ItalyUpdate

Italy's ever active Culture Minister Dario Franceschini has decided to do something about the vast collection of antiquities and art that languishes in store rooms, due to lack of space in some of the country's major museums.

The operation, entitled “100 works return home”, involves transferring a first batch of these long-neglected treasures to smaller, less known museums, preferably in smaller towns outside the main mass tourism circuit. The present selection was obtained through lengthy consultation of the data base of the Direzione Generale Musei (Central Museums Office) which lists 3,652 objects languishing in the deposits of 90 state museums, with the objective of “sending them back to the places where they originally belonged”.

The project created special interest in the small bijou town of Nemi, some 30 kms from Rome, where a bronze lion's head originally attached to a beam end of an ancient ceremonial ship – one of two built by the Roman emperor Caligula and recovered from the bed of Lake Nemi in the 1930s – was delivered to the Roman Ship Museum on the lakeside, welcomed home by the local authorities.

The enclosed photo shows Nemi mayor Alberto Bertucci and Museum Curator Daniela De Angelis at the opening of the crate containing the bronze head.

1000. STENHOUSE

Info: https://comunedinemi.rm.gov.it drm-laz@beniculturali.it

The golden beaches of Jesolo (Venice's celebrated seaside resort) take on new splendour over the Christmas season with the traditional Presepio di Sabbia (Sand Nativity), which draws thousands of visitors every year to admire the spectacular sand sculptures created by teams of international artists.

This year's version – the 19^th edition - is even more impressive, with the gigantic 10-meter wide Holy Family group, the work of three artists: Marielle Heessels and Susanne Margherite Ruseler from Holland with Canadian David Ducharme, dominating the 2021 Sand Nativity show, inaugurated on the traditional Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8^th December 2021.

Under the artistic direction of US artist Richard Varano, 14 foreign artists from Belgium, Denmark, Russia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Italy lent their talents to creating sand sculptures, this year centred on the theme of the miracles of healing recounted in the Gospels, as a tribute to the health workers who have been coping with the present pandemic.

The Jesolo Sand Nativity will be on show until the 6^th February 2022. All money raised by guided tours of the art works is donated to charity.

Info: Tel. +39.0421.369111 www.jesolosandnativity.it

Some holiday reading: “The Goddess of the Lake and the Lost Ships of Nemi”.

The legend of the Golden Bough, the triple goddess Diana and the tragic end of Caligula's ceremonial barges.

Versions in English and Italian.

For information contact the author: mstenhouse@libero.it

Despite the limitations of the current pandemic, Italian wine and gastronomy tours continue to attract increasing numbers of tourists. No longer a niche market, agrotourism is an up-and-coming trend, drawing not only families keen on relaxing in the peace of the countryside, but also serious gourmets and wine experts.

Rome is particularly well placed for this type of experience, with the celebrated wine towns of the Castelli Hills a mere 30 kms or so from the city and easily accessible.

The town of Frascati, the uncontested capital of Castelli wines, makes the ideal focal point for a journey of discovery around the vineyards and farms of the Roman countryside, which offer not only wine tastings and excellent food, but also unexpected dips into the history of ancient Rome. A number of wine farms in the Frascati area, such as Pietra Porzia and the Casal Montani estates have important Roman monuments on their land or underneath their villas, showing that the ancient Romans were not so different from us in tastes and preferences for scenic spots.

The Frascati name is well-known world wide, thanks to its aristocratic villas and charming scenery. However, for centuries its wine has been virtually synonymous with “fraschette” - the traditional hostelries depicted by artists like Pinelli. In the last few years, this has been steadily changing, thanks to the dedication and efforts of local wine-growers, grouped together under a consortium: “Consorzio Tutela Denominazione Vini Frascati” (Consortium for the Protection of Frascati Wines Denomination). Many of the members produce distinctive top quality wines that are attracting the attention of experts in the international market.

ANTONIO RIGILLO

Info: https://consorziofrascati.it

The historic town of Offida (Ascoli Picena, Marche) has a long tradition in the art of lacemaking and tombola, which can be admired at the Lace Museum in the 19^th century De Castellotti Palace. The Christmas season highlights the municipalitity's heritage with a special exhibition “Il Merletto di Offida” (the Lace of Offida) in which some of the rarest and most precious items will be on display, including the lace dress designed by Antonio Berardi and worn by top model Naomi Campbell at a fashion show in London in 1997.

The three-day event between the 3^rd - 6^th December 2021 will be a showcase of local traditions and will include a busy programme of guided tours of the town's craft studios, exhibitions of lacemaking techniques, itinerant theatre, wine tastings of the region's wines and a special theatrical performance for children at the traditional Serpente Aureo (Golden Serpent) Theatre.

Info: Tel. +39.0736.888609 www.turismoffida.com

The Campana Maggiore (Great Bell) of the Cathedral of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore, is now set to chime out over the city rooftops for another fifty-or-so years. Latterly, it was showing perilous signs of wear and tear on the sound bow area struck by the clapper. In a four-day highly skilled operation, specialized workmen turned it round to expose the last undamaged portion so that it can continue to honour the persistent thrice-daily battering it takes every day, punctually at 7am, 12 noon and sunset.

The Campana Maggiore, dedicated to St. Reparata, is a massive bronze bell, weighing over 5 tons and with a diameter of 2 m. It was first cast in 1475 and re-cast in 1705 when its sides began to show cracks. Since then it has been rotated by a quarter several times, the last recorded being 1956-57. Experts say that this will be the last time this operation can be carried out before the bell must be re-cast.

