Italy – ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

One Reason You Come to Parma – Parmigiano Reggiano

Parma

Nov 232022

November 17, 2022

The City of Parma is lovely but you come to Parma for Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and Aceto Balsamico.

We spent one full day with Stefania of Cooking with Stefania, and I mean a whole day. We began in a Parmigiano Reggiano factory, proceeded to Stefania’s house to cook lunch, then visited a Parma Ham factory and her family farm that produces Balsamic Vinegar. We began at 8:30 in the morning and the sun was well down when we parted ways. It was a glorious, educational, and incredibly tasty day.

This post is all about cheese.

Parmigiano Reggiano

Many cultures around the world are trying to protect their native foods and Parmigiano Reggiano is no different. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is a product with the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Cheese produced according to the rules of the organization is the only cheese entitled to bear the Parmigiano Reggiano mark and, therefore, the wheel must display all the marks required for identifying and distinguishing the product.

The most important is the very first step. Only raw milk produced in the area can be used to produce Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Nothing can be brought in from other areas, this includes any type of food given to the cows. There are some 3000 farms in the Parmigiano Reggiano area.

The Italian Frisona is the most common breed among Parmigiano Reggiano producers. Imported from Holland, it is known as Friesian because the original stock is found in the Dutch region of Friesland. The first cattle were brought to Italy at the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, cattle from Italian breeding farms were introduced, thus Italian Frisona. The other types of cows found in the region are White Modenese, Brown Cow, and Vacche Rosse.

The funny thing is, you will never see cows driving around the area. The land must be used to harvest the food for the cows and is too valuable to waste letting cows graze. Cows will be found inside large concrete barns that you begin to recognize once someone explains this all to you.

The minimum maturation for Parmigiano Reggiano is 12 months (the longest minimum maturation for any PDO cheese), and 18 months for export, but Parmigiano Reggiano reaches its height at approximately 24 months and yet it can mature from 36 to 48 months, or longer.

The milk from the morning and the previous evening is poured into the traditional upturned bell-shaped copper vats. It takes about 145 gallons of milk to produce each wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. The milk slowly and naturally coagulates with the addition of rennet and a whey starter, which come from the previous day’s processing.

The curd must reach the proper consistency as determined by an experienced cheese maker.

Testing the consistency by hand

Once the curd is the proper consistency it is broken into miniature globules using a traditional tool called “spino”.

Breaking down the curd with a Spino

Before going any further the master cheese maker tests, by hand, if the curd has reached the perfect consistency.

The Master Cheesemaker

Then heat is introduced bringing the milk to 130 degrees F, causing the cheese granules to sink to the bottom of the cauldron forming a single mass.

Adding the heat

After about fifty minutes the cheese maker lifts the cheese up using a linen cloth, then ties it off onto a crossbar for easier access.

This large mass of cheese is cut into two parts, wrapped in the typical linen cloth, and placed in a mold that will give it its final shape.

Cutting the cheese into two separate pieces

The 2 separate pieces are easier to see once the remaining liquid is drained from the vat

The cheese is originally placed into plastic molds

A casein plate with a unique code is applied to each wheel making it possible to trace every wheel of cheese back to its origins at any time and from anywhere.

The wheels are eventually placed in metal molds with wooden tops

After a few days, the wheels are immersed in a salt solution salting the cheese through osmosis.

After 12 months, every wheel of cheese is tested by the Consortium. Each wheel is tapped with a hammer, and the ear of an expert has the final say.

The conforming wheels are marked with the hot-iron brand and become Parmigiano Reggiano. We won the lottery the day we were at the factory. Stefania said she had only seen the process twice in all her time as a guide, and there was the branding man (not the inspector, he had already done his job) marking the wheels that will be considered good enough to carry the Parmigiano Reggiano name.

Packaging the Cheese at the factory

While everyone considers Parmigiano Reggiano as a grated cheese on pasta, the truth is, I prefer it broken off into chunks so I can pop them into my mouth and actually get the grainy texture and the subtle flavors. Add honey or 40-year-old balsamico and it is heaven.

A little something interesting…if Parmigiano Reggiano is aged for at least 12 months the lactose breaks down making it a lactose-free cheese.

This particular factory also makes Ricotta and all unused milk by-products are fed to the pigs, which is another part of the business.

Preparing Ricotta for packaging

A few more pictures from the branding process.

Two More Reasons to Visit Parma – Prosciutto di Parma and Balsimico

Italy, Parma

Nov 232022

November 2022

I have already discussed the tour of Parmigiano Reggiano, but on the same day spent Cooking with Stefania we visited two more food production locations.

Prosciutto di Parma

It was in 100 BCE that Cato the “Censor” first mentioned the extraordinary flavor of the air-cured ham made around the town of Parma in Italy. It is still a gift of the gods.

The hams are made from the rear haunches of the pig. The curing is controlled carefully so that the ham absorbs only enough salt to preserve it. By the end, a trimmed ham will have lost more than a quarter of its weight through moisture loss, helping to concentrate the flavor.

Producers of Prosciutto di Parma receive fresh legs from authorized slaughterhouses on a weekly basis; the average weight is around 33 pounds. However, I have heard they are attempting to increase these to around 35 – 40 pounds.

Hams are being rolled in for processing

After a quick trim, the legs are salted by a maestro salatore, (salt master): the pigskin is covered with humid sea salt, while the muscular parts are covered with dry salt.

The Trimming Table

The Salting Machine

The leg is then refrigerated at a temperature ranging from 33°F to 4o°F, with a humidity level of approximately 80% for about a week then gets a second thin coating of salt which is left on another 15 to 18 days. depending on weight. Salt is the only preservative used in the processing method.

Next, the hams hang for a period ranging between 60 and 90 days in refrigerated, humidity-controlled rooms, at 75% humidity where the meat darkens.

The hams are washed with warm water and brushed to remove excess salt and impurities, then hung in drying rooms for a few days.

Now the hams are hung on frames in well-ventilated rooms with large windows that are opened when the outside temperature and humidity are favorable. The weather of Parma allows this air drying, and it is what many say makes Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di Parma. By the end of this phase, which lasts about three months, the exposed surface of the meat has dried and hardened.

It wasn’t a good day to have the windows open but this is the exterior of the drying area.

The pin in the neck says this is good enough to go on to certification

The exposed surfaces of the hams are softened with a paste of minced lard and salt in order to prevent the external layers from drying too rapidly.

This woman has been doing this job since she was 18 years old.

At the end of the aging period, which is by law at least 1 year starting from the date of first salting (and some may be cured as long as 3 years), a horse bone needle, which rapidly absorbs the product fragrances, is inserted in different parts of the ham and smelled by experts looking for impurities.

I couldn’t resist buying one of the bone needles

Parma ham is highly regulated and to bear the name Prosciutto di Parma it must bear the Ducal Crown.

Aceto Balsamico

Making Balsamic Vinegar is a lesson in patience. The grapes are crushed, producing a must, then boiled down to one-half or one-third of their original volume. Only Trebbiano, Lambrusco, and Ancellotta grapes can be used in the production of Balsamic Vinegar of the coveted Modena or Regio Emilia PDO. The must is poured into barrels that have been rinsed with boiling vinegar and left to age for a year.

At the end of the first year, the now-syrupy liquid is put in wooden kegs.

The wood used varies and each wood gives the Balsamic a unique flavor. Woods include chestnut, ash, juniper, cherry, mulberry, and traditional oak.

During the aging phases, tradition calls for the barrels to remain open at the “cocchiume”, the traditional hole in the center of a barrel.

Usually, (but not always) a battery of wooden barrels for the production of traditional balsamic is made of an odd number, between 5 and 9 barrels which vary in their capacity. The size of a traditional set of barrels goes from a capacity of 18 gallons used at the beginning down to a capacity of as little as 3 gallons for the final stage.

A battery of barrels of varying sizes

The aging process of Balsamic Vinegar DOP of Modena and Reggio Emilia requires a minimum of 10 years. The process requires temperatures above 68 degrees F to activate the necessary bacteria; these temperatures are also necessary for the evaporation of excess water. At the same time, cold is necessary to avoid excessive evaporation to allow sedimentation of unwanted solid residues on the bottom of the barrel.

These climatic conditions are continually found in the Provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, which are characterized by cold winters and very hot summers. So while the area is known for its Balsamic from professional bottlers, you will find many home attics serving as vinegar cellars for families and friends.

