Category Archives: Lucchesia

Organ Opulence at Corsanico

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VINCENZO GALILEI CHOIR OPENS THE CORSANICO FESTIVAL FOR 2018

In the evocative artistic setting of Corsanico’s Pieve di S. Michele Arcangelo the Corsanico 2018 festival opens with the prestigious patronage of the Senate, of the Tuscany Region, Province of Lucca and Comune di Massarosa.

It’s the 37th year of the International Classical Music Festival organized by the Cultural Association “Friends of the Vincenzo Colonna Organ of Corsanico” with Graziano Barsotti as artistic director.

There are ten themed concerts, five in July and five in August, which will all include the historical organ now recognized throughout the world. The intrument is a masterpiece of Venetian organ art built in 1602 by Vincenzo Colonna.

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The opening of the festival, on Friday 6 July, will feature Pisa’s Vincenzo Galilei choir (from the Scuola Normale Superiore) and the organist Pietro Consoloni, conducted by Gabriele Micheli, with “Psalms in music from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century”.

All concerts start at 9.15pm
Admission €. 10,00
Info: cell. 328 5391833 http://www.corsanicomusica.it, grazianobarsotti@libero.it

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY EUROPE

Friday, July 13, features Sara Galanti (violin) and Antonio Galanti (organ) with a program of instrumental European music from the eighteenth century.

‘BOCCHERINI’ HORN ENSEMBLE

The horn ensemble of Lucca’s Boccherini Orchestra performs on Tuesday 17 July in a repertoire ranging from the baroque to the nineteenth century, entitled “Discovering the Horn” (the evening is free admission).

RECITAL BY GUITARIST FLAVIO CUCCHI

Saturday, July 21, the well-known guitarist Flavio Cucchi will present “From Vivaldi to Chick Corea”.

HOMAGE TO ANTONIO BAZZINI

Lina Uinskyte (violin) and Marco Ruggeri (organ) perform a seventeenth to nineteenth-century repertoire as “Homage to the composer Antonio Bazzini in the bicentenary of his birth”, on Friday 27 July.

CONCERT IN MEMORY OF DAVID BELLUGI

Friday, August 3, Ivano Battiston, accordion, Luca Magni, flute and Mariella Mochi, organ, will commemorate, in a classic program, the famous flautist David Bellugi who often played at Corsanico and who died recently.

CONCERT FOR ORGAN AND BAROQUE TRUMPETS

Friday, August 10th, an ensemble of baroque trumpets and organ, with Andrea Macinanti on the organ, will perform a brilliant repertoire, “The Palatine Concert”, recalling the music of European royal courts.

GRAND OPERATIC GALA

Wednesday, August 15 will be the traditional “Gran Galà Lirico” with Francesca Maionchi-soprano, Laura Masini-mezzo-soprano, Nicola Simone Mugnaini-tenor, Graziano Polidori-bass, and Nadia Lencioni, piano. The program includes music by Mascagni, Puccini, Verdi, Rossini and Chopin.

VIVALDI EVENING

Saturday, August 18th, there’s a Vivaldi evening: “Serata Vivaldi” with the Ensemble Bisentium playing a basoon concerto and The Four Seasons, with Federico Lodovichi, bassoon and Daniele Iannaccone, violin.

BACH EVENING

On Saturday 25th August an evening of Bach, “Serata Bach” (concertos by J. S. Bach), will conclude the Corsanico Festival 2018, with the Greve in Chianti Chamber Orchestra, with Cristiano Rossi as conductor. solo violins: Cristiano Rossi, Luca Rinaldi and Agnese Balestracci.

Pieve a Elici’s Fabulous Chamber Music Concerts

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PIEVE A ELICI’S 18th CHAMBER MUSIC SEASON

From 1st July to 26th August, the Versilia Chamber Music Festival is held in the church of San Pantaleone di Pieve a Elici. It’s now in its 51st season and is organized by the Lucchese Music Association (AML) and the Municipality of Massarosa with the support of the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca Foundation, Fondazione Banca del Monte of Lucca and the Banca della Versilia, Lunigiana and Garfagnana.

