A Touch of Paint To Brighten Up The Place

Yesterday (December 2) I was part of a group on a day long outing in the Terre Etrusco (Etruscan Lands) just a few kilometres outside Roma. It was a day spent tasting the wines and food products of the region, visiting the area and learning a bit about a civilization that predated the Romans by several centuries. I'm planning to post something on the excellent wines and wonderful local produce we experienced in the next few days - after we return from the Christmas Fairs in Bologna - but in the meantime I thought I'd share a look at one of our stops on the way.

Since the Etruscans people in the Lazio region have been decorating their walls with scenes from life (and death) around them. You only have to go 17 kilometres from Roma to Cerveteri to see the Etruscan Necropolis with its tombs painted with scenes of daily life - one of the few indications we have of how that ancient civilization lived. Closer to home the centre piece of Palazzo Massimo (my favorite museum here in Roma) is the dining room from Livia's Villa at Prima Porta. The room gave Livia and her guests a wondrous garden to banquet in - the unknown artist transferring the flora and fauna of her above ground garden into this underground room. And today it gives us an glimpse of the level of sophistication of the woman behind the Emperor and the plants, animals and birds that populated her world. As we move into the Renaissance fresco painters turned more to religious or allegorical subjects to praise both their God and their Patrons. But still scenes of daily life and familiar landscapes crept in as reminders of hearth, heath and home.

The fresco tradition is so much a part of the culture here that it came as no surprise to see the same themes repeated several centuries later at the Castello di Torre in Pietra: daily life around the Castello, religion and the outdoors brought in for the enjoyment of hosts and guests.
The main courtyard of the Castello has remained almost unchanged from this fresco which adorns one of the sitting room. The hexagonal church was the work of Ferdinando Fuga in the early part of the 1700s and is a popular spot for weddings today.

This salon was used for entertaining guests - they could sit in the comfort of the large armchairs and enjoy the cooling shade of a copse of trees and a view of the Castello.

When it was painted Prince Falconieri insisted that a fence had to surround the room - to stop animals from breaking in and disturbing his guests!

In the mid-1700s the Prince commissioned Pier Leon Ghezzi to paint the Grand Salon on the Piano Nobile and most specifically to laud and praise his family and the Papal visit during the Jubilee of 1725 by Pope Benedict XIII. The room is surrounded by the great, the good and others of both the Falconieri and the Papal families and retinues. There are also representations of Falconieri properties in Roma and the region - just so you know that this was merely the summer place.


Pope Benedict XIII, pictured amongst assorted Cardinals and clergy, looks down on the room and gives his papal blessing during a visit during the 1725 Jubilee.

Various members of the household watch the banqueting and festivals taking place below them. Interestingly there are no women seen amongst the crowds celebrating the occasion.


The important members of the family have place of honour over the marble fireplace and almost seem to be ignoring the Holy Father and his retinue at the other end of the room.

A reminder that this was but one of the properties of the Falconieri family - others included a palazzo in Roma and the beautiful Villa Falconieri in Frascati.

The Salla San Francisco is frescoed with scenes from the Saint's life but there was once scene in particular that had nothing to do with him that I found fascinating.

This looks just like a typical landscape painting of the surrounding area - bucolic greenery and a few figures, possibly peasants, framed by gilt columns. But one of the columns has a notice taped to it.
Closer inspection reveals that it is an invocation to the Madonna and slyly it bears Ghezzi's signature.
And those figures - a closer look reveals the Holy Family on the Flight into Egypt. An angel points the way to Joseph and one cherub helps lead the donkey while another gives comfort to the Virgin and child.

Even the corridors of the Piano Nobile are frescoed with allegorical and landscape scenes - many of them reflecting the historical importance of the family.
And the ceilings have been painted to mimic the sky and filled with birds in flight to give a more open feeling to a room. And often the decoration is just a light and fanciful landscape created to give a room needed colour and light.

It's really remarkable how a little paint can brighten up a room!!!

03 decembre - San Francesco Saverio

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Aprile

The hard work of breaking the still frozen earth and seeding begins - the labours of the peasants continuing throughout the Cycle. Meanwhile the ladies of the court play at gardening while some of their friends stroll in the countryside.

01 aprile - Sant'Ugo di Grenoble

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Febbraio

Being the shortest month of the year, it may be only fitting that February is a smaller fresco over a doorway. In the Prince Archbishop's world it was the month for jousting and tournaments. Again the nobles are at play as the peasants mop up the blood and dung on the playing field.

01 febbraio - Santa Verdiana

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Gennaio

This has to be my favorite of all the frescos in the Torre - snowball fights are nothing new.

01 gennaio - Maria Santissima Madre di Dio

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Dicembre

As the nobles warm themselves indoors or head on on a canter through the forest, the peasants hew and haul the wood to keep the Archepiscopal fires burning.