Every year the vinegar is decanted into smaller barrels. If the finished product of the last barrel of the battery has aged long enough to be considered ready. The remaining content from the penultimate barrel is moved into the smallest, sometimes the penultimate receives what remains in the third, and so on. An extra large barrel is kept with the must over the years in order to continually fill the largest of the battery.

The age of the Balsamic is key. A ten-year aged bottle is fine for salads, but considering the price of the older years, the usage becomes important. Just a few drops of a 40-year Balsamico is absolutely divine over a chunk of aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or stirred into a panna cotta.

Parma

Italy, Parma

Nov 232022

November 19, 2022

Parma is a university city and one of the largest cities in the Emilia-Romagna region, with a population just under 200,000. The city is of course famous for Parmesan cheese and Parma ham, and it is the first Italian city to become a UNESCO heritage site for Gastronomy.

The city was founded by the Romans in 183 BCE and rebuilt in the Middle Ages and then ruled by bishops from the 9th century.

It is the home of the Italian flag or il Tricolore.

There are three main attractions in town, and our hotel was one block from all three, and since we were here for cooking and food tours that was about all that I saw of the city. I am absolutely sure it had so much more to offer, but sometimes, food takes precedence.

The Cathedral of Parma

The Parma Cathedral is an Italian Romanesque cathedral highly decorated with frescoes by Renaissance painter Antonio da Correggio.

Ceiling frescoes of Parma Cathedral

The Baptistry

The city council of Parma commissioned Benedetto Antelami to build the baptistery in 1196.

The inside of the baptistry contains sixteen arches, forming alcoves each with a painted scene done during the 13th and 14th centuries. In the dome, sixteen rays come out of the center of the ceiling and correspond to the arches.

Sadly these are not true frescoes, and the dome has been painstakingly restored with syringes and spatulas. A project that most likely will occur over and over again.

Palazzo della Pilotta

The Palazzo della Pilotta was built around 1583, during the last years of the reign of Duke Ottavio Farnese. It was never finished making for an odd viewing of blank walls and ornate window frames.

There are several reasons to visit the Palazzo, but in my opinion, the major one is the Teatro Farnese.

The theater is almost entirely of wood in the Italian Baroque style. It is the prototype of the modern playhouse. It is also the first surviving theatre with a permanent proscenium arch. Construction began in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti for Ranuccio I Farnese, and it officially opened in 1628.

At one end of the large, rectangular wooden structure was a stage area designed for deep-perspective scenery.

The sides of the stage were decorated with paintings and statues set into niches.

A large U-shaped open area (pit, or parterre) was used for dancing, royal processions, and other courtly entertainments; it could even be flooded for water spectacles.

The Farnese was renovated in the early 1700s by Filippo Juvarra and rebuilt following its destruction during World War II.

Another feature of the Palazzo della Pilotta is the art gallery. It goes on and on and on but if you are patient you will happen upon Leonardo da Vinci’s, Head of a Woman (Aka “La Scapigliata”), ca. 1508, oil on wood.

Piazza Garibaldi was designed in Medieval times to be the center of political power.

Violetta di Parma

This is the window display of one of the original stores that sold Voletta di Parma by Ludovico Borsari. I did not know that Parma was world famous for perfume at one time until our cooking teacher told me. Why the violet? No one is really sure how it became the symbol of Parma, but it likely dates to the 17th century when the Duke of Parma introduced the species into Italy from Spain.

Ludovico Borsari, (Parma 1846 -1928) helped develop the perfume industry of Parma around the Violetta. Borsari made perfume that was economically within the reach of most women, and that made Violetta di Parma world famous. The Borsari brand still exists as part of a multinational corporation based in Milan.

Scattered along the streets of Parma is some wonderful art

The ancient tower of St. Paul was turned into a war monument dedicated to those who died in all the wars,

This post does not do the city of Parma justice. It is a very comfortable town to navigate, with a very human scale. There are wonderful restaurants everywhere and streets that beg you to meander.

Driving from Parma back to Bologna to the airport one could, but shouldn’t, miss the Ferrari factory. The museum is the only place where photos are allowed, and truth be told, the factory tour is just climbing on a bus and driving around the massive acreage that exists to create these works of art on wheels. The cars are made from beginning to end in Maranello, and almost all within the Ferrari factory grounds.

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Worth remembering:

Hotel in Parma: Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati

Restaurant in Parma: La Forchetta

Restaurant in Ferrara: l’Oca Giuliva Cucina e Cantina

The Mura di Lucca and More

Italy, Lucca

Nov 172022

November 2022

The walls of Lucca (Mura di Lucca) are a series of stone, brick, and earthwork fortifications that are among the best-preserved Renaissance fortifications in Europe.

The Walls of Lucca

The construction of the current walls of Lucca, which replaced earlier medieval and Roman fortifications, began on May 7, 1504, and ended a century and a half later in 1648, with additional structural updates in the second half of the seventeenth century as better construction techniques were learned.

Architecturally, the walls are composed of twelve curtains in the embankment, interspersed with eleven bulwarks with brick ornament, forty feet high and as much as 100 feet wide in places. They run for approximately three miles.

A stroll atop the wall will take you all around the city with views into every neighborhood.

In the 19th century, Duchess Maria Luisa of Bourbon commissioned the royal architect Lorenzo Nottolini to turn the walls into a walkway and at that time added the trees.

You can also walk inside the walls of the Bastions. This is the Bastion of San Paolino.

One of the main features of the wall is the passages and tunnels throughout the structure. For defensive purposes, Lucca could move men, cannons, munitions, and food secretly. There are cannon batteries, gun/arrow, and guard stations so no troops would be detected above.

Had I remained underground and walked to the next bulwark I would have been confronted with this gate at the San Marina Bulwark

Porta San Pietro

To enter the city one must pass through one of the Portas. There are three originals still used and 2 newer ones.

Torre Guinigi

Torre Guinigi from a distance

There once were approximately 130 medieval towers in the city of Lucca, today the Torre Guinigi and Torre Delle Ore, are all that are left in their original state.

The tower was commissioned by the Guinigi banking family, wealthy merchants of the 14th century. Paolo Guinigi was lord of Lucca from 1400 to 1430. In building the tower he wanted to refine the family’s residence with a tree-lined tower visible from every angle and perspective, and also to show power.

A typical example of Lucchese Romanesque-Gothic architecture, the tower is built of stone and brick. But what really makes the tower unique is the garden at the top. No one knows exactly when it was created but an image in the Chronicles of Giovanni Sercambi (15th century) shows one of Lucca’s towers crowned with trees. This may not have been the only tower with trees atop. The law stipulated that no tower could be taller than the city tower, how else can one top the city tower than to do so with trees rather than bricks?

If you are willing to brave the 25 flights (230 steps) to reach the top, the views are wonderful.

Views from Torre Guinigi

Church Lions

I am sure I have noticed and photographed lions outside of churches around the world, but in Lucca, I truly began to see them.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, many church entrances featured a variety of scary beasts, often exotic or imaginary and sometimes mixed with human figures. Some scholars say they are “purely decorative,” while others argue that they serve two purposes. The first symbolizes the martyrs’ entrance into Heaven. The second are signs “that we must turn our backs on…all worldly cares and employments if we would enter into the kingdom of God.”

Sometimes in scripture, a lion represents Christ, But in other scriptures, it is interpreted that the lion represents the enemy that Christ will vanquish.

Whatever the purpose, I will probably now begin to see them in a whole new light.

Dante and Lucca

In the Divine Comedy, Dante refers to the Tuscans from Lucca, with the exception of a few characters, as a bad examples, such as flatterers, barterers, and gluttons.

He does however mention the city in a good light when discussing the miraculous Volto Santo (verse 48 of canto XXI of the Inferno, first canto of the Divine Comedy) and Santa Zita (Inferno, XXI, 37-42).

Zita served as a maid to the Fatinelli family and was appreciated by poor people for her generosity and by the family for her dedication to work.

It is said that another maid of the Fatinellis insinuated that Zita was a thief. One day Fatinelli met her on the stairs as she was on her way to a needy family, and asked her what she had in the apron that was so full she could barely hold it with her hands. Although it was full of bread, Zita was frightened and replied that it was full of flowers for the Madonna, and when she opened her apron, flowers and leaves fell from it for real.

