mercoledì 18 luglio 2007

La festa dei Noantri

The “Madonna del Carmelo”, in Rome, has assumed, in the years, several peculiar connotations becoming, around 1920, the festivity of “de noantri” (noantri, in roman dialect, means “we other” referring to people who live in Trastevere district regarding those who live, instead, on the opposite side of Tiber river!!). A legend tells that some fishermen, fishing on the Tiber river towards the half of July of a no-well known year, collected, from the river, a case which in the inside hidden one precious statue of the Madonna.
The fishermen, delighted by the beauty of the Vergine, hurried to transfer it in the sant'Agata church where still today she is. From that day, about on the third Sunday of july the Madonna goes on procession from San’Agata church through all the alleyways of Trastevere in order to reach saint Crisogno church, where she stays for eight days at the end of which she comes back to sant'Agata.
The procession was anciently organized by the company of the "vascellari", the potters, but today it’s a task of the “confratelli della Arciconfraternita del Ss. Sacramento e Santa Maria del Carmine”, who, with their white traditional frock, carry the statue throughout Trastevere.
This celebration, a time characterized by the presence of the "vascellari" with their jug overflow of wine, is today characterized by the pagan festivity called festivity of “noantri”.
During these days all people of Trastevere stand to this public party in a climate of common joy with open taverns, manifestations, wondering theatres and open markets. For a week Trastevere become like a small village with all tourists surprised by the caos and confusion and often unware on what is the Christian recurrence.... remember always: FESTA DEI NOANTRI la festa dei Trasteverini!!
Have much fun!

martedì 17 luglio 2007

When Mastro Titta crossed the bridge...

Public executions in the 19th century -Rome-
"Viengheno: attenti: la funzione è llesta..."
(Here they come: pay attention: the ceremony is short...)

These are the opening words of one of several sonnets by the famous dialect poet G. G. Belli inspired by executions that took place in Rome.When the city was ruled by the papal authority, the so-called 'Pope King', up to 1870, public executions were one of the common people's favourite happenings, attended by crowds, who found this unholy practice not only amusing, but even took their sons to witness the event for educational purposes, on the very moment the blade fell down, they used to give the kid a slap, as a tangible reminder of what one day might have been their own fate if they had got into trouble with justice!From 1796 to 1864 the protagonist of these frequent executions in Rome was: Giovanni Battista Bugatti, whose nickname Mastro Titta, became legendary and a synonym for 'executioner': during his 70-year long activity, he performed 516 executions, or justices, as they used to be called.
Although he professed one of the most outrageous activities, Mastro Titta carried out his duty with a certain detachment, a traditional roman attitude towards ill fate. He is even known to have sometimes offered the condemned a last pinch of snuff (see the photo above), almost as to say don't blame me for being here today, or cheer up: it won't take long, I'll do a neat job!!Mastro Titta lived on an official job: he was an 'umbrella-painter', an activity for which he ran a shop next to his house in Borgo district, on the western side of the river Tiber, next to the Vatican, where via degli Ombrellari (umbrella-makers street) still exists today. Due to his other more occasional 'work', for the sake of his own safety, he was not allowed to enter the city's central districts (i.e. on the opposite side of the Tiber), except officially, for the well-known reason and so on every crucial day he wore his scarlet cloak and 'cross the bridge', this meant that somebody was going to lose his head very soon….
Public executions used to be held on fixed spots, one of these was the small square at one end of the bridge in front of Sant'Angelo Castle, whose charming view was still not enough to deaden the cruel show it used to host.
Another place was piazza del Popolo. Still today, a plaque set in 1909 by a democratic association remembers two patriots sentenced here in 1825, their capital punishment being ordered by the pope, without evidence. The story of the two patriots also inspired movie director Luigi Magni for the making of one of his best known titles, The Conspirators (original title: Nell'anno del Signore, 1969).
Another typical feature of the gloomy cerimony was the procession of friars who accompanied the condemned up to the scaffold, wearing a black cowl with a pointed hood.They belonged to the Confraternita della Misericordia, "Brotherhood of Mercy", a centuries-old congregation founded in Florence. Their see in Rome was by the church of San Giovanni Decollato ("St.John Beheaded", i.e. St.John the Baptist), located in a narrow street by via dei Cerchi, another spot where executions took place in the 1700s and 1800s.
The congregation was in charge of delivering religious consolation to the condemned; after the execution, the same friars also carried away the corpses to the church's cloister, where they buried them.By an ancient privilege, granted by pope Paul III in 1540, each year the Brotherhood of Mercy had the right of freeing one convict sentenced to death: the choice was carried out by gathering information about the several prisoners, about their crimes and their trials, by asking the victims' families for forgiveness (the convict could not be freed without their permission), and by finally holding a ballot among the members, to choose which prisoner was more worthy of being saved, and when to hold the ceremony. On the given day, a procession of friars would march up to the jail, where the chosen prisonery would be officially handed over to them. The congregation would have then found the man an honest job or, in the case of a stranger, would have given him some money to travel back home.
(Symbol of the congregation, a head on a plate)
Memories of the aforesaid rituals and ceremonies are now kept in the congregation's Historic Chamber, by St.John's church, open to the public once a year, on June 24, the saint's own day.
What is left of Mastro Titta, instead, besides his legendary fame, is the scarlet cloak that the executioner used to wear on official occasions, when he was allowed to 'cross the bridge'; it is now on display in Rome's Criminology Museum.