VIOLIN AND PIANO DUO

Sunday, July 8, concert by Kirill Troussov (violin) and Alexandra Troussova (piano) that will give the festival’s audience an enthralling evening with Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata for violin and piano n. 9, op. 47, Mendelssohn’s sonata in F major and two pieces by Tchaikovsky: Meditation n. 1, op. 42 and Valse-Scherzo in C major op.34.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros, (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

PIANO RECITAL BY ANDREA LUCCHESINI

Saturday, July 14, Andrea Lucchesini plays Schumann’s Fantasia in C major, op. 17, Schubert’s Piano Sonata n. 5 in A minor, op. 164, D. 537 and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata n. 26 in E flat major, op. 81 “Les Adieux”.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

RECITAL BY TRIO METAMORPHOSI

Sunday, July 22, a “Calm sea and happy travel” concert with the Trio Metamorphosi performing Beethoven’s Trio in G major op. 1 n. 2 and Schumann’s Trio in G minor op. 110.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

ENRICO DINDO AND PIETRO DE MARIA AT PIEVE A ELICI

Monday, July 29 there’s a popular duo at the Pieve: Enrico Dindo (cello) and Pietro De Maria (piano). They play Beethoven’s 12 Variations in G major for cello and piano, WoO 45 on the theme “See the conquering hero comes” from Handel’s “Judas Maccabeus”, Schumann’s five pieces in popular style and Martucci’s sonata in F sharp minor for cello and piano, op. 52.

VIOLA AND PIANO DUO

On Sunday 5th August there’s a recital by Danilo Rossi, viola, and Stefano Bezziccheri, piano, who celebrate the thirtieth year of artistic collaboration. The program consists of Schumann’s Märchenbilder, op. 113, four pieces for viola and piano, Brahm’s Sonata for viola and piano in E-flat major op. 120 n. 2, Sibelius’ Valse Triste, Kreisler’s Liebeslied and Ravel’s ‘Pavane pour une enfante defunte’ ending with Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Gran tango’.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

THE GUADAGNINI QUARTET WITH SIMONE SOLDATI

On Sunday, August 12 the Guadagnini quartet with pianist Simone Soldati perform Webern’s Langsamer Satz, Haydn’s Emperor Quartet op 76 n.3 and Schumann’s piano quintet in E-flat major, op. 44.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

PIANO RECITAL BY ANNA KRAVTCHENKO

On Sunday 19th August Anna Kravtchenko’s plays Haydn (Sonata No. 15 in E major Hob. XVI: 13 11 ‘), Rachmaninov (Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op.36) and seven Chopin nocturnes.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

PAGANINI’S CAPRICCI WITH PAVEL BERMAN

The great violinist Pavel Berman, who performs Paganini’s Capricci, concludes the Festival on Sunday 26 August.

The cost of the full ticket is 12 euros, reduced 10 euros (AML members 7 euros). The ticket office opens an hour before the concert.

Ps do read also my article on Pieve a Elici’s magical location in this July’s Lucca ‘Grapevine’.

 

Choral Jamboree at Barga

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The Santissima Annunziata (Holy Annunciation) is the church situated opposite one of the best gelati places in the first square one comes across on Barga’s main street from its gateway at the fosso.

The church was built in 1595 to house two wooden statues of the Virgin Mary and the Announcing Angel sculpted by a Tuscan master of the early fourteenth century. The church’s interior is baroque, almost Rococo, in its delicate plasterwork.

In the church’s transept are two large nineteenth-century frescoes depicting the Marriage of the Virgin and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple painted by Giammattei in Lucca, who also decorated the cupola.

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I’d never ventured inside the church before and was quite surprised at the beauty of its interior. This immaculate setting and its fine acoustics gave a special resonance to the three choirs which feasted us last Friday and continued an end-of-term tradition which has become an annual feature of Barga’s lively musical scene.