At the moment of writing the Divine Comedy, Zita was already dead (1278), but she had not been canonized yet.

In 1580, Saint Zita’s body was exhumed and found to be incorruptible, and her body was put on display in a silver casket, as is tradition, in the Basilica di San Frediano, the church where she had prayed while alive. She was canonized in 1696.

The Basilica di San Frediano

The Basilica di San Frediano is the oldest place of worship in Lucca. It is said that Saint Fridianus, bishop of the city from 560 to 588, founded the church. It was mentioned for the first time in a document from the year 685 as a Lombard-era basilica.

The large Romanesque-style mosaic on its façade dates to the end of the 13th century and is extremely rare. In Tuscany, the only other façade decorated like this is on the Church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence.

Sunset from my window on my first evening in Lucca

San Michele in Foro and San Martino – Lucca

Italy, Lucca

Nov 172022

November 2022

San Michele in Foro is a Roman Catholic basilica built over an ancient Roman forum, dedicated to Archangel Michael.

The church is mentioned for the first time in 795 as ad foro (in the forum). The church was rebuilt in 1070 under the orders of Alexander Pope II.

What takes one’s breath away before ever entering the church is the facade. The facade dates from the 13th century with alterations done sometime in the 19th century.

Little is actually known of the iconography and sculptures of the facade.

The spandrels of the arcades are decorated in a profusion of ornamentation with geometrical and figured inlay motifs that appear to relate to patterns of eastern origin that were used in the famous silks of Lucca.

Lucca produced magnificent silk fabrics in the 8th century CE. This city became very prosperous through its trade in silk fabrics during the Middle Ages and was well-known for its merchants and luxury artisans.

Lucca specialized in high-quality silk fabrics such as drappi auroserici (fabrics made of a mixture of silk with gold or silver threads). The motifs used in their fabric design expanded from the 12th to the end of the 14th century, incorporating Muslim, Byzantine, and even Chinese motifs.

From 1375 a more specific Italian style that featured Italian flowers, vine leaves, and naturalist themes appeared. These included a myriad of animals, as well as romanesque scenes, and hunting scenes.

The church was restored in 1866 with a pretty heavy hand. The columns were replaced and some of the heads were replaced with portraits of contemporary characters such as Garibaldi, Pius IX, and Cavour.

Certain columns are inlaid in a manner that also reflects an Eastern influence other columns are sculpted in what appears to be a Lombardesque style.

On the summit, flanked by two other angels is a statue of Saint Michael the Archangel.

Saint Michael flanked by two angels

More interestingly carved columns

The front entryway has a sculpted architrave resting on pinned capitals decorated in Corinthian style.

On the architrave is a carving teeming with real and imaginary creatures and in the center, you can see Saint Michael slaying the dragon with a spear.

The eight-wheel rose window is also important. It is not in keeping with the times and adds to the notion that the facade was done over many eras.

On the south side, medieval graffiti of ships and cities of the East testify to the use of the square as a market.

Graffiti on the columns inside San Michele in Foro

Should this not be enough the interior contains the Pala Magrini a 1483 painting by Italian artist Filippino Lippi.

Pala Magrini by Lippi found in San Michele in Foro

The painting was done while Lippi was an apprentice in Sandro Botticelli’s workshop, it shows Saint Rocco, Saint Sebastian, Saint Jerome, and Saint Helena the Empress.

The paintings’ bright colors are a tribute to the quality of doing work in Tempera. Tempera is an ancient medium, having been in constant use in most of the world until it was gradually superseded by oil paints during the Renaissance.

True tempera is made by mixture with the yolk of fresh eggs, although manuscript illuminators often used egg white and some easel painters added the whole egg.

As I mentioned the columns were altered in the 1860s. Here is a diagram of who is who on the church today.

San Martino

There is another, lesser-known church in Lucca that is in the same style and of the same period as San Michele and that is San Martino.

The facade of the San Martino is a version of the more complex San Michele facade, with evident asymmetries, and a contrast of full and empty spaces.

Consecrated in 1070 by Pope Alexander II, formerly the Bishop of Lucca, the exterior was further ornamented in the 1200s and is what you see today. The interior of the Duomo is heavy with Late Gothic influence and decorated in the style of the 14th and 15th centuries.

The interior of San Martino is far more decorated and elegant than San Michele

In San Martino, one can find the Last Supper of Christ painted by the famous Venetian painter Jacopo Robusti, known as Tintoretto. This was his last work, and he was aided by his son Domenico. The painting is dated 1594, the year of his death. – (Sadly it is horribly lit)

Columns on the exterior of San Martino

Ornamentation on the exterior of San Martino showing the cross of the Crusades

The idea behind the maze was that the faithful must rely on God to lead them out.

Ornamentation on the exterior of San Martino

There are over 100 churches in Lucca. Many are no longer in use or have been repurposed for one use or another, these are two of the more spectacular architecturally.

Walking Around Lucca

Italy, Lucca

Nov 172022

November 2022

At one time Lucca had as many as 30,000 people living in its downtown behind the walls, once cars were banned that population dropped precipitously. It is growing back but is still nowhere near its original numbers.

Lucca has always been a wealthy area, as has all of Florence. During the early 20s, it experienced an era of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, as did so many European cities of the time. There are vestiges of this era that can still be found on many of the storefronts. The storefronts are protected by the government, but sadly their history is lost.

Di Simo Cafe

This very old café was originally known as the Antico Café del Caselli. Later on, it was renamed Cafè Di Simo It was frequented by Giacomo Puccini and many other foreign artists. It closed 15 years ago due to the high rents in the area.

The Galliani store dates back to the early 1900s and retains all of its aesthetic and architectural character from those years.

The figures of this store were especially unique and charming

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An alley full of Art Deco ornamentation

Remnants of the original Roman Amphitheater

What grew atop the original Roman Amphitheater

The Lucca Anfiteatro was once a Roman amphitheater with about 10,000 seats. In Roman times the amphitheater was used for performances, such as gladiator fights and chariot races. Later, the arena served as the city’s warehouse for salt, and even as a prison. It did then, and sometimes does now, serves as a marketplace.

The present Piazza dell’Anfiteatro maintained the original old oval shape from the 2nd century CE. In the middle ages, houses were built over the amphitheater.

Ironwork to remind you that this once was a medieval city

Luigi Boccherini was born in Lucca.

Sitting in front of the Music Academy is this statue of Luigi Boccherini. He wrote a large amount of chamber music, including over one hundred string quintets for two violins, viola, and two cellos, a dozen guitar quintets, nearly a hundred string quartets, and a number of string trios and sonatas. His orchestral music includes around 30 symphonies and 12 virtuoso cello concertos. And yet, I bet you have never even heard of him.

Giacomo Puccini

Of course, everyone knows Lucca-born Giacomo Puccini, and signs of his operas are all over Lucca in the names of bars and restaurants as well as walls and roll-up doors.

The two levers on the bottom left of this fun door are actually doorbells.

The crest over the door of the Palazzo Bernardini

The Palazzo Bernardini was erected starting in 1512 for the Marchese Bernardini by the 16th-century architect Nicolao Civitali. Among the curiosity of the palace is the upward curving stone on the ground floor facade above the third window from the left. Legend has it that the stone is the pietra del diavolo (Devil’s stone). It is said that this spot once held a wall with a painted icon of the Virgin Mary, and when the Bernardini built the house in its place the devil had his say.

Years, loves, and glasses of wine are things you should never count

Bagni di Lucca

Italy, Lucca

Nov 172022

November, 2022

Bagni di Lucca is a respite and a divine little spot to unwind. The area has been known for its thermal springs since the Etruscan and Roman Times. It was first mentiond in an official document of 983 AD as “Corsena”, with reference to a donation by the Bishop Teudogrimo of the territory of Bagni di Lucca to Fraolmo of Corvaresi.

Looking down the Lima River from the Ponte de Serraglio in the center of Bagni di Lucca

The Roman poet Virgil wrote that the area was rich in chestnut forests as it still is today.

San Cassiano

The pieve (rural parish church) of San Cassiano was built before 722. It has the painting St. Martin Riding by Jacopo della Quercia and others from the Renaissance. Sadly, it was closed up tight so I could not see the paintings.

Pieve of San Cassiano

The majority of scholars believe that the church we see today dates between the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth century.

