ItalyUpdate

CARNIVAL BATTLE OF THE BEANS

The Carnival season, held all over Italy with many local variations, includes a focus on typical regional foods, and winter staples like beans feature prominently in many areas. The small town of Santhìa (Piedmont) claims to stage the oldest annual Carnevale bean cook-up in Piedmont, dating from the 17^th century.

This year the traditional bean feast involves 20,000 portions of beans bubbling in copper cauldrons set out in a line along the town centre.

However, Santhìa has a rival. Chiavazza, a hamlet on the fringe of Biella (Piedmont) at the foot of the Alps, cooks a hundred pans of beans for the Carnevale annual feast. Although the tradition is relatively new, (dating from the early 19^th century), it managed to get a nomination in the Guinness Book of Records in 2022.

This did not go down well with Santhìa which tries each year to upstage its rival. This year, however, Chiavazza has a new trick up its sleeve . It is offering “chocolate beans” as a crowd puller. This has nothing to do with the dragèe chocolate sweets that supermarkets and confectioners sell. Instead, the secret recipe launched by Chiavazza involves adding Ecuador bitter cocoa powder to the beans' cooking water. Organizers claim that this addition adds greatly to the flavour and makes the cooked beans more digestible

Info: https://prolocosanthia.it https://www.comune.biella.it

THE COLOURS OF THE GOLDEN HOUSE

During recent excavations under the pavement of the Domus Aurea in Rome (the Emperor Nero's “Golden House”), archeologists found a cache of containers with pigments to create the colours that would have been used by artists like Famulus (also called Fabullus), the most important artist of Imperial Rome, and his assistants. Traces of their work are still visible on the walls of some of the rooms in the palace that Nero built as his private residence and which may have been one of the contributing factors of his downfall. After the fire that destroyed much of the city, malicious rumours went around that the emperor had allowed the fire to spread deliberately in order to clear more space for his palace and park.

The pigment tanks contained traces of realgar (ruby sulphur or arsenic sulphide), a mineral used to produce tones of red. The most exciting find, however, was an exceptionally large ingot of “Egyptian Blue” weighing 2.4 kgs. This pigment, used in art since the early Bronze Age in Egypt and Mesopotamia, is a man-made compound of silicone, limestone, copper and carbonate of soda, widely used in frescos and other decorative work. Expensive and considered precious, it is usually found in much small fragments or in powdered form.

Info: Tel.+39.06.3996.7700/6998443 https://cultura.gov.it>

CREMONA 3Ts and CELEBRATED VIOLINS

Recently, one of the world's rarest musical instruments, known as the Joachim Ma violin, came under the auctioneer's hammer and was sold for $11.25 m, just under the record price paid for the Lady Blunt Stradivarius in 2011, which fetched $15.9 m.

These unique string instruments, which all have individual names usually alluding to previous owners, were all made in Cremona (Lombardy) by celebrated luthier families. For five centuries, they have never been surpassed in quality, making Cremona the undisputed capital of violins, violas, cellos and double basses as created by the families Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari. In his day, Stradivari alone created over 1100 violins and violas and over 80 cellos, an estimated 500 of which have survived, mainly in museums and private collections.

The wider world knows Cremona as the home of violins, but Cremona itself focusses on other characteristics. It calls itself the city of the three “Ts”...turon, turas and tetas. In local dialect these stand respectively for torrone (the nougat confection invented in 1441 for the wedding feast of the heirs of the two most powerful local families – Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, and now a standard Christmas treat), turas for the 112m high Torrazza Bell Tower (one of the tallest steeples in Europe), while the third - “tetas”- is an allusion to the charms of the local women.

A splendid preserved art city, Cremona is little visited by tourists, except for the Violin Museum which displays a collection of the world's most precious musical instruments as well as “a luthier's workshop”, where visitors can observe skilled craftsmen creating string instruments in the traditional way.

M.Stenhouse

Info: Tel. Museo del Violino +39.0372.801801/080809 https://museodelviolino.org

THE RETURN OF THE “WELCOME BACK” MADONNA

San Lorenzo, the church of the Medici family in Florence, has welcomed back a rare 14^th century wooden sculpture of a Madonna and Child, known as La Bentornata after a delicate and laborious seven-year restoration carried out by the expert restorers of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure institute of Florence.