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This was the programme for the evening:

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The first choir from Lucca’s Istituto Machiavelli under their conductor Marco Musto warmed us up with a sweet arrangement of ‘Danny Boy’  sung with rather good English pronunciation. The other items were also very adequately delivered. Amazingly the last item was only rehearsed three days previously. This, in my opinion, is a choir that can only develop to greater heights.

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The second choir needs no introduction. Don Toti’s expertise with high renaissance polyphonic music is one of the joys of Garfagnana and his choir’s interpretation, especially of Victoria’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium’, filled the church with radiant effect. I felt, however, that the tenor section needed better blending with more numbers. Any volunteers?

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Andrea Salvoni’s indefatigable efforts in creating a choir from Barga’s  I.S.I. institute has produced a group that is fully able to approach a variety of idioms from classical to gospel. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Pie Jesu’ from Webber’s ‘Requiem’. The duet singing of Caterina Pieretti and Maria Carla Lupi was quite ravishing.

The choir received a well-deserved extended applause:

It’s not an easy thing to get a choir together in Italy. The British tradition of cathedral choirs with their impeccably high standards simply does not exist in Italy and too many schools do not have adequate facilities to devote much time to music. Standards in so many choirs here are not all that high and recruitment to them is another problem. The fact that we were able to hear and truly enjoy three choirs, each one with its own character, and each one with singers and directors who have devoted voluntarily so much of their free time to music, augurs well for the future of Italian choral singing in the Lucchesia.

 

 

Meeting Up with Lions, Dragons and Eagles in the Lucchesia

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I recently wrote about Brancoli Cross in my post at https://longoio3.com/2018/05/24/a-watchtower-that-became-a-cross/ . Brancoli itself has one of the most magnificent Pievi in the whole of Lucca province. (A Pieve is a step above a plain parish church and used to be until recently the only kind of church where baptism could take place).

Inside, the Pieve, dedicated to Saint George, has a nave and two aisles separated by columns and pilasters surmounted by capitals decorated with stylised plant motifs.

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The roof is supported on wooden trusses and the apse is slightly raised and is still divided by a partition, for in the Middle Ages there was a distinct barrier between the officiants of a church service and the congregation.  (This division is still a feature of Orthodox churches and, indeed of many English cathedrals, abbeys and kingly chapels where the choir is a space completely unto itself, as in the Royal chapel at Windsor Castle where a recent wedding took place.

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The octagonal font of the twelfth century, in the left aisle, is signed “Guido”, a Lombard master working in Lucca who was responsible for the original Romanesque Santa Maria Corteorlandini in that city. It is decorated with plant motifs and heads; with a fruit carved on each corner including a pomegranate, a clue that this church was commissioned by that great mediaeval lady Grand-contessa Matilde di Canossa.

If you think the font is rather large that is because, again in the mediaeval church, baptism was achieved by complete immersion and not just confined to new-born babies – repentant adults would also have to be immersed!

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Sadly the stoup (the holy water basin in which the faithful dip their hands and  do the sign of the cross when entering the church) and dating from the eleventh century, was unfortunately stolen in June 2000 as the sorry sign says – a new one, however, has been put in its place. Goodness knows where the original has finished up. I hope it’s on the huge database of stolen works of art and that someone somewhere may be racking their conscience about it…

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The best piece of sculpture, however, is the ambo or pulpit, dated 1194 and the work of master Guidetto. It is rectangular in plan, with Corinthian columns that sustain it, two of  of which are supported  on lions, one of which is in the act of killing a serpent-like dragon – clearly a depiction of the triumph of good over evil. In my opinion it’s just as fine as the larger pulpit with lions in Barga cathedral and harks towards the magnificent pulpits one can see in Pistoia’s churches. Note also the noble effigy of Matilde in the centre of one side.

There are several other wonderful works of art in this church including a Della Robbia terracotta depicting Saint George and the misused dragon.

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At the end of the north aisle is this exquisite tabernacle:

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There is also a fine thirteenth century painted crucifix

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and a sweet fresco of the Annunciation.