Islamic basin inserted into the facade of Pieve of San Cassiano.

Scholars use this ceramic basin inserted in the facade to help date the building. Due to others like this found in the Pisana and Lucchese areas, it is thought to come from the 11th or 12th century and is from an Islamic country.

Above the portal are three human figures. According to scholars, the theme would be taken from Exodus 17.8-16.

Interesting ornamentation on the side of the Pieve of San Cassiano.

Lucchio

When driving to Bagni di Lucca this town popped into view for just a few minutes, it appeared abandoned and the first thing I wondered is why is it there and more importantly how?

The next day we went searching for the town of Lucchio which sits just about 1/2 mile above sea level. The road to get there is hair raising and yet the ride is absolutely beautiful. I drove the entire thing at no more than 10 miles an hour. While the road is one-way I was told the town was deserted so I did not expect any traffic and did not encounter any.

However, when we got to the top, the town is not abandoned and a tooting horn arrived announcing the bread delivery. I was so glad I had been misinformed, as I know it would have been white-knuckle driving if I thought I might encounter another car on a road with steep banks, no turnouts, and very little way to see around every hairpin corner.

Looking out from the main street of Lucchio Alto

It is an ancient legend that Lucchio is so steeply sloping that it is said that farmers tied baskets on the back of their hens to keep the eggs from falling into the void.

An ancient well of Lucchio.

Ponte della Maddalena

Ponte della Maddalena crosses the Serchio river near the town of Borgo a Mozzano in the province of Lucca.

There is little historical information about the building of the bridge. Nicolau Tegrimi, in his biography of Castruccio Castracani, attributes the bridge to Countess Matilde di Canossa of Florence (1046-1125) and mentions a restoration made by Castruccio Castracani (1281-1328.) According to the hypothesis of Massimo Betti, during the Castruccio government, the minor arches were constructed in stone, replacing the previous structure in wood. This would explain the difference between the major arch and the minor ones. The bridge is also described in a 14th-century novella by Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca.

The bridge is a remarkable example of medieval engineering, and while built in the typical medieval hunchback form it is unique in that its arches are asymmetrical and the height of the center one defies gravity.

Sometime around 1500, the bridge took on the name of Ponte della Maddalena, from an oratory dedicated to Mary Magdalene, whose statue stood at the foot of the bridge on the eastern bank.

In 1670 the General Council of the Republic of Lucca issued a decree prohibiting passage over the bridge with millstones and sacks of flour in order to preserve the structure. Having walked to the top of the arch I can assure you it is steep with very uneven large stones as paving, I commented I would not have wanted to do it with a cart or even a shod horse, so I have no idea how people crossed with millstones.

The profile must have been even more impressive before a dam was built, in the years after the Second World War.

The bridge is also called the Devil’s Bridge. According to legend when the master builder realized he could not possibly complete this complex bridge by the proposed deadline, the Devil appeared to him offering a bargain: its completion in exchange for the soul of the first one who would cross it. The man accepted and that night the Devil lifted the bridge span with his pitchfork. Full of regret, however, the master builder confessed what he had done to a local priest, who proposed that a pig, not a man, be the first to cross over. When this was done, the Devil appeared once again, but – realizing he had been fooled – he threw himself off the bridge into the river and disappeared forever from this land.

The bridge was very near the Gothic Line during World War II. Apparently, the Nazis had decided to mine the Bridge but did not destroy it, for reasons unknown. Most likely because it was of absolutely no military use due to its narrowness.

The Gothic Line was a German defensive line during the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed a line of defense along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains.

The Gothic Line in Borgo a Mozzano

Using more than 15,000 slave laborers, the Germans created more than 2,000 well-fortified machine gun nests, casemates, bunkers, observation posts, and artillery fighting positions to repel any attempt to breach the Gothic Line

Entry to a bunker on the Gothic Line

We were trying to find the gothic line and stopped at a map along the road near a hot dog stand. As we were trying to suss out the location on a map a volunteer stopped by, he helps maintain the line and educate people about what happened there so long ago. We were honored to have him take us into the bunker. He explained that over the years these were filled with trash and many people had hoped to forget all about them. A volunteer organization was formed in the 1990s to make sure that what happened in this part of Italy was not forgotten.

Inside a bunker on the Gothic Line

During the Italian Social Republic (a puppet state of Germany which existed from September 1943 until May 1945) a concentration camp for Jews was set up in Bagni di Lucca, where both Italian and foreign Jews were interned from December 1943 to January 1944. More than 100 people were interned in squalid conditions in the Hotel Le Terme far up in the hills. Some managed to escape, but most were sent to Auschwitz on January 30th, 1944.

An Introduction to Ravenna

Italy, Ravenna

Nov 102022

November 2022

Some fun chimney tops in town that look like a Parthenon

In 402 CE the reality of barbarian invasions compelled the Western Roman emperor Honorius to move his court from Rome to Ravenna.

In 438 the city was raised to the status of an archbishopric. With the fall of the Western Empire in 476, it became the capital of the first barbarian ruler of Italy, Odoacer (reigned 476–493), who in turn surrendered it to the Ostrogothic king Theuderic (reigned 493–526) in 493. Theuderic made Ravenna the capital of the Ostrogothic kingdom, but in 540 Ravenna was occupied by the great Byzantine general Belisarius.

Are you exhausted yet?

Bringing you up to more modern times: In 1441 Venice established direct rule over Ravenna, but in 1509 the city was returned to the Papal States. In 1512, following the Battle of Ravenna, the city was seized by the French but was soon recaptured. In 1859 Ravenna proclaimed its union with the kingdom of Sardinia, which became the kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo dates to the second half of the 13th century, a period when the Da Polenta family controlled the city.

Following the example of Piazza San Marco, in Venice two columns were placed in the square, the lion of Saint Mark, and a statue of the patron Saint Apollinaris.

In 1509, when Pope Julius II took possession of the city after the defeat of the Venetians at Ghiaia d’Adda, the insignia of the Serenissima was removed from the square. The lion on the column was replaced by the patron saint, and the statue of San Vitale was added.

The square, at first called Piazza del Comune and then Piazza Maggiore, was named after Vittorio Emanuele II after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.

The current name of the square dates back to the institutional referendum of 1946 when over 88% of the people of Ravenna voted in favor of the republic.

Today Ravenna is an agricultural and industrial city. With its population of 160,000, it is a quiet, mid-sized city and the capital of Italy’s northeastern Emilia-Romagna region. And, although it is an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal.

Tourists are drawn to its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with eight buildings comprising the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna” and their mosaics.

Lord Byron lived in Ravenna between 1819 and 1821, driven to do so by his love for a local aristocratic and married young woman, Teresa Guiccioli. Here he continued Don Juan and wrote Ravenna Diary, My Dictionary, and Recollections.

Creating images from small pebbles to ornament the floors of buildings was a technique developed in ancient Greece, which the Romans turned into a technical tour-de-force at Ravenna.

The flooded crypt of San Francesco

The city of Ravenna sits on a relatively soft marshland which has led to a number of structural issues among its buildings and apparently the entire city is slowly sinking. The crypt of San Francesco is now constantly filled with a foot or so of standing water. Since fighting the creeping flood has proved fruitless, the pool is now home to goldfish (and occasionally ducks) which swim among the columns and over the sunken mosaics.

Receiving Mail in Ravenna

As I mentioned the mosaics are why people come to Ravenna. Their vastness is covered in two other posts. Here and Here.

The Church of San Giovanni Evangelista is where the most primitive mosaics can be found.

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe where one will find very sophisticated mosaics

Guidarello Guidarelli

Guidarello Guidarelli after an exceptional military career in the service of Cesare Borgia, took part in the siege and attacks on the city of Faenza in the winter of 1500 – 1501 where he was mortally wounded.

Guidarelli was carried to the house of Penserio Sassatelli where he managed to dictate his will and organize his funeral. His remains were to be buried in the church of San Francesco in Ravenna. As part of his testament, he ordered that 600 ducats be set aside for sculptural works on his tomb, although it took more than 25 years for this wish to be carried out. In 1827 his descendants had his tomb removed from the garden outside of the church of San Francesco to the new Ravenna Art Museum, where it now resides.

The sculpture of Guidarello Guidarelli by Tullio Lombardo became more famous than he may have imagined. According to legend any woman who kissed the statue would be married the same year, while any spouse would eventually have a child as beautiful as the Guidarelli.