The bells are hung in the Giotto Bell Tower beside the Cathedral, along with the other 12 smaller bells, 7 of which, including the St. Reparata bell, are still rung every day. Since bells are believed to have “souls”, they all have names – Misericordia (Mercy), Apostolica, Annunziata (Annunciation), Mater Dei, Assumption, (the) Immaculate.

The maintenance of the great bell was commissioned by the Opera Santa Maria del Fiore and carried out by bell experts A.E.I. di Perego (Milan).

Info: https://duomo.firenze.it

Italy's Borghi (small historic towns) have long been the Cinderellas of Italian heritage and culture. According to the official Italian Statistics Office (ISTAT) there are a total 7,903 little municipalities scattered all over the peninsula. Many are authentic jewels, defined as “Invisible Destinations” by the start-up tourism operation “Hearth” of Avellino (Campania) due tobe presented at the coming Borsa Mediterraneanea del Turismo Archeologico at Paestum between the 25th-28^th November 2021.

According to “Hearth” founder Massimiliano Imbimbo, 62% of tourism movement in Italy is concentrated in only 55 municipalities, with the great mass of foreign visitors restricted to the celebrated Art Cities.

Italy's Culture Minister, Dario Franceschini, together with Tourism Minister Massimo Garavaglia have now expressed the intention of turning some of these Cinderellas into princesses with government grants to help them improve facilities, spruce up their historic buildings and promote their cultural heritage, their works of art and places of interest. At the moment funding is to be directed towards 37 potentially tourism-attracting borghi in the south of Italy.

According to Mr. Franceschini tourism expectations have changed due to the impact of the current pandemic. Tourists are now more interested in exploring small, lesser-known areas far away from big crowds.

Info: MIBACT www.beniculturali.it info@hearth.email

The 24^th December 2021 is dedicated to Italy at EXPO Dubai when the spotlight will be trained on the Italian Pavilion. Activities kick off at the Al Wasi Plaza, in the centre of the EXPO site with a flag raising ceremony, accompanied by the national anthems of Italy and the United Arab Emirates and an exhibition by Italy's Carabinieri armed forces.

Throughout the day, performances will be held by the historic flag-throwers of the city of Cava dé Tirreni (Salerno, Campania), along with screenings of Italian films, concerts by the band of the Carabinieri, sports and games organized by the Italian National Olympic Committee and other cultural and traditional events.

The day will draw to an end with a gala concert by the Academia Teatro della Scala, sponsored by the Bracco Foundation, a world leader in research on health, safety and prevention and a gold sponsor of the Italian Pavilion.

The Expo2020Dubai was held back for a year, due to the pandemic.

Info: www.italyexpo2020.it www.bracco.com

FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano – the Italian environmental foundation) has published the winners of its 2020-2921 poll for “i Luoghi del Cuore”, or best loved sites in need of restoration and promotion. Over 2.3 million votes were gathered in favour of 40,000 suggested beauty spots, heritage sites and historic buildings and the jury had a hard task whittling the numbers down to the short list of the 20 places which will receive funding to further the projects submitted.

First place, with 75,586 votes, went to “la Ferrovia delle Meraviglie” (Railway of Marvels), linking Ventimiglia with Cuneo in a breathtakingly scenic mountain run.

Second place was won by the Castle and Park of Sammezzano at Reggello, Florence, with 62,690 votes. This is the second time that this extraordinary building has been promoted by FAI voters.

Third came the imposing Castle of Brescia with 43,449 votes.

Other special sites in the top 20 were: Guglielmo Marconi's Radiotelegraphic Station at Caltano, Pisa, the Museum of the Mysteries at Campobasso and the Gardens of the military Hospital, Taranto.

The FAI Foundation was founded in 1975 to promote and safeguard Italy's vast cultural and artistic heritage. Membership is open to everyone and gives advantages such as reductions in entrance fees to listed sites.

Info: Tel. +39.06.6879376 www,fondoambiente.it

The Scuderie del Quirinale gallery in Rome, the classic venue of show-stopping exhibitions, has pulled off another crowd puller with the major “Inferno” show, programmed to run over the Christmas season until the 9^th January 2022. The exhibition has already attracted great interest, with a record numbers of visitors during the first weekend of the opening.

“Inferno” contains over 200 works by celebrated artists, dating from Medieval times to the 20^th century, on loan from over eighty museums and private collections in the UK, France, Switzerland, the Vatican, Bulgaria, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Luxembourg.

The interpretation of Dante's vision of “Hell” is represented over 7 centuries in the works of celebrated artists like Fra Angelico, Brueghel, Botticelli, Von Stuck, Gustav Dore, Blake, Hieronymus Bosch, as well as in a life size cast of the gigantic 7m-high plaster model of the “Gate of Hell” by Rodin.

The chosen themes are taken from the first canticle of the “Divine Comedy”, featuring personages immortalized by Dante Alighieri, such as the tragic lovers, Paola and Francesca da Rimini, Pope Celestine V (who renounced the papacy) and the monstrous Count Ugolino della Gheradesca, depicted gnawing the head of his enemy Archbishop Ruggieri degli Ubaldini. Satan, or Lucifer, also features prominently.

The second section of the exhibition, on the upper floor of the Gallery, is even more sobering. It displays the more contemporary concept of the hell of our times, with scenes of war, pollution, drought and famine, but ends on Dante's final uplifting phrase: “and thence we came forth to see again the stars”, symbolized by the painting “Falling Stars” by Anself Riefer.

The exhibition is curated by eminent French art historian and scholar Jean Clair, together with his wife, Laura Bossi.

Prior booking essential plus vaccination certificate or negative Covid test.

M. Stenhouse

Info: Tel. +39.02.92897722 www.scuderiequirinale.it