01 decembre - Sant'Eligio

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Novembre

As the cold of winter sets in and the ground becomes hard the nobles head out for the hunt - it appears that a bear and her cubs are their target - while the peasants act as beaters or herd the pigs that will be meat for the winter into the castle.

01 novembre - Ognisanti

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Ottobre

As the cold winds begin to blow through the valleys of the Dolomites, the grape harvest is pressed and the vineyards prepared for the winter. I'm not sure what the aristos are doing in this one - other than tasting the wine. But then that's what aristos do, isn't it?



01 ottobre - Santa Teresa di Lisieux

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Settembre

As the heat of the summer begins to abate in the north - Trento is located in the Dolomites - the nobles entertain themselves with falconry and the hunt. Meanwhile the peasants harvest the root vegetables that will become a winter staple and prepare the fields for next years crops.

01 settembre - Sant' Egidio abate

Il Ciclo di Mesi - Luglio

In Prince Archbishop Georg von Liechtenstein's world (1400)during the heat of July the nobles besported themselves in a cool grove beside a stream. The peasants, however, continue to toil under the hot sun.

01 luglio - San Secondino

Il Ciclo dei Mesi - Giugno

Even in 1400 the month of June seemed to be the favoured time for weddings - May having been the month for courting. In the lower foreground an richly dressed wedding party sets off on its way accompanied by musicians. Two nobles leave their elaborate stone castle bearing gifts for the bridal pair. In the upper background the peasants dressed in their rough homespuns milk the cows, carry the milk, churn the butter and shape the cheese, all of which will no doubt appear on the tables at the wedding feast.

In the cycle there is never any direct contact between the two worlds - Liechtenstein's view of the perfect Medieval world.

01 giugno - San Giustino

Throwing Out the First Ball of Spring - 1492

Though last month's weekend in Spoleto was cut short we did get a chance to see a great deal of this intriguing medieval town in the mountains of Umbria. Brought back to notice in late 1950s by Gian Carlo Menotti and his partner Samuel Barber and their Festival of the Two Worlds, it is a stunning example of what can be accomplished by careful restoration. Though this year's Festival (it would be the 51st) seems up in the air we counted more than 12 buildings under restoration in the historic centre - a close look at the photo at the left reveals at least 6 cranes in the northern part of the town alone.

The restored Rocca or Albornoz Fortress was built in 1359 as a Papal stronghold - when she controlled the Duchy, Lucrezia Borgia often slept there between 1499 and 1503. It hovers over the town and dominates the valley below.Used as a prison from 1817 until 1983 it has been converted into a National Museum for the treasures of the region from pre-Christian to late Renaissance times.
The Camera Pinta, in the tower of the Courtyard of Honour, is decorated with a wonderful series of frescoes dating from the 15th century depicting knightly and courtly pleasures. The subjects and the colours have a certain spring-like spirit to them, and I love this delightful couple playing catch over an archway. They've been playing this game for over 500 years now - I wonder if he ever caught the ball?

04 aprile - San Isidoro

Observations

Western Easter Sunday this year falls on an uncommonly early date. The last time this occurred was in 1913 and the next time will be in 2160. The earliest possible date, 22 March, is even more rare: the last time was 1818 and the next time will be 2285. Until 1582 the date of Easter was identical in both the Western and Eastern church, after that point the different methods of calculation at times led to wide variations. This year there is over a month difference between the Western and Eastern observations of Easter.

Of course the differences between the two rites extended far beyond the dates of Easter and are best left to theological minds. But this past month in visiting the 12th century Duomo in Spoleto, the 9th century Basilica of Santa Prassede in Rome and various churches in Athens I was struck by how close they were artistically in earlier times.

This life-size crucifix by Alberto Soszi dating from 1178 once stood behind the alter of the Duomo in Spoleto. It is parchment mounted on wood and is now conserved in a glass case elsewhere in the Duomo.

A window display in Athens of vestments and vessels for Good Friday though modern reflects the iconic tradition of the Orthodox Church.

There is very little difference between the painting style of this 13th crucifix from Spoleto and the one in the window above.

The Basilica di Santa Prassede here in Rome is filled with stunning examples of 9th century mosaics. This apse mosaic of Christ the Redeemer is very much in the Byzantine style that was to be replaced by a more realistic style in the West but remain central to the Eastern Church.

This fresco of the Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Stephen in the Capella Eroli in the Duomo at Spoleto is by the 15th century artist Pinturicchio. It shows the change in style that was evolving in the Western Church during the Renaissance.

Whereas this beautiful Madonna and Child is a modern continuation of the Eastern tradition of icon painting from the 11th century.

23 marzo - Pasqua di Risurrezione