In 2004 the statue was cleaned of what must have been layers and layers of lipstick and put behind glass. When I visited it was no longer behind glass, but a guard stood by, I am sure, to make sure I did not lean down and kiss the dear knight.

The Mosaics of Ravenna, Italy – Part 1

Italy, Ravenna

Nov 102022

November 2022

Ravenna is a very quiet town at this time of year. There are very few people and almost no cars, making access to everything easy, and fairly clear of tourists.

The main reason people come to Ravenna is the mosaics. And rightfully so, as they are worth a trip. However, the city holds such a large collection it does take more than one day to absorb. This large number is a result of mother nature being kind to Ravenna* and the fact that it suffered very little during World War II.

The Castle of Teodorico

What is left today of the so-called Palazzo di Teodorico dates from the 7th or 8th century, and was built during the Byzantine Exarchate period as a gatehouse structure for access to the Imperial Palace. The Palazzo was closed for repairs but you can peek in and see a hand full of mosaics that are said to be from the area around the Palazzo.

Mosaics that can be seen in the Palazzo di Teodorico

I start with these as they are simple in design and construction materials.

San Giovanni Evangelista

The mosaics of San Giovanni Evangelista

These mosaics date from 1213 and are incredibly simplistic. Along the walls of the San Giovanni Evangelista, church hangs a disparate collection of images from line ‘drawings’ describing the Fourth Crusade to signs of the zodiac, an upside-down angel, and some strange mythical beasts.

The mosaics of San Giovanni Evangelista provide stylized details of the Crusades

Originally embedded in a church floor, the images depicted in the mosaics were apparently intentionally crude in order to tell their story in plain, straightforward ways for the illiterate churchgoers.

Inside San Giovanni Evangelista

Fortunately, the church was completely empty because when my travel mate Susan said this one was calling Uber I guffawed a little too loud.

A modern and yet similar mosaic by Leonardo Pivi.

The Art Museum of the City of Ravenna, as part of the 7th edition of the Biennale of Contemporary Mosaics 2022, is presenting Prodigy Kid, an extensive exhibition by artists Francesco Cavaliere and Leonardo Pivi. Both artists often work in mosaics.

From here the mosaics become elaborate, elegant, and obvious of and for the highborn.

Capella di Sant Andrea

Mosaics of the Capella di Sant Andrea

The mosaics of the chapel date back to Bishop Peter II (494-519) in the Theodorician period, at the time of the coexistence in Ravenna of the two religious faiths: the Arian one and the Orthodox (catholic) one. The Capella di Sant Andrea is on the second floor of the Archiepiscopal Museum. It is an example of an early Christian archbishop’s chapel and the only building of Orthodox worship built during Theodorician Arianism. Arianism in this context is Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius, a Christian from Alexander, Egypt, and has nothing to do with the word that is spelled with a y.

The floor of the Capella di Sant Andrea

Among the many valuable pieces in the museum, is the ivory throne of Maximian (Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna). The work is in what has been called the “Justinianic style” of early Byzantine art.

The Ivory Throne

Battistero Neoniano

The most ancient monument remaining in the city of Ravenna was partly erected on the site of a Roman bath. The octagonal brick structure was erected during the late Western Roman Empire by Bishop Ursus at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century. The baptistery was finished by Bishop Neon at the end of the 5th century, at which time the mosaic decorations were added.

The Central Dome of the Baptistery features Christ immersed to his ankles in the waters of the Jordan, with John the Baptist: it is the oldest witness of a mosaic depicting Christ’s baptism inside a monument. Christ is surrounded by the figures of the Twelve Apostles.

Farther down the walls in the Baptistery

*By this I meant there have been few damaging earthquakes, however, the following morning I did experience a 4.9 one.

UNESCO Sites and the Mosaics of Ravenna, Italy Part 2

Italy, Ravenna

Nov 102022

November 2022

Basilica di San Vitale

The interior of the dome, with Baroque frescoes from the late 18th century.

Gustav Klimt visited Ravenna twice in 1903, after which began the period of his painting called “aureus”. Many speculate that he did so after seeing the gold of the mosaics in the Basilica di San Vitale.

Yesterday I came here. It was raining and I was safe and sound.

It rained all night even under the window, even in my room.

Today the sun came out, at last. Ravenna is full of misery, and mosaics of an exceptional beauty.

Regards to you and to others

Gustav

[Gustav Klimt to Emilie Floge, December 2, 1903]

Bishop Ecclesius built San Vitale in 525 after his journey to Constantinople. One must assume the mosaics of Hagia Sophia had an influence on the mosaics in this church.

The floor of the Basilica di San Vitale

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Saint’Apollinare Nuovo was built (493-526) by Theoderic, king of the Goths, as the palatine basilica. Despite its former Arian* cult, the inner mosaic decoration show some interesting history. Around 561, after the Goths were run out of town, the church was converted to Catholic orthodoxy (Justinian’s Edict) and consecrated with the name of St. Martin in “Gold Heaven” because of its shining gold lacunar ceiling.

As you see below the damnatio memoriae of the Theodoric’s court, was removed from the palatine basilica and replaced with the curtains.

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia must be considered one of the crown jewels of Ravenna.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Built by the empress Placida during the first half of the 5th century it was conceived as a burial site. It never actually fulfilled its purpose. Despite the name Empress Galla Placidia (d. 450) was not buried in the building, she died in Rome and was buried there.

Alabaster windows of the Mausoleum

Basilica of Sant’Apolinare in Classe

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe

The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare was commissioned between 535 and 538 CE. It was consecrated on May 9 549 CE by Archbishop Maximianus.

The Basilica is the town of Classe, which, in Roman times was a port area that housed the permanent second fleet of the Roman Empire’s Navy. Classe derives from the Latin word Classis which means “fleet”.

In the lower part of the apse, is the figure of Sant’Apollinare in prayer, between two flocks of lambs .In the space between the windows, four bishops, the founders of the main Ravenna Basilicas, are depicted: Ursicinus, Ursus, Severus and Ecclesius.

Built over a burial ground in use until the 4th century, it was dedicated to Sant’Apollinare, the first bishop of Ravenna, his remains reside in the Basilica.

Ancient marble sarcophagi line both walls

Mausoleum of Theodoric

While not filled with mosaics this monument is rather incredible.

Mausoleum of Theoderic

Theodoric the Great was an Ostrogothic king that ruled Italy from AD 493 to 526. Considered a barbarian – as the Ostrogoths originated from outside the borders of the Roman Empire – the rule of Theodoric and the monumental buildings he erected in Ravenna defy the oft misused term “barbarian”.

Theodoric was entombed here after his death in AD 526 but his body was removed in AD 561 after Justinian condemned Arianism.

These have been described as handles for lifting the dome onto the building, all highly speculative. On the twelve square arches are the names of eight Apostles and four Evangelists

The mausoleum subsequently became an oratory and also served as a lighthouse. Silting caused by the nearby river saw the mausoleum mostly submerged until the nineteenth century.

The Mausoleum of Theodoric was built from carved stone (and not brick or large stone blocks). The stones were imported from Istria, including the solid circular stone that forms the roof of the building. This roof stone is 11 meters in diameter and around a meter thick – it remains unclear how this 230-ton stone was transported from Istria or lifted onto the top of the building.

It is said that lightning caused the crack in the dome

Theodoric is believed to have been buried in a sarcophagus made of red porphyry. If Theodoric’s body was actually here, it only remained for a short while before his bones were removed from the complex and scattered by the Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius, the mausoleum itself converted by Flavius Belisarius into a Christian oratory.

UNESCO

All eight buildings – the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Arian Baptistery, the Archiepiscopal Chapel, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, the Church of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, constructed in the 5th and 6th centuries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

*Arianism is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt.

Dante and Ravenna

Ravenna

Nov 102022

November 8, 2022

Dante’s Tomb in Ravenna

I am a lover of Dante. I have read Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) at a minimum, three times, which means I have only begun to read Dante. I spent lockdown walking in my living room and reading aloud, the best way to read Dante in my humble opinion.

I will admit right here, however, that I have never read it properly, and that would be to read it in Italian.