The life-sized statue, carved out of a single piece of wood and considered a masterpiece of Medieval sculpture, is the work of Florentine artist Giovanni Fetti. The strange nickname “La Bentornata” which literally means “Welcome Back” does not refer, however, to the lengthy present work that absented the Madonna for seven years from her usual place in the Basilica, but apparently alludes to an earlier episode when the much loved icon was moved to a new site in the church before being returned to her normal stance near the main altar.

The Opificio delle Pietre Dure, which literally means “Workshop of the Semi-Precious Stones” was set up in 1588 by Ferdinando I dè Medici and specialized in inlaid work and mosaics. It is now the world's leading conservation and restoration institute.

Info: Tel. +0039.055.26511 https://opificiodellepietredure.cultura.gov.it

YEAR OF HONOURS FOR MUSICIAN PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA

Some of the world's most important polyphonic choirs are converging on Palestrina, a small town near Rome, to celebrate the 500^th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, considered one of the greatest 16^th century Italian musicians and developer of counterpoint.

The celebrations, coordinated by the Pierluigi da Palestrina Foundation and the Italian Ministry of Culture, kicked off on the 11^th January 2025 with a performance by the University of Minnesota choir (USA), followed by the leading British vocal ensemble, The Tallis Scholars.

The year's programme also features the Sistine Chapel Choir from Rome, the Westminster Cathedral Choir (UK), the Lex Pacis choir of Tokyo among others.

The Foundation also scored a coup this anniversary year, with the acquisition of a portrait of the musician dated 1566, former property of a private American collector. The portrait, which is also the subject of a commemorative stamp issued by the Italian Post Office, will be hung next to a later portrait hanging in the Museum dedicated to the musician, which is situated in his former home in the historic centre of the town of Palestrina.

1000. STENHOUSE

      Info: Tel. +39.06.9538083 www.fondazionepierluigipalestrina.it

NAPLES FASCINATING NEW TOURIST CIRCUIT

A few years ago, the Rione Sanità quarter of Naples was considered disreputable. It was an area that visitors usually avoided, despite the fact that it lies in the very heart of the city, next to some of the most important monuments. Over the past few years, however, the 2 sq. km area (estimated 32,000 residents) has undergone a transformation, thanks to the courage and determination of a group of local young people, who got together in 2006 and created a social cooperative that they courageously called “La Paranza”. The name literally refers to the typical local trawling fishing boat but it has also some negative connections that the cooperative founders were decided to transform into a new positive image).

The primary objective was to introduce specialized guided tours to the Rione's many historic churches, works of art, ancient monuments and the fascinating network of catacombs and tunnels that ran in strata under the little piazzas and narrow streets. The initiative obtained the support of the local city council, as well as the enthusiastic response of archeologists, art historians and restorers who collaborated with the project.

La Paranza's initiative has been so successful that regular visits are now conduced to forgotten gems like the ancient Greek cemetery under the Church of Santa Maria della Maddalena dei Cristallini, the historic Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso, the church of Santa Maria della Sanità and the studio-museum of contemporary artist Jago (best known for his controversial bust of Pope Benedict XVI “Habemus Hominem”) in the Church of Sant'Aspreno ai Crocigeri.

Rione Sanità is now a regular part of the tourist circuit of the fascinating city of Naples.

M.STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.081.7443714 www.catacombedinapoli.it

MAGIC at TURIN 2025

Turin, known as the City of the Occult or “the Magic City,” will see the world's greatest illusionists perform between the 14^th - 19^th July 2025 for the annual World Conjurers' Championship.

The event will be held in the Lingotto Congress Centre and over 150 performers from all over the world are expected to participate. Competition will be tough!

Turin is considered to be a particularly suitable venue because of its reputation as a “Magic City”, part of two triangles of the occult: the “White Triangle” that extends to Prague and Lyon, and the “Black Triangle” that connects London and San Francisco.

Legends regarding mysterious forces abound, with the distinctive spire of the Mole Antonelliano credited with mysterious powers capable of attracting supernatural phenomenae. Piazza Statuto is indicated as the centre of the black heart of Turin, with its statue of Lucifer crowning the central monument. In actual fact, this has no connection with devils or demons: it is a commemorative sculpture of an angel, set there in memory of the many workmen who died during the construction of the Frejus Tunnel in the middle of last century.