lunedì 16 luglio 2007

Il porcino della Minerva

Romans adore playing with words and give picturesque name to the monuments...
For example, look at the image below….
Look at the animal who is carrying the obelisk, may you seen something like a piggy?!
No, absolutely no.
The big nose make us sure…is an elephant, without a dubt!!
Well, the question is: if the image represent an elephant, why ever do romans call the monument “Il porcino della Minerva”(the Minerva's piggy)?
Beware: “porcino” cames from the roman dialect and means a piggy; today, for phonetic reasons, we usually call it “pulcino” that means a chicken (in roman dialect Pulcino is pronounced Purcino, i.e. very similar to the nickname). A piggy, a chicken but…where is the elephant?!
Absolutely misleading! ;-)
The monument stands in piazza della Minerva, just behind the Pantheon, right in front of St.Mary Over Minerva, a Dominican church whose name comes from the fact that it was built over the ruins of a temple dedicated to Minerva, roman goddess of knowledge.
In 1665, a small obelisk inscribed with hieroglyphs was discovered in a garden belonging to the Dominican monastery. For this reason pope Alexander VII decided to have it raised in front of the same church. To choose a base for the obelisk, a number of designs were presented to the papal commission. One of them was by a Dominican priest, Father Domenico Paglia, who was also an architect. According to his project, the obelisk would have rested over six small hills (the same hills featured in the crest of the Chigi family, whom Alexander VII belonged to), with a dog on each corner; the dog is the symbol of Dominican priests, the name cames from latin Domini canes, i.e. "the Lord's dogs", to remark their fidelity.But the pope rejected this design, as he wanted the statue to be a symbol of the Holy Knowledge, to recall the original dedication of this site. The famous artist Bernini was asked to devise a different solution. He presented several drawings, among which one featuring an elephant
The pope chose this one, as an allegorical representation of fortitude: "...a strong mind is needed to support a solid knowledge", reads the inscription on one side of the base.
In the sculptor's original plan the obelisk would have fully rested on the elephant's legs, without a stand below the animal. But Father Paglia, who was rather envious for having his project been rejected, argued that according to traditional canons, by which no weight should rest vertically above an empty space, as it would not be steady nor long-lasting, a cube should have been inserted under the elephant's belly
Bernini strongly opposed this alteration but the pope decided to have the cube added to the statue all the same.The sculptor also tried to disguise the rough cube by adding a saddle-cloth to the elephant's back but, despite his attempt, the change still gave the statue a rather heavy look. For this reason, which makes the elephant resembling a pig, the people of Rome nicknamed the monument Porcino della Minerva ("Minerva's Piggy")!
However Bernini took revenge upon his rival: in the final version of the statue, carved in 1667 he drew the elephant pointing towards the Dominican monastery with his rear end, the tail slightly shifted to the left, in the attitude of saluting Father Paglia and the other Dominican friars in a rather... obscene way!

venerdì 13 luglio 2007

Città di Noto (Sicily)

Coming back from my sicilian holidays i want today show you a beautiful pearl of the Mediterranean sea......