I trust everyone knows what I am talking about, but if not: The Divine Comedy is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri. He began writing it in 1308 and finished in 1320, one year before he died. It is considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. What many do not know is that it helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. You may know it better by its three parts, often presented as three different books: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

Looking into the tomb of Dante

Dante was born in Florence and he remained devoted to his native city all his life. Dante’s life in Florence was shaped by the long history of conflict between the imperial and papal partisans called, respectively, Ghibellines and Guelfs. I will not go into that long story, that history lesson you will need to learn on your own.

In 1302 Dante was accused of corruption and financial wrongdoing and exiled from Florence for two years after he refused to pay a fine. Shortly thereafter he was banned for life and threatened with execution at the stake or beheading if he returned.

The interior of the church that held Dante’s funeral – San Francesco

After traveling through Lunigiana, Verona, and Treviso, Dante spent his final years in Ravenna, and I am here to take in the city where he is buried. Ravenna is where Dante spent his last years, taking part in the cultural life of the city and putting the finishing touches on Commedia (the original name of the work).

Dante’s funeral was held here in San Francesco

In this Romagna city, during the night in September 1321, the greatest poet of Italian literature died after a bout of malaria he contracted following a diplomatic mission to Venice.

During World War II, the casket containing Dante’s remains was removed from the marble tomb and hidden underground to protect his bones from bombing and looting. However, a small packet of “Dante dust” and impressions taken of his skull can be found in the National Central Library of Florence.

The City of Ravenna has done a lot to tie itself to Dante. You will find plaques all over town with Cantos and a reference to a corresponding building or site.

Walk Ravenna with the Divine Comedy

These are rather speculative, and maybe far-fetched, but anything that helps highlight the work of Dante can’t be all that bad in my opinion. Here are a few of those places and the corresponding Canto. I include them because it gives me a chance to show you some of the most amazing mosaics, the reason most come to visit Ravenna, and also to cite a Canto or two.

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

As I mentioned I think some of this is far-reaching so I am simply going to quote from the program the city has put together:

The mosaics of two processions face each other on the walls of the Basilica of S. Apollinare Nuovo: that of the Martyrs and that of the Virgins. This iconography seems to have inspired the procession of the twenty-four elders, all dressed in white and wearing wreaths of lilies on their heads who proceed solemnly two by tow in the griffin parade, where Dante meets Beatrice.

This is he who lay upon the breast of our Pelican, who from the cross elected him to bear the heavy charge. Paradiso XXV vv. 112-114

The mosaic in the Dome of the Neonian Baptistery

Baptistery, also known as Neonian Baptistery, is the place where the Catholics from Ravenna were baptized. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Monument since 1996 and it well represents Baptism as the gateway to Faith which Dante mentions in the fourth Canto – here he describes the Limbo of the unbaptized, where Virgilio himself is hosted.

I saw, above the many thousand lamps, a Sun that kindled each and everyone as ours lights up the sights we see above us – Paradiso XXIII vv 28-30

The apsidal basin of the Chapel of Sant’Andrea

The Sun Dante sees illuminates thousands of other lights is Christ, represented by the Cross “signum gloriae”. This Cross shines in the middle of the apse of the Archiepiscopal Chapel with the starry sky that seems to rotate around it.

As builds from branch to branch throughout the pine wood at the shore of Classe when Aeolus unleashes his Sirocco. – Purgatorio XXVIII vv 19-21

As I said, I think the city is reaching, but it is a fun exploration nonetheless. I will also apologize for the poor quality of the mosaics. The locations they are found in have such low lighting as to make photography difficult, but definitely, heightens one’s sense of awe.

Works Representing Dante at the TAMO Mosaic Museum

This work by Enzo Babini consists of 35 terracotta medallions and is called “The Way of Dante”.
The pieces highlight the fundamental figures of Dante’s poem; Dante himself, Virgil, and Beatrice.

In the cloisters of the museum is an exhibit titled Mosaics of Inferno and Paradise. It is an exhibition of contemporary mosaic works dedicated to Dante and inspired by a few of the Canti from the Divine Comedy. There are 21 mosaics, created in 1965 by mosaicists from the Ravenna school.

The artists gave a stanza from the Canto they chose, I have given you a bit more than the one stanza to help further understand.

Inferno Canto XXXIV

An Excerpt:

The Emperor of the kingdom dolorous
From his mid-breast forth issued from the ice;
And better with a giant I compare

Than do the giants with those arms of his;

Consider now how great must be that whole,
Which unto such a part conforms itself.

Were he as fair once, as he now is foul,
And lifted up his brow against his Maker,
Well may proceed from him all tribulation.

Purgatorio Canto XXIII

An Excerpt:

“Spirits,” said he, “who as they go, perchance,
Their debt of duty pay.” As on their road
The thoughtful pilgrims, overtaking some
Not known unto them, turn to them, and look,
But stay not; thus, approaching from behind
With speedier motion, eyed us, as they pass’d,
A crowd of spirits, silent and devout.
The eyes of each were dark and hollow: pale
Their visage, and so lean withal, the bones
Stood staring thro’ the skin. I do not think
Thus dry and meagre Erisicthon show’d,
When pinc’ed by sharp-set famine to the quick.

Paradiso Canto XIV

An excerpt:

But he who takes his cross and follows Christ
Again will pardon me what I omit,
Seeing in that aurora lighten Christ.

From horn to horn, and ‘twixt the top and base,
Lights were in motion, brightly scintillating
As they together met and passed each other;

Thus level and aslant and swift and slow
We here behold, renewing still the sight,
The particles of bodies long and short,

The Divine Poet by Leonardo Pivi in the Art Museum of Ravenna

The Art of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna, Italy

Bologna, Italy

Nov 062022

November 2, 2022

Il Campianto sul Cristo Morto by Niccolò dell’Arca 1463

“Compianto sul Cristo Morto” (Lamentation over Dead Christ)

Inside the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Vita are two spectacular works of art in terra cotta.

First is the Il Campianto sul Cristo Morto (Lamentation Over Dead Christ) by Niccolò dell’Arca. This dramatic depiction of sorrow and death was commissioned by the brotherhood of the Battuti Bianchi around 1463 and consists of a group of life-sized figures, the Madonna and the Three Marys, St John the Apostle, and Joseph of Arimathea weeping over the dead body of Christ. Christ is laid out and ready for deposition in the tomb.

A 17th-century Emilian writer described them as the “endless weepers”. The piece is best described as a bold work for its time and restless synthesis of late-Gothic and Tuscan humanism, an art-historical diamond in the rough forever able to move, shake and seduce.

I was unable to photograph Jesus due to the small fence, this photograph is from Pinterest

Christ lies at the center with his head reclining on a pillow. The most dramatic of the figures and the one that instantly draws your eyes is Mary Magdalen. Screaming in grief while her clothes appear to be blowing in the wind, she is traditionally shown at the feet of Christ for she was the sinner forgiven by him who had washed his feet and dried them with her hair. She is pictured here in the act of entering the Holy Sepulcher.

The next is Mary of Clopas (sometimes Cleophas ) shown in the act of keeping back the horror of the dead Christ with her hands and crying out her grief at the top of her lungs. She is traditionally identified as the wife of Clopas and as a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

St John the Apostle, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalen

In the middle of the piece is St. John the Apostle, standing erect with his left hand under his chin. He seems to have a feeling of sadness and at the same time serenity.

Next is the Virgin Mary, the woman whose son lies in death before her. Her face appears, in my opinion, to express the greatest sense of grief.

Giuseppe D’Arimatea, Salome, The Virgin Mary, St. John

To her left is Salome (mother of Santiago and Juan Evangelista), who appears to be holding back her pain and tears by clutching her legs with both hands.

The figure to the farthest left, kneeling and looking towards the observer is Giuseppe D’Arimatea. This is the man that asked Pilate for Christ’s body and provided a sepulcher for it. He was a wealthy man and faithful to Jesus, who bought the holy shroud and laid Christ’s body in the tomb he had set up for himself.

Little is known about Niccolo dell’Arca. The first mention of him was in September 1462 in Bologna as Maestro Nicolò da Puglia, a “master of terracotta figures”, most likely for this piece.

Other works of dell’Arca include the terracotta high relief of Madonna di Piazza (1478) on the wall of the Palazzo Comunale in Bologna. Some other important works include the terracotta bust of Saint Dominic (1474) (in the museum of the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna), a marble statue of St. John the Baptist in Madrid, and the terracotta figure of Saint Monica (c. 1478-1480) in Modena.