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The Pieve has also some fascinating sculpture on its exterior:

There is a mysterious little man sculpted in the arch of a side doorway who is populariy known as ‘il brancolino’. I wonder who he represents? An Italian version of the anglo-saxon ‘green man’ perhaps?

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Some years back I sang in a choir in San Giorgio di Brancoli on Saint George’s day in a special service attended by members of the order of Saint George wearing their opulent cloaks. Later that Sunday I went to a St George’s day party organized by an Englishman – Saint George can truly be said to be an international saint and a good excuse to celebrate!

It is, however, sad to note that probably the most gracious pieve in the whole province is shut except for one day in the year when Mass is celebrated. It’s only thanks to the efforts of  volunteers in a parish which only counts 140 inhabitants that we were able to visit the Pieve. Three phone numbers are affixed onto the main door and, thanks to these, the Pieve doors were opened for us. (Donation welcomed).

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A Watchtower that Became a Cross

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The Brancoleria is the name given to a valley that is part of the Pizzorne, the hills to the north east of Lucca and which are foothills of the Apennine range. The valley possesses a micro-climate which gives it very special characteristics with its variety of fauna and flora. The Brancoleria also has some of the most beautiful churches in Lucchesia and is great walking country.

 

One walk I’ve done in the past is that which goes to the largest cross in the province – that of Brancoli. We returned to the cross, this time in our mini SUV 4-wheel drive Panda, the last week of May.

 

Brancoli cross is erected on the site of a watchtower  built by the gonfalonier Ferrante Sbarra in 1594 to enable defence forces to see the plain of Lucca, the Apuan Alps, the Media Valle del Serchio, the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea up to the Islands of Capraia and Gorgona. It served as a watchtower until the eighteenth century and linked with the Bargiglio (see my post on ‘the eye of Lucca’ at https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/the-eye-of-lucca/ ).  The watchtower was later abandoned when times became more peaceful and in 1900 its remaining ruins were demolished to build a huge cross to celebrate the new twentieth century.

The way to the cross is a Via Crucis with smaller crosses marking the Stations of the Cross:

 

The views from the cross are quite splendid even though the day was  clouding over in preparation for the great storm that was to spread over the whole area in late afternoon.

 

The Cross was built in stone and was blessed by the Bishop of Lucca, Giovanni Volpi. It became a destination for pilgrimages but in 1944, towards the end of WWII, was destroyed by the Germans, being considered a threat, because of its clearly identifiable position for allied aircraft (no GPS then!) After the war the Cross was rebuilt re-using stones of the old cross and the altar of the church of San Bartolomeo which was also destroyed.

Remnant of WWII can still be seen in the nearby trenches built as part of the Gothic Line (see my post at https://longoio.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/secret-mission-across-the-gothic-line-a-success/ for more on the Gothic Line).

 

It’s crazy how a religious symbol signifying peace and redemption should have been blown up and then made part of a last-ditch attempt by the Germans to save the Third Reich which was now threatened on three fronts: the allies from the west and south and the Soviets from the east. Such is the supreme irony of our human condition!

Here are some hints on how to get to the cross

By car

From Lucca follow the SS 12 towards Abetone, up to the locality Vinchiana. Then follow the sign for the Brancoleria and the Church of San Giusto di Brancoli.  Here you can leave your car and continue on foot.

Walks to the Cross of Brancoli

For Trekking lovers there are two routes that include the Cross of Brancoli and take around five hours.

First route – From the Church of San Giusto di Brancoli, where you leave the car, follow the road which starts metalled but then continues unmetalled until the junction, where a wooden sign indicates the Cross on the right. Afterwards continue along the unmetalled road until you get to Deccio di Brancoli and, later, to Piazza di Brancoli where you can visit the medieval church of the twelfth century. From here continue to Gignano, a town known for La Tosca restaurant which is highly recommended by trip advisor (we haven’t yet eaten there).