Info: www.comune.torino.it fismitaly2025@mastersofmagic.tu

CARDINAL'S PLEASURE HOUSE REVIVES

The newly restored Loggia del Vino (a domed pavilion set in the Villa Borghese Park in

Rome) has been the setting for a series of contemporary art installations created by a team of international artists. The project has been named “Lavinia” in honour of Lavinia Fontana, a woman artist of the Renaissance, whose works are part of the Borghese Gallery collection.

The Loggia del Vino is a 17^th century “folly”, built between 1612-1618 by the architect Flaminio Ponzio for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, Pope Paolo V's nephew. It was connected with the Cardinal's palace by underground passages and was used for convivial evenings of wine and feasting in a cool summer setting for the pleasure of Borghese's guests.

The Loggia had been closed for many years while restoration has proceeded by stages, bringing back to life the charming central fresco of the Banquet of the Gods, by Archita Ricci. Some decorative elements can no longer be recovered, such as the sculptures of sphinxes, acquired in the 19^th century by the Ny Glyptotek of Copenhagen.

At the moment, the building is open to the public.

Info; Tel. 060608 www.sovraintendenzaroma

THE BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS PROMOTES RURAL RETREATS

The 17^th January, Feast Day of Sant'Antonio Abate (not to be confused with the better known St. Anthony of Padua), sees a different kind of pilgrim flocking to the churches of big and small towns in Italy. Sant'Antonio Abate is the patron saint of animals, the special protector of rural communities, and following a long tradition, farmers and pet owners bring their animals to church for the annual blessing. A popular tradition claims that on the night of the 17^th January, the animals acquire the faculty of (human) speech.

For practical reasons, the festival is now held on the nearest Sunday, so the colourful event took place on the 19^th January 2025. This year, the Feast has a special significance. The rally in St. Peter's Square was organized by the Coldiretti (the national Italian Farmers' Association) and the Italian Breeders Association (AIA), under the theme “Seeds of Inclusion. The new welfare of the Italian Farm”. The aim was to highlight the vital role animals play in helping people with physical and mental difficulties through techniques like pet therapy, hippo therapy and plant cultivation, but in addition the concept of agriospizio was included. While the Agriasilo which offers day care for preschool children in country settings is now well established, the agriospizio is still limited. It aims to offer acquired an alternative to traditional retirement homes, with elderly guests accommodated in rural settings attached to farms where they could take part in local activities and cultivate their own garden plots.

Tel. +39.06. 4682414 https://caa.coldiretti.it

PESARO REPORTS TRIUMPHANT CULTURE YEAR

As the art town of Pesaro (Marche) passes the baton on to Agrigento (Sicily), elected the new 2025 Italian Capital of Culture, Pesaro administrative council presented a positive balance of the initiatives organized last year, asserting that the initiative had not only stimulated the town to create new cultural attractions, but had boosted tourism.

Pesaro, the birthplace of the father of Italian opera Gioacchino Rossini, has staged a popular annual Rossini Festival since 1980, but its many other attractions were little known to the general public. The Year of Italian Capital of Culture, however, provided a stimulus to include Pesaro on the tourist map and involved the entire surrounding territory with 50 provincial towns participating actively.

The town organized over a thousand events, bringing visitor figures up by 30% in low season and doubling the number of museum visitors, thanks also to a series of stimulating art exhibitions and installations, the promotion of existing but little known treasures, such as Villa Americi, an 18^th century architectural jewel and seat of the Rossini conservatory, with the botanical Garden of Santa Maria in Fiori e Pianti and the historic Oliveiano Library, which contains the only known signed drawing by Raphael.

The image chosen to represent the Pesaro Cultural Year was the Ginkgo Biloba tree, which survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing in 1945 and has since become known as the Tree of Peace. In 2021 a Ginkgo seedling obtained from the Green Legacy Hiroshima group was planted as a symbol of peace and hope in the Pesaro Mirafiori public park.

1000. STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. 0039.0721387655 www.comune.pesaro.pu.it www.rossinioperafestival.it