Madonna di Piazza on the wall of the Palazzo Comunale in Bologna

Transito della Vergine by Alfonso Lombardi 1519-1522

Transito della Vergine was commissioned for the oratory by the confraternity of Santa Maria Della Vita.

Transito della Vergine by Alfonso Lombardi

The subject was inspired by an episode of the apocryphal gospels, at the funeral of the virgin. A jew, who approached the coffin with the intention of profaning the body by tipping it over is thrown to the ground by divine intervention while an angel descends from heaven with his sword drawn for cutting off the hands of the profane. The whole scene pivots on the central figure of the jew. Crushed to the ground and surrounded by the twelve apostles depicted in various attitudes of anger rage and despair.

The use of terracotta for these images is historically important.

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire (c.450), the use of terracotta declined dramatically. The early Renaissance saw its revival as an artistic medium. Donatello and Lorenzo Ghiberti were among the first Renaissance sculptors to rediscover its potential for making Christian images, in particular, the Virgin and Child.

Clay was molded to replicate devotional images, and other figures, which were then fired, painted, and gilded, thus creating a low-cost alternative to more expensive materials, such as marble and bronze. Soon other artists, most notably, the Della Robbia family, popularized the use of glazed terracotta for relief sculpture and church altarpiece art.

Renaissance sculpture was responsible for reintroducing terracotta as a major medium for sculpture.

The Certosa of Bologna

Bologna, Italy

Nov 062022

November 2022

The Certosa di Bologna was a Carthusian monastery established in 1334. It expanded and flourished, and became an expansive complex with a series of internal courtyards, gardens, buildings for lodgings amidst chapels, and a larger church. In 1367 the encircling walls were built to make it an enclosed cloistered community. It became one of the largest and most beautiful monasteries of the order.

Colombario’s Hall

With the introduction of the Napoleonic Edict of Saint-Cloud, stating that Europe burials were prohibited within city walls, Bologna began looking for a site for the dead. The most suitable site was the grounds of the newly suppressed Order of Carthusian Monks, with its ring of cloisters. Suppressed, of course by Napolean, when he established a republic and abolished all monasteries.

The first illustrious tombs were simply painted in tromp l’oeil because the families only considered them temporary burials. They expected a return to traditional burials in family chapels.

However, as the years passed, elaborate and often massive tombs and memorials were built within the various cloisters. Some of the chapels were also turned into burial spaces, and in keeping with Bologna’s love of porticos, these were also added.

Etruscan tombs were found in the Certosa cemetery, between 1869 and 1871, leading to a successful series of archaeological excavations, directed by the Bolognese archaeologist Antonio Zannoni. The materials coming from the tombs, which date back to the middle of the VI and IV centuries BCE are now in the Archaeological Civic Museum.

Despite several hours spent at the Certosa cemetery I only saw a fraction of the grounds. While there are maps, they are wonderful for not getting lost, but not much help on the artists that created so many of these wonderful tombs, and further research did not yield much information either. These are a few that I found extra special.

* * *

* *

A 1950 memorial to Fabio Frassetto, an anthropology professor who passed away in 1933, which acknowledges his son Flavio who was killed in 1945 in military service.

Bologna mayor Ennio Gnudi’s resting place is marked by this 1951 marble sarcophagus carried by six workers representing his life as a union official.

The magnificent sculptures at the “Entrata Principale” are by sculptor Giovanni Putti. He would go on to produce about 30 monuments between 1815 and 1830

Two sculptures of the Entrata Principale

The statues are a statement of the inevitability of death. Popularly known as Piangoloni or Piagnoni (Lamenters), they immediately became symbols of Certosa and sealed the artist’s fame. Soon after he moved to Milan he obtained his most important commissions at the construction sites of the Duomo and the Arch of Peace.

The Esprit Nouveau – Corbusier in Bologna

Bologna, Italy

Nov 062022

November 2022

A 30-minute walk from Piazza Maggiore, sitting in an open field, is the Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau. Originally the project was a model home constructed for the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret.

The Pavillon was conceived as a modular dwelling that could be combined with others like it to form a larger block. The building utilized an open plan measuring 2,200 square feet. The lower floor held living spaces and a kitchen while the second floor housed bedrooms and a bathroom. The house itself, in an attempt to reduce the need for furniture, included a myriad of built-in furniture, cabinets, and shelves.

At the end of the 1925 exhibition, the Pavillion was destroyed. Then, in 1977 Glauco Gresleri, Giuliano Gresleri, and Jose Oubrerie constructed an exact replica of the building in the Fiera District of Bologna, in collaboration with Fondation Le Corbusier.

The Pavillion has been closed for many years. I have read that the Bologna Visitors Bureau is known to give tours, but I was unable to find any information as to how to get a tour, how to access the interior, or even if it was still being taken care of by any organization.

Bologna – Wandering At A Leisurely Pace

Bologna, Italy

Nov 062022

November 6, 2022

I went through Bologna in May of this year at a pace that would defy the speed of light. This trip, 4 full days, was spent seeing the city at any pace I wanted, drinking glasses of Pignoletto, and watching the world go by.

No matter the slow pace, one eventually sees things worth sharing and that is what this post is about.

A set of door knobs on a glass door

I can not enter

This was a framed photo near a water bowl outside a bar. I assume the dog was a beloved pet of the owner or a neighbor, but as someone who adores English Bulldogs, I couldn’t resist taking a snapshot.

Making Tortellini at Bruno and Franco’s Salumeria and Laboratorio of pasta fresca.

Why don’t more museums have these signs?

An interesting base for a lamp post near the Post Office.

The top of a fence post

Statue of Freak Antoni

Roberto Freak Antoni, (1954-2014) was an actor, known for Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band (1996), Skiantos Videonovela (1990), and Paz! (2002). He is immortalized in a park behind Bologna’s Modern Art Museum in a statue of Carrera marble. I think understanding this is a lot like…you had to have been there.

Waiting to start the National Unity and Armed Forces Day Celebrations in Piazza Maggiore

November 4th is National Unity and Armed Forces Day. It has been celebrated across Italy since 1919. The day commemorates the victory in World War I, an event considered essential to the unification of Italy.

Porta Lame

Porta Lame is part of the former outer medieval walls located at the end of Via Lame, where it meets via Zanardi. Originally, a gate, built in the medieval walls in 1334, it had two drawbridges, one for carriages, and the other for pedestrians. The gate was rebuilt in 1677 in a Baroque style by the architect Agostino Barelli. The most recent restoration was from 2007–2009. At the side of the gate are two bronze statues depicting partisans who fought at this site on November 7, 1944.

Part of the wall that once connected with Porta Lame

The tomb of Rolandino dei Romanzi in Bologna built around 1285.

There are some interesting tombs outside of the church of San Francesco in Piazza Malpighi. They are associated with the University of Bologna and the rule of law. By 1158, Bologna law school was so well regarded that Emperor Frederick Barbarossa consulted jurists known as “The Four Doctors of Bologna” on the imperial rights included in Roman law. As Bologna’s University grew so did the importance and wealth of the law professors, leading to the building of these public memorials.

To the best of my knowledge, this is a reference point for topographical survey operations of which the altitude above sea level is known. They are of military origin.

The porticos of Bologna are World Heritage Sites

I had visited the Archiginnasio of Bologna on my last trip, but it is worth returning over and over again. Considered one of the most important buildings in the city of Bologna, it was once the main building of the University. It currently houses the Archiginnasio Municipal Library and the Anatomical Theatre. The Anatomical Theater is a feast for the eyes in woodworking, and my favorite carving is the centerpiece.

The seated female figure is an allegory of Anatomy. She is receiving a femur from a winged putto as a tribute, rather than a flower. She is above two statues called “Spellati” (“Skinned men”), sculpted in 1734 by Ercole Lelli.

Wander through enough palaces and museums in Bologna and you will begin to see the Bolognese once had a fetish for heraldic symbols. The Archiginnasio has the largest existing heraldic wall complex with around 6000. The coats of arms were meant to strengthen the idea of authority and power of the institution. In the University the heraldic decoration also helped emphasize the history and the prestige of the academic tradition, with inscriptions of “intellectual and moral uplifting”.

Bologna will always require a return visit, long or short, it is a small, but intriguing town with so many hidden treasures.

Worth Remembering:

Hotel: Art Hotel Commercianti – perfect location!