 

Second  Route – A new path has recently been opened which is part of the’ Sentieri delle Colline lucchesi’ leading to the Cross di Brancoli. It starts from the Church of Anchiano, where you leave the car, and take the new path marked with wooden tables. Walking time is five hours but I haven’t tested this path yet.

 

Stereo Tipi Choir Shine on Holy Grail Mountain

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High up on the hills above Ponte a Moriano is a transcendentally white building presenting an almost a grail-like vision – indeed it is called the Academy of Montegral and was once the Convento dell’Angelo of the Passionist fathers –  the ones who attracted Lucca’s neglected Saint Gemma so much.

The convent, designed by Lorenzo Nottolini (he of the Ponte delle Catene at Bagni di Lucca and so many others of the finest buildings in the Lucca countryside), and built for the Passionist fathers, still remains their property although, due to falling vocational demand, it is now leased (for 999 years!) to the Academy of Montegral as a finishing school for musicians both vocal and instrumental.

The Academy of Montegral, the brainwave of Maestro Gustav Kuhn, (pupil of Karajan, and, among other prestigious posts, former musical director of Rome opera), was founded in 1992 with the aim of developing a holistic musicianship on a human scale. In 2000 it moved to the convent, reinforcing the idea of a spiritual and cultural musical community. The results show – I doubt if music making can really get much better than this in Lucca province.

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It was, therefore, an awesome challenge for the Stereo-tipi choir to audition and then be invited by maestro Kuhn to master classes and, finally, to sing in the Mass for Ascension Day (and Mother’s day, too) on Sunday, 13th May. (PS A member of this choir, Andrea Salvoni, is our choirmaster at Ghivizzano and some choir members have leading parts in Borgo a Mozzano’s fine music school).

This was the programme of liturgical music:

The challenge was achieved to perfection and we were treated to a liturgical event heightened by great music sung by a choir who I can surely say is one of the very few in the region to reach anywhere near to the high standards of such English choirs as The Sixteen and The King’s singers.

The Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 –1611) stands in a holy trinity of renaissance polyphonic vocal music composers together with Palestrina and Lassus. Victoria’s ‘Missa Ascendens’ from his middle period is both concise and highly organised with a melodic theme taken from his motet of the same name.

The Stereo-tipi were organised in the choir stalls semi-circularly arranged behind the high altar and almost hidden by it. Yet the genius of architect Nottolini ensured that the acoustics here are quite perfect and the choir rose to spread its fine singing with near-perfect intonation and dynamic range throughout this neo-classical gem.

Each part of the Proper of the Mass gained in stature and the closing Agnus Dei was particularly touched with beauty.

Kuhn always likes to put this melting number at the end of the Mass.

As befits a singing academy the Mass, celebrated by Fr Ottaviano and Giovanni Battista of the Passionist order, had some fine solo performances by Maria Radoeva and Paola Leggeri.

I felt this was one of Kuhn’s most successful contributions to  music for liturgical celebrations in the convent of the Angel. First, the choir stalls were used to full effect. Second, the music to the Mass was all of one piece: a sublime masterpiece by a supreme polyphonic master. Third, the music fitted the day to a T: an Ascension Mass on the Ascension Day of Our Redeemer.

An added bonus was that my wife’s mother, just three years short of her centennial, was with us as befitted the occasion which was also Mother’s day, something celebrated in da Pinzo’s excellent trattoria in Ponte a Moriano where we enjoyed a truly tasty lunch after the Mass in one of Lucca provinces most heavenly churches. (I chose Da Pinzo’s own named pizza).

 

 

 

 

The Cave of the Mother Goddess

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The cave of Castelvenere situated under the southern cliffs of Monte Penna in Garfagnana, and reachable by footpath no 111 from San Luigi, is a place steeped in mystery and antiquity. I’ve already talked about in in various other posts. See for instance:

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/the-tuscan-underground/

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/heavenly-alpeggio/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/pen-mountain/

The enigmatic cave is the site of ancient fertility rites dating back to at least Etruscan times and perhaps even further to the spectral period of the Neolithic age as statuettes found there and now viewable at Castelnuovo’s museum demonstrate.

