Where in Rome?

Ponte Sisto, Rome by Simona Albanese

Trastevere, this is my choice. I grow up here, in this wonderful part of the city of Rome. From here you are very close to the Vatican City, as well as to the centre. In fact, just crossing Ponte Sisto, one of the many bridges of Rome, you leave Trastevere, the Rione number XIII, to reach Via dei Pettinari and Via Giulia, to then carry on towards Campo dei Fiori and Piazza Navona.

 

Trastevere is a place full of life, restaurants and little shops, as well as historical buildings and amazing secret churches with astonishing artworks. You can spend an entire day just running around the little alleys, visiting the little corners, to then have dinner in one of the many local places.

If you want to know more just follow my blog and you will see my photos when I will be in Rome next week!
If you like Italian art then come to my art workshops! and if you want to practise Italian just get in touch!


A presto!

A contribution to a friend: Jan Nigro

A long time ago I have published an article on a wonderful New Zealand friend and artist. Here a copy of that! She was a really wonderful artist!

Jan Nigro is a New Zealand artist with an Italian surname, because her husband Gerry Nigro had an Italian background. I met her when I went to New Zealand for the first time more than 10 years ago and since then we like to spend time with her whenever it is possible and she is not too busy. 

this is Jan at Easter 2010

 my son drawing with Jan's colors on her table while she is signing one of her works

and Jan with my daughter and some of her works on the background

Some of Jan's artworks in her studio/apartment

A long time ago I have published a small article on her and her artworks on the NZ Art Monthly. This is a copy of the article:

A passion for life, art and artworks: Jan Nigro

November 2008

I met Jan for the first time about ten years ago when I came to New Zealand for a visit; unaware that this country was going to be my home one day.

Her passion, touch, work/life experience has always fascinated me. From the first time I visited her modern apartment in Takapuna - where she used a room as her studio to paint - I have been impressed by her approach to art; to the way she paints and the passion she puts into her representations, through the use of colour and images.

Jan has produced a huge amount of artworks during her lifetime. All of them are singular and touch different themes, but more than anything I believe she has a message to convey.

Probably because she is one of the first female New Zealand artists to break the rules and the role of women in the society of the time I thought it was important to express my acknowledgement to a person like her. Jan's experiments and passions have pushed other artists to try something new for themselves. Her life is so full of colour, her painting full of honesty and with such a large body of work devoted to the naked form - it is through this theme of her career that I have been able to recognise her as one of the most extraordinary New Zealand woman artists.

The human figure has been, and most probably continues to be, the greatest and the most important source of inspiration for Jan due to the fact she has revolutionized the way to look at a nude work as a theme to study and from which to learn.

In the late 1940s Jane moved to Australia with her husband Gerry, from whom she got the surname, Nigro, which is obviously of Italian origin. They spent a period of time in Melbourne, where she had her first solo woman exhibition.

The works of the late 1940s showed something new and brave for a provincial New Zealandmindset, which wasn't yet ready to accept female nudity and the consequences of such a subject choice. At that time New Zealand was a still a 'closed' country where perhaps some the sensual influences of European art hadn't yet arrived.

A new world was emerging for Jan as she developed her skills and displayed these early productions. Painting was her passion and probably the only job that could make her happy - even if she had to work through some difficult periods.

La Toilette was painted in 1949, and together with other works of hers are in the collection of international art galleries today, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the Auckland ArtGallery. I don't know who this nameless woman in La Toilette was. The inspiration probably came from one of her models as happened in many other artworks during her lifetime. The woman represented looks to me like a confident woman caught in a moment of intimacy, pensive as she prepares for bathing.

And this was only the beginning of this type of theme, which has recurred through her career. She created many artworks related to the theme of the Bathers, including an exhibition of the late 1980s, which included Lovers and Bathers painted in 1986. It represents a stunning new example of painting, because here Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are warmly showing their love in the foreground; in the middle ground two hot pink nude females embrace while behind them a group of people watch from afar while continuing on with their lives. Here is clearly stated the passion for the human form, their human condition and what love can be, without discrimination or critique. And what else can be said? The images speak for themselves - love can be shown in various ways.

In Jan's career the Friday Drawing Group became an important routine in her life: some of her models were Suzy, Veronica and Yani, who Jan depicted in 1989. In comparison to all of the other models this one seems more reserved, yet wants to model. In Yani there is vitality and audacity, sitting there posing for them, the group who draw on Fridays. Jan sees in her another strong woman, independently minded and naked but with no intention of showing off her attributes, these are secrets - kept only for the right person.

Obviously Jan has produced an extended selection of artworks during her career. Nevertheless in my personal opinion she has to be acknowledged and acclaimed for being a pioneer and an example to many other New Zealand women artists. Jan is someone who has always worked hard to demonstrate her abilities, beliefs and capacity to the prevaling society which has become increasingly won over to her viewpoint as her career has progressed.

The Duke and the painter

Piero della Francesca, Federico da Montefeltro

Federico da Montefeltro's portrait in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is part of the Urbino Diptych executed by Piero della Francesca between 1465 and 1472.

Federico ruled the small, hilly territory in the Marche region. He became duke in 1444, after the murder of his half-brother Oddantonio. He married Battista Sforza, the lady represented on the other side of the Diptych. Federico was a military commander and a man opened to the humanistic culture. In fact, the ducal palace of Urbino became the new architectural model and a cosmopolitan centre for the most recent redevelopments in the art. 