Genova, Italy

Genova

May 132022

May 2022

St. Lawrence Cathedral

In all my many travels around Italy, I had never been to Genova. I wish I had more time to discover its secrets. I am on a whirlwind trip, not of my planning. I always say, one must return, I look forward to peeking behind the curtain some day in the future.

There are several lovely squares surrounded by stunning buildings, but much of the city is a meandering mass of narrow streets where you can easily get lost. How did people do it before phones and GPS?

The above is St. Lawrence Cathedral. No photos are allowed, but I paid 5 euros to climb to the roof, so was able to sneak in this picture on a floor where no one was watching.

The building was originally consecrated in 1118, and then renovated around 1230. There is so much more to say about the history of this church, but suffice it to say it grew and grew and grew because the wealthy families of the 16th and 17th centuries were trying to outdo each other with their gifts and expansions.

I was truly in awe of the black and white marble, the floors and the ornamentation of the apse.

Piazza de Ferrari

Above is the Ducal Palace. It sits on Piazza De Ferrari the main square of Genova. This is considered the heart of the city with its recently restored fountain as its centerpiece. The three buildings that surround the fountain and dominate the Piazza are the Ducal Palace, The Stock Exchange and the Palace of the Italian Navigation Society

The Palace of the Stock Exchange

The Palace of the Italian Navigation Society

Arco della Fratorio

The Arco della Vittoria is a memorial arch in Piazza della Vittoria and is dedicated to the Genovese who died during World War I.

This stunning building now houses the Chissone Museum and is an event space

Troughs of Santa Brigida

Traipsing down the street I came upon this unique structure. It is the Troughs of Santa Brigida, one of the few wash houses that survived the invention of the washing machine.

Constructed with funds from the Balbi family it dates to 1656. Built when the plague was rampant in the city, the troughs were to provide the people of the area with clean and abundant water which came from the Rio di Santa Brigida which, at the time, flowed nearby.

Some of interesting things I found in my wanderings:

Looking up one finds religious symbols on most every street corner

One of the thousands of narrow alley ways of Genova

The Strade Nuove

Le Strade Nuove and the series of Royal Palaces along its streets are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Strade Nuove (“New Streets”) are a group of streets built by the Genoese aristocracy at the height of the city’s financial and seafaring power. Much of the area now houses the University of Genova. It is near impossible to take pictures of the large buildings from the narrow streets, so here are a few of the more interesting ornament pieces on the buildings.

I have a thing for Atlas figures, here a couple from around town.

The ubiquitous corner stores.

I look forward to returning to Genova someday and finding out more about its history, architecture and food. It is after all the home of Pesto and Blue Jeans.

Genoa’s jean fabric was a fustian textile of “medium quality and of reasonable cost”. It was “used for work clothes in general”. The Genoese navy equipped its sailors with jeans, as they needed a fabric which could be worn wet or dry. As a San Franciscan I must add that the jeans fabric arrived in America and was made popular by Levi Strauss in 1858 in the city of San Francisco.

Pesto Genovese traditionally consisted of basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino. The name stems from the word pestare, meaning to pound or crush, as originally it was made in a mortar and pestle. It is said that pesto originated from the ancient Romans who ate a paste called moretum, made by crushing together ingredients such as cheese, herbs, and garlic.

Pietro Romanengo

This is a candy store of all candy stores. I read a small paragraph on a website and decided to go find it. It was not there, but a woman who saw I was looking around stopped me, knew exactly what I was looking for and showed me how they had restored a building just down the street and yes, yes, yes I must go there.

Founded in 1780 the store uses ancient recipes historic to Genova. The family is now in its 7th generation . I purchased some candied fruit where they use an ancient recipe to preserve the whole fruit, its flavor and its color. But they have fondants, chocolate and stunning, stunning desserts.

The World’s Fastest Day in Bologna

Bologna, Italy

May 132022

May 2022

This is a whirlwind trip via train through Europe. While I am accustomed to slow travel, I am traveling with a special friend for a special reason and I have put myself in her capable hands. This was an eight hour day in Bologna, a lifetime would not be enough.

The lunch meat of America, one I could never stomach, Baloney has its origins in Bologna. In Bologna it is called Mortadella and is made exclusively from pork meat and pork neck fat, seasoned with black peppercorns, salt and myrtle berries. Boloney is made from any type of meat and contains black pepper, salt, myrtle berries, cloves, anise, caraway, coriander, marjoram, paprika, allspice and other spices in an attempt to reproduce the taste of mortadella. Now that we have that out of the way, let us move on to the glorious city of Bologna, Italy.

Under the Salabrosa Library ruins from the ancient city of Bononia, which dates back to 189 BCE as well as remnants of the Etruscan and Roman eras.

Beginning with the Etruscans, Bologna has been one of the most important urban centers for centuries, first for the Celts and then the Romans and then again in the Middle Ages when it was among the largest of European cities by population.

Bologna is known for its arcades

Bologna’s arcades are a UNESCO world heritage site. Originally made of wood, plaster and brick have taken over to prevent fires. The arcades, all 31 miles of them, are regulated. The height must correspond to be comfortable for a man, riding a horse, wearing a hat, to pass through. You will find the color red throughout Bologna. Bologna is known as the Fat, Red, and the Learn’d City due to its rich cuisine, red Spanish tiled rooftops, left wing politics, and being home to the oldest university in the western world.

Piazza Maggiore

Dominated by the statue of Neptune, Piazza Maggiore is one of the very first squares built in Italy after the fall of the Roman Empire. The square was built starting in the year 1200, when locals felt the need for a central market and a public meeting area. In the 15th century the square took on its present form thanks to the papacy.

Basilica of San Patronio

Construction began on San Patronio in 1390 with the goal of becoming the largest church of the Christian world. The Pope was not happy with anything that might be larger than St. Peter’s in Rome and the project was abandoned. It is still one of the largest Catholic churches in the world.

Pope Gregorious XIII

Pope Gregorious XIII gave us the Gregorian calendar, the international calendar in use today, but I show you his statue for a different reason.

The statue was installed in 1580 during his pontificate and dominated the main square unchanged for two centuries. When Napoleon marched in and ended the rule of Papal States over Bologna, the populace was afraid the statue would be taken down, and melted into canon balls.

The city council had the bright idea of turning Gregorius XIII into Saint Petronius, the patron saint of Bologna. So, between 1796 and 1797, they added a miter and a crosier with the inscription above that reads, “Divus Petronius Protector et Pater” (“Saint Petronius Protector and Father”). In this form it survived the Napoleonic Wars and the unification of Italy. The statue was once again Pope Gregorious XIII in 1895 when all the modifications were removed, but as you can see, the inscription remained.

Memorial to Fallen Partisans

Also found in the square is a memorial to the fallen partisans of Bologna’s World War II-era resistance movement. Family members of partisans killed in the square whom were either hanged in the square or shot against this wall, began putting up photos of the dead, leaving flowers and funerary offerings. Eventually this impromptu memorial was placed behind glass, there are over 2,ooo men and women honored here.

A vestige of the canals of Bologna

Starting in the 12th century, around 40 miles of canals were dug to connect the city with the rivers Reno and Savena. The canals were used to drive water mills and were rumored to have done so for 15 large grain mills, operating through a series of artificial level changes and movable sluice gates. At one time Bologna was the most technologically advanced silk producing town utilizing water in production. Much of the canals have been rerouted into pipes and are no longer visible, but if you wander the streets a little outside of downtown, you can glimpse them here and there.

The 320-foot Asinelli Tower

Between the 12th and the 13th century, Bologna was full of towers. Almost all the towers were tall defensive stone towers. The reasons for the construction of these towers is a bit of a mystery. One hypothesis is that the richest families used them for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy (a power struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV i.e. between church and state).

Part of the University of Bologna in Italy, founded in 1088

The hallway off of the courtyard at the University

In the building that houses the lovely square above is the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio.

Inside the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio are two famous statues of the “Spellati” (skinned) are the work of the well-known artist of anatomical wax displays, Ercole Lelli.

The theater is completely carved from spruce. Started in 1636 and completed in 1737, it was heavily damaged during World War II. Fortunately it was painstakingly recreated using all of the original pieces recovered among the rubble of the building.

The dissection table

The students benches and stunning wood walls

Wandering Bologna

The ceiling of the Salabrosa Library

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