-The city of NOTO-
Noto town hall
Noto is a living book. Every corner, even the hidest, speaks about history, people, colours, shows you capitals, baroque friezes, churches and noble palaces. There are cities and countries who recall the purity and the harmony of art. Noto, is one of them; with its architectural and cultural beauties the visitors has the feeling to be in a temple of living stones.

Panoramic view of the city
The city, honoured recently by UNESCO with the title of "cultural patrimony of humanity", represents the emblem of wealth and luxury in the Baroque age in Sicily. Palaces are maiden of yellowish stone, their colour changes during the day like only the sun can do, is an unexpected treasure, scattered in the territory, containing stories of ancient civilizations.

Chiesa madre San Nicolò after the fall 13 of march 1996
The church of San Nicolò it has been opened again on june 2007 after a long restoration lasted more than 10 years, after the fall happened in the 1996. Infact, if you see the photo above the church it hasn't get the roof. Fortunately the fall didn't regard the front of the church that, probably thank to a miracle, didn't break down! The front and the dome (that part which didn't collapse) are certainly the best part of the church while the inside aisle, even if re-constructed exactly as it was before the fall, is not exceptional considering that all ancient paintings they have been destroyed.
Church of San Domenico
If you decide to spent one day in this beautiful little city (how to get look here) the opportunities not to miss are: a visit to the centre of the city (look here for itineraries) enjoying its history and its popular traditions, a plunge into the blue sea, parades and village festivals. Among these don't forget the beautiful Flower Festival the last week of may! After 22 years this Festival has become a real tradition and custom so lot that the Flower Festival of Noto is, by now, a fixed event, rich in appointments, shows, assemblies and costume parades! When in Sicily don't forget to try the yummy "granita siciliana" and "brioches col gelato"! ;-)

Be amazed by the art, the culture, the traditions, the sea and the sun of one of the most beautiful city of Sicily.
I'm sorry but many links are in italian i could no find them in english, sorry!

giovedì 12 luglio 2007

Il colosseo

“St’arcate rotte c’oggi li pittori
Viengheno a ddiseggnà cco li pennelli,
Tra ll’arberetti, le crosce, li fiori,
Le farfalle e li canti de l’uscelli…”
(from “Riflessione immorale sur Culiseo” di G. G. Belli Poeta romanesco 4 settembre 1835)

Colosseo and the Anfiteatrum Flavium...could they be the same?
Did you ever ask yourself why, starting from a no-well known time in the story, people started to call it Colosseo?
The "Anphitheatrum Flavium" was built by the Emperor Vespasiano in the 72 d.c. According to the most known legend the name Colosseo came from the enormous statue, called the “Colosso di Nerone” (more than 35 meters high!), built near the Anphitheatrum Flavium and representing the Emperor Nerone. Nowdays there is a modern base made in "tufo" at the entrance of the metro line A Colosseo reminding us the original position of the ancient Colosso. This picture would be an ideal re-construction of the Colosso di Nerone (if you want to have the exact chronology of the Colosseo click here).

This is what the story transmitted us....but a no less credited legend transmitted us by Armannino Giudice tell about the Colosseo as a temple lived by demons! According to the legend the clergyman of this temple at the end of every ceremony addressed to the adepts with the question "Colis eum?" (do you adore him? referring to the devil); the name Colosseo would derive from it (colis eum = colosseo). Probably this legend has its ground of trouth if later Pope Clemente affixed a big wooden made cross on it and after him Pope Benedetto XIV decided to exorcised it and consacre the monument to the memory of Jesus and his passion.
This story lasted over a long time, so lot that also Benvenuto Cellini speaks about it in one of his novel regarding his best friend Agnolino Gaddi. He was so terrified by the demoniac manifestations showed in the Colosseo that..."fece una strombazzata de coregge con tanta abundanzia de merde, la quale fece piu della zaffetica... (zaffetica is a sulphur mixture used by exorcist to drive away demons)" and devils run away asphyxiated!
The legends apart the first time that the writing name of "Colosseo" appeared was on an inscription of the venerable Beda in the VII century:

Quamdiu stabat Colyseus Stabit et Roma;

Quamdo cadet Colyseus Cadet et Roma;
Quamdo cadet Roma Cadet et mundus.