His face was disfigured after he suffered a wound that altered his appearance, therefore since then he was always depicted in strict profile, showing his good side.

The painter who executed the work was Piero della Francesca (1416/17-1492), the best known of the second generation of humanist painters. He provided a new approach to painting: a close link between art and geometry, as well as between poetical expression and mathematical rules. He worked across Italy, from Rome, to Rimini, to Ferrara, to then starting the execution of the Story of the True Cross in 1452 in the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo. Later in the 1460's he started to work for the court of Duke Federico da Montefeltro, executing even this interesting artwork.

Piero became the new artist, the personality to have in the court. In fact, he produced so many masterpieces, so loved and appreciated by art lovers!

Pesce d'aprile or Italian April fool

Italian April 1st is a tradition and a funny joke especially between young children at school. Do you know why? Someone stick a paper fish behind your back and then ask you:

-L'hai visto? (have you seen?)

-Chi? (who?)

-Il pesce d'aprile (the April fool)

This is not a wonderful joke, nevertheless this is a perfect day to receive some fish chocolate! So if you are in Italy have a look around shops and you will find this type of chocolate as in Naples.

The Tale of Love and Psyche: The myth in art from antiquity to Canova

Perin del Vaga, Love and Psyche, 1545-46
Castel Sant'Angelo

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage has decided to celebrate with an exhibition the story of Cupid and Psyche in the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, at the end of the restoration of the frieze of Perin del Vaga painted by the artist between 1545 and 1546 in the apartments of Paul III.

The tale is dedicated to one of antiquity’s most fascinating legend, as told by Apuleius in his celebrated The Golden Ass. It can also be compared to the most famous poem (n. 85) of the Latin poet Catullus:

Odi et amo. Qua re id faciam, fortasse requiris.

Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior (Latin text).

Odio e amo. Forse mi chiedi come io faccia.

Non lo so, ma sento che cio' accade, e ne sono tormentato (Italian text).

Hate and love. Perhaps you ask me how I do.

I do not know, but I feel that this is happening and I am tormented (English text).

The touching love story between Cupid and Psyche has inspired artists through the ages. 

The most famous examples are: 

Raphael’s frescoes in the home of Agostino Chigi, the famous loggia in Villa Farnesina, 

Giulio Romano’s equally famous frescoes in Mantua’s Palazzo Te

 Canova’s renowned sculptures are also among the great works of art inspired by the legend.

The tale itself is quite well known – it tells the turbulent story of Cupid and Psyche, and the young girl’s ordeals at the hands of Venus before she was finally able to marry her beloved – and can be interpreted in many different ways: as a symbol of troubled love in antiquity, or as the triumph of marriage during the Renaissance. The Baroque era emphasized the dramatic and theatrical aspects of the legend, and between the 18th and 19th centuries, it became an emblem of wistful love, and was often associated to the themes of abandonment and sleep.

The exhibition will run until June 10, 2012 at Castel Sant'Angelo.

Don't miss this occasion!

Antinoo: il Fascino della Bellezza

Antinous was a beautiful young man, from Bithynia. He was the favourite of the Roman emperor Hadrian.

For the first time in the Antiquarium of the Canopus of Villa Adriana in Tivoli, an exhibition on Antinous will be displayed together with other artworks.

The exhibition will be opened between April 5th and November 4th, 2012.

Umbria: a region full of surprises and legends

Map of Umbria

Umbria is one of the smallest and the only landlocked Italian regions between Lazio, Tuscany and Abruzzo.

The region beauty lies in the bond that Umbrians have have had with their rich and glorius past: museums, castles and fortresses, modern and contemporary art, artistic and historical events wait for you in Umbria.

The small cities, fortress and castles are perfectly integrated within the landscape and the countryside, leaving an extraordinary heritage.

Castle of Alviano

One of the most beautiful example is the Castle of Alviano, guardian of the Tiber valley. Built in the late 15th century by the Bartolomeo d'Alviano, it has maintained its majesty over the centuries.

Rocca di Assisi

The Rocca di Assisi, destroyed in 1198, was rebuilt in the 14th century, and the underwent further modifications, without losing its austere appearance. After the latest restoration, the Rocca has been opened to the public hosting cultural and artistic events.

Viw of Spoleto with the Rocca

The huge complex of the Rocca Albornoziana, with the park that extends around it, characterises the city of Spoleto, well re-known for the Festival dei Due Mondi.

Lake Trasimeno

Lake Trasimeno is the biggest lake in the central of Italy. It features the monumental Rocca del Leone that dominates Castiglione del Lago, the Rocca of Isola Polvese, and the Castle of the Knight of Malta at Magione.

Santuario della Madonna del Belvedere

Citta' di Castello is protected by Castello Bufalini, trasformed in the 16th century into a refined noble residence decorated with paintings, including a Madonna by Pinturicchio.

Umbertide's Rocca

At Umbertide rises the magnificent Rocca, the emblem of the city and now a lively cultural centre.

Valnerina

The Valnerina covers the south-eastern area of Umbria, proclaimed by Unesco a World Heritage site. This corner of Umbria is another enjoyable experience.

Umbria is an alternative to your holiday, a place to discover and to enjoy with family and friends!

Soon there will be escorted tours there, so keