Happy Holidays

Te voglio bene assaie
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai 

 (Lucio Dalla, Caruso)

I love you so much
I really love you, so much
  it's a tie that melts the blood inside the veins, you know

 

Elizabeth and Angelica wish you Happy Holidays from some of the most beautiful places in Italy.

Nativity Scenes

(photo: Elizabeth)

Part of the magic of Christmas in Italy is the Nativity. You will find Nativity scenes (Presepe) in every church. The city of Naples is famous for its wonderfully ornate nativity scenes and clay figurines.

Presepe Cuciniello, Napoli, Museo di San Martino

Families organize elaborate nativity scenes in their homes, complete with grottoes, wooden barn sheds, straw and small figurines. My nephew said he spent an entire afternoon with his girlfriend creating a cave scene in the middle of the living room (which included a volcano). It is a big deal!

There is also an extension to this theme, the “Living Nativity”. Small villages organize themselves and recreate Bethlehem with the life and times surrounding the birth of  Jesus Christ. Casole d’Elsa is one such small Tuscan town. They organize a living nativity every other year. It is organized in this way because of logistical challenges, since they have over 200 people participating! A large portion of the village becomes a live stage set. One hopes for no rain. 

Last year we drove 1 ½ hours to arrive to this town south of Florence. There were signs to park quite a distance away and a shuttle bus was even organized to take us to the main gate. It was late in the afternoon and more people present than we expected. There was an admission fee and quite a wait to enter, because of crowd control on the small streets. My husband wanted to leave (he tends to do that when there are crowds). I convinced him to stay since we had driven all this way! So we paid our ticket and eventually entered into a closed off section of town. 

Weaving  (Photo: Elizabeth)

Inside a home (photo: Elizabeth)

We stepped back into time. There were Roman soldiers and diplomats, artisans working in shops, families cooking by the fire, kids playing in the streets, and an assortment of animals, music, dancing and candlelight. 

At a certain point we were even offered some warm red spiced wine from a terracotta jug from a woman in a tavern. The grand finale ended with the adoration of Baby Jesus. Everyone was there - the Holy Family, angels, shepherds, attendants, lambs, chickens, goats, even cows. A truly magical atmosphere that recalls the true spirit of the holidays. 

Baking bread (photo: Elizabeth)

- Posted by Elizabeth

Giorgio Vasari

I know this year is almost finished but I feel that I should mention that 2011 is the fifth centenary of the birth of Giorgio Vasari (1511 – 1574). This artist was born in the small Tuscan town of Arezzo in 1511. Vasari was in the service of Cosimo I, who commissioned important works from this artist for the prestige of the Medici family in Florence.


Vasari was a multifaceted Renaissance man- an architect, painter (on canvas and frescos), a designer of theatrical scenery and author. His book, “The Lives of the Artists”, is a milestone for artists and historians even today. In it he writes biographies about artists from Cimabue to Michelangelo and is the first to systematically organize them as history. The book is also a true recipe to understand differing artistic techniques of the time.


Among the most important projects in which Vasari was involved: the Uffizi gallery (the family’s administrative building); the Vasari Corridor (which links the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace); the Last Judgement frescoes inside the Cathedral Dome (begun by Vasari and finished by Federico Zuccari); the celebrated frescos concerning the defeat of Pisa in the Hall of Five Hundred in the Palazzo Vecchio. In writing about this work in a post last year (November 2010), I mentioned about the ongoing investigation to find a lost work by Leonardo da Vinci “The Battle of Anghiari”. This work is assumed to be underneath the frescoes by Vasari. The analysis is being   carried out by Prof. Maurizio Seracini (who was my professor when I was studying Fine Art Restoration at the UIA).  The last test with a special probe shows that indeed da Vinci has really painted on a wall cavity. The investigations are still continuing! The arrival at this conclusion was possible also in thanks to Vasari’s   biography and to archival documents relating to the Hall’s renovations which Vasari himself carried out.  


  - Posted by Angelica

Vin Santo

This fall I had the opportunity to take a couple on a day tour of the famous Chianti Classico wine country between Florence and Siena. We lucked out with the weather and had a great day, visiting three “in Chianti” towns and visiting two wineries.

In the morning we went to the nearby town of San Casciano and visited the Fattoria Le Corti winery. A historical villa dating from the 17^th century, Le Corti has an incredible Italian Renaissance Garden with an imposing cellar underneath where both wine and olive oil production take place. We were there in the midst of the grape harvest season and we were lucky enough to visit their “appassitoio”.

Walking up a flight of stairs to gain access inside this room we saw hand picked trebbiano, malvasia and sangiovese grapes drying on hooks and on racks under the rafters. This ventilated room allows for moisture to evaporate from the grapes in order to make a special sweet wine called Vin Santo. After about three months in this room the grapes will be pressed and the juice will be put in small barrels which are cemented shut. Their Vin Santo, Sant'Andrea, will be bottled after five years. So the 2011 grapes you see here will be put in barrels and bottled only in 2016!

  
There are many theories for the origins of the name Vin Santo, but most likely  it comes from the historic use of wine in religious mass, where often a sweet wine was preferred. Archival records abound which inform us that Florentine wine merchants actively marketed this sweet wine during the Renaissance. Vin Santo is still a wonderful way to finish a meal. Have a sip of this "holy wine" and be sure to dip a cantuccini cookie or two in it. Cheers! 
- Posted by Elizabeth