I also believe this cave has a healing presence. If  one is feeling too much with the present age then the Castelvenere is there to relieve the pressure. These photographs are from ten years ago, one of the first times we went there. We also had an unexpected meeting on our journey that time!

As soon as it’s sunnier I think I’ll make a beeline for this cave of the mother goddess…

Bagni di Lucca’s ‘Shelley House’ is No More

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‘Shelley House’, Bagni di Lucca Villa’s brilliant bookshop run by Luca and Rebecca, is closing after barely two years.  This is, indeed, sad news since ‘Shelley House’ was more than just a bookshop; it was a meeting place for poets, authors and all those interested in literature and the arts. Rebecca and Luca organized book presentations, art exhibitions and special events like the Brownings’ evening walk along the Lima river, described in my post at:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/a-romantic-evening-of-poetry-along-bagni-di-luccas-river/

Luca and Rebecca also organise the well-known Shelley Festival which has received the patronage of the Italian President. They are also publishers (Edizioni Cinque Marzo) for several writers including myself (‘Septet’, ‘Four Kingdoms’).

Strangely enough, I had presentiments, even before the news, that this lovely bookshop in Bagni di Lucca would not last all that long. Encountering difficult moments in their former location at Viareggio, with its sixty thousand plus inhabitants, how could Luca and Rebecca have captured a more receptive market, despite their most valiant publicity efforts, in a town which barely counts six thousand unless they had an immensely strong on-line presence?

Looking at  comments in Facebook I see the same thoughts came to the mind of several other persons. Here are some of them:

“It’s sad but, unfortunately, they don’t see a future. They came to Bagni di Lucca full of hope and courage but they had to give up”.

“It lasted from morning till evening. I’m sorry.”

“What a pity!”

“It’s a pity. They did their best for our area even if they aren’t from here. They seemed so interested in Bagni di Lucca’s history, culture and everything to do with it. I’m sorry. Bit by bit nothing will remain for us.”

“It’s a pity but with on-line sales and e-readers this is what happens. And not only bookshops..”

“I’m sorry but I’m not surprised, I would be astonished if the opposite happened…”

“On-line sites are destroying so many high street retail shops. How many people have never bought a book? Let’s add, too, how little Italians read. Even in Lucca famous bookshops have closed. Let’s ask ourselves some questions.”

***

With this sad news about Bagni di Lucca’s only dedicated bookshop let’s look on the positive side of things and note the following new hopes for this town in 2018:

  • A newly refurbished Corona hotel which will soon open as a ‘boutique’ hotel.
  • A new greengrocers’ opening at BDL Ponte
  • A new beauty parlour opening at BDL villa.

However, these are no substitute for the departure of Luca and Rebecca (who had been encouraged to come here by former mayor Betti) from Bagni di Lucca Villa. I, for one, shall miss them and all the activities they dedicated to a place they had fallen in love with for its Shelley connections. The irony is that if the bookshop had been kept open it would have been able to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley to Bagni di Lucca (plus, of course, the anniversary of the first edition of Mary’s novel ‘Frankenstein’).

‘Plus ça change’ in Bagni di Lucca, it seems.

For your reference here are the links, chronologically arranged, to all the blog posts I wrote on the subject of Luca and Rebecca’s Shelley House:

 

2015

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/a-romantic-evening-of-poetry-along-bagni-di-luccas-river/

 

2016

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/two-new-exhibition-spaces-in-bagni-di-lucca/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/bagni-di-luccas-casa-shelley/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/loves-philosophy/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/cassiopeia-and-the-female-principle/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/after-the-world/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/septet/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/allegra-con-spirito/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/meet-the-stars-at-bagni-di-luccas-1950s-fashion-show/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/vitalitis-sculpture-opens-at-shelley-house/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/a-plea-for-justice-and-civility-in-italy/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/stunning-photography-at-shelley-house/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/23/heres-to-will/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/the-beechwood-of-the-black-fate/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/sunset-with-shelley-and-respighi/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/shelley-at-the-house/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/green-landscapes-in-a-pink-room/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/on-indian-ink-in-art/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/nino-chiesas-mastery-of-artistic-techniques/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/infra-red-at-bagnis-shelley-house/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/09/03/light-boxes-at-bagni-di-lucca-villa/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/the-sounding-cataract-haunts-me-like-a-passion/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/shelley-houses-first-birthday/

 

2017

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/03/04/peace-doves/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/03/14/yielding-mothers/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/03/15/water-and-life-at-bagni-di-luccas-shelley-house/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/my-life-as-a-woman/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/love-of-literature-in-mediaevalle/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/05/21/vico-pancellorums-secret-language/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/cor-cordium/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/of-summer-love-and-death/

https://longoio3.com/2017/07/03/puccini-and-shelley-again/

https://longoio3.com/2017/07/22/an-evening-of-poetry-by-shelleys-house/

https://longoio3.com/2017/08/02/767/

https://longoio3.com/2017/10/14/poetry-please/

 

 

 

 

Living Cribs at a Home

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‘Presepi’ (nativity cribs) in Italy can also be ‘viventi’, or living, with people rather than figurines enacting the protagonists in that great happening two millennia ago. For many years we played characters in Equi Terme’s brilliant presepe. One year, for instance, I was a wise man and another year a Roman governor. For more of this presepe do see my following posts:

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/no-room-at-the-inn-in-equi-terme/

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/of-dragons-irises-and-knights/

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/christmas-crib/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/a-living-crib-is-reborn-at-equi-terme/

Last week-end we visited another living crib: that of Marlia. This was a particularly special crib as it takes place in a’ Casa di Riposo’, a place which in the UK was once called a geriatric institution but now could be described as a rest home.

After a procession from Marlia’s stately parish church (which has been recently well-restored) the participants met before the little stable erected in the home’s main courtyard.

 

The new-born babe is always the latest to have seen daylight in the parish and the mum was suitably ecstatic.

 

Of the three wise men, Balthazar, King of Tarsus and Egypt, is traditionally black-skinned and carries myrrh.  Caspar, King of Sheba, brings frankincense and Melchior, King of Arabia, gold. In this case Balthazar was someone who immediately recognized my wife as they had recently met on the same train from Lucca.

 

Inclusiveness was also apparent in the participation of the home’s residents who enacted various occupations like bread-making, wool-spinning, fish-mongering and wood-working.

 

In the home’s extensive grounds a pen contained some other new births.

 

Marlia’s living crib has become an established event in the local community’s festivities. I’ve been a few times for medical check-ups at the adjacent heath centre but it was only thanks to Sandra that I found out about the crib. Who knows? Perhaps one day we’ll be enacting parts as inmates of the home….

 

 

 

Cutigliano in the Snow

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How did we spend New Year ten years ago? We rented a little flat in Cutigliano, which is around forty minutes away by car from Bagni di Lucca on the road to Abetone, and took to the ski slopes.

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Cutigliano itself is full of quaint corners and some lovely buildings. I’ve talked about it in various posts, for example at:

Cute Cutigliano

The “New” Towers of Popiglio

Dreaming of a White March

A Wet Big Top

The Pass of the Mysterious Cross

Four wheels Bad, Two Wheels Good?

Cutigliano’s church, dedicated to Saint Bartholomew stands a little outside the centre of the town. It possesses a fine pulpit but has a bloody past. In 1537 a massacre between two rival families, the Panciatichi and the Cancellieri, took place within its holy confines. Following this event the old church was burnt down and rebuilt in the second half of the sixteenth century.

While we were there in 2008 it began to snow and Cutigliano was magically transformed.

Today at Longoio the weather continues damp and misty. We last saw blue skies three days ago – a major ‘perturbazione’ has enveloped Europe with high wind and lots of rain. We look forwards to it going away soon!