebbe mai sopravvivere…

(Non perdere l’occasione di gustare un ‘cream tea’ con i scones nel tea-house del parco di Chiswick)

A Londra esiste una caratteristica mostra di camellie ogni anno a Chiswick park, esibita nella storica serra, lunga cento metri, del Duca di Devonshire e progettata nel 1813 dal architetto Samuel Ware (colui del famoso Burlington arcade).

Di fronte alla serra un giovane Lewis Kennedy disegnò un giardino formale all’Italiana secondo l’ultima moda inglese (mentre, nella stessa epoca, in Italia diventavano pazzi per la naturalezza dei giardini all’inglese!).

Le camellie, tenute nella magnifica serra al riparo contro le intemperie del clima inglese, risalgono alle varietà più antiche e includono delle vere rarità come la ‘middlemist’s red’: i due soli esempi esistono qui e nella Nuova Zelanda.

Le altre varietà comprendono la Variegata, Imbricata, Chandleri, Alba Piena, Pompone, Corallina, e Rubra Piena, tutte risalenti alla collezione del 1828 del Duca.
Dobbiamo ringraziare i volontari che hanno salvato la collezione di camelie, la squisita serra e il grazioso giardino Italiano per le nuove generazioni. Infatti, il lavoro di riqualificazione è stato solo completato nel 2010.

Le camelie si possono visitare fino all’Aprile. Non dimenticate, però, che nello stesso parco di Chiswick è ubicata la splendida villa di Lord Burlington ispirata dai suoi viaggi in Italia e dalle ville di Palladio.

L’Italia in Inghilterra (come anche una dei suoi giardinieri che abbiamo incontrato) come l’Inghilterra in Italia, e, in ambedue le nazione, la Cina con le sue camelie… E’ assolutamente senza dubbio che, assieme alla musica, sono i giardini che aiutano a unire il mondo!

Ps. Parlando di musica ecco i Beatles a suonare nella serra delle camellie, anni sessanta.

Ogni petalo

ci rivela un ricordo

paradisiaco.

Loads of Bread and Confetti at BDL’s Casinò

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Francis

‘Pane e Coriandoli’, the carnival celebrations at Ponte di Serraglio last Sunday, was a great success. Turnout was excellent and participants of all ages had lots of fun.

(The casinò with, in front, a view of the river Lima)

The organiser, Roberto Lucchesi, included a photographic exhibition showing his previous incarnation as entertainments manager at a Casinò on the Romagna seaside.

Looking at the photographs I could not help being reminded of ‘Hi De Hi’, that terrific BBC 1980’s sitcom centred in a holiday camp. I felt that Roberto was truly Italy’s equivalent of Ted Bovis, alias Paul Shane.

(Paul Shane)

Some great photographs of the event were taken by Valerio Ceccarelli (see https://www.facebook.com/LIRIO1951/media_set?set=a.10210612753655766.1073742478.1254939924&type=3&pnref=story ) so I’ll just fill in the picture with the following:

(A great welcome to everyone)

(Sorting out lottery tickets)

(Face painting)

(Food and (soft) drinks ad lib)

The objective of collecting food for the needy of Bagni di Lucca was fully achieved.

(Collectors Gemma and Gino)

In case, you’re wondering who is needy and who is not, all people below a certain annual income and suffering from a much reduced quality of life qualify for a special document and it is only to these people that supplies are distributed.

Marzio Tinti’s Colourful Abstractions

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Francis

The art exhibitions in Bagni di Lucca’s Town hall foyer (first initiated by Kety Bastiani) continue this month with a show by Marzio Tinti. Born in Lucca in 1940 Marzio, whose first exhibition was in 1964 in Trieste, has exhibited in all the major Italian cities with over twenty shows to his credit.

Marzio quotes the German philosopher Kant in the presentation to his work

“Genius is the method by which nature gives rules to art.” (Critique of judgment).

Tinti began studying drawing when he was working in a Lucca restoration shop. He stripped himself of all academic preconceptions and started from essentials before working his way into impressionism. In 1972 at the “Schettini” art gallery in Milan Tinti’s art took a turn into expressionism which he calls ‘my surrealism’.

During 1974-75 Tinti foresook bright colours and returned to his true nature: “surrealism. In his words he admits that “almost everything has been done in this century so there is little to express. The human being is unique and certainly he possesses godly values yet to be discovered. This is my belief. I think there is still room for renewal, given that human nature is always evolving despite its contradictions”

The largely abstract paintings show a lively use of colour with compositions including both geometrical shapes and free forms. I liked the often amusing paintings which reminded me not a little of Robert Delaunay. I wonder if Marzio Tinti knows that painter.

Here are some examples of the painter’s work at the Bagni di Lucca exhibition:

The exhibition is open from 8 am to 2 pm, Monday to Saturday and ends on 15^th February.

Escher at Pisa

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Francis

I first came across Maurits Cornelis Escher’s work at university where this essentially austere and highly logical artist inspired that otherwise quite illogical art movement, psychedelia. But then Escher is the artist of the impossibly possible!

In 2015 we visited an Escher exhibition held at my old school’s picture gallery in Dulwich, London. (https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/extraordinary-escher /). My post on it describes many of the features that contribute to Escher’s unique qualities including tessellation and Penrose-like optical illusions.

Pisa’s enterprising Palazzo Blu is currently hosting an exhibition dedicated to Escher until the 11^th of February. (It’s been specially extended). We visited it a couple of days ago and, despite the fact that both of us thought we were pretty familiar with the artist’s work, we found many new insights.

The artist’s evolution is well-shown in all its facets and is introduced by an original entrance into one of his ‘vault’ designs:

There were many works that I’d never seen before: for example this intimate portrait of Jetta, the artist’s Swiss wife:

Fascinating were the comparisons made between some of Escher’s arabesques and geometrical forms and Pisa’s own examples of Romanesque art:

Also essential to the understanding of the artist’s sources of inspiration were the Piranesi engravings displayed:

Escher’s sensitivity to nature was wonderfully shown. (See the Koi carp?)

For me the highlights were the delightful village scenes in Tuscany (with brilliant evocations of San Gimignano) through Corsica – including Bonifacio and Corte which we visited in 2012 – the Amalfi coast and the wilder parts of Abruzzi and Calabria. Escher was fascinated by the interlocking village houses, so like Lego pieces, and the unbelievably precipitous slopes on which they were situated.

The artist incorporated these houses in his astonishing four-metre long ‘metamorphosis’, also on show, and which ends where it begins. Here is a detail:

The cat made several appearances in the exhibition. There was this feline in one of the Italian engravings:

This cat had a whole drawing dedicated to him:

A baroque painting alongside showed two cats:

and the interesting film introduction to the exhibition displayed the curator’s cat ‘Misty’ sleeping on his desk. (Misty was acknowledged as a contributor. )

It’s true to say that some of the Palazzo Blu exhibitions are now of a standard to bear comparison with those at Florence’s Palazzo Strozzi exhibitions and in some cases even surpass them.

Here are some links to past Palazzo Blu exhibitions we visited:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/picasso-and-modigliani-two-unmissable-exhibitions-near-lucca/ (Amedeo Modigliani)

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/short-legs-can-can-make-a-fine-artist/ (Toulouse-Lautrec)

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/12/14/italian-blue-skies-and-blue-palaces/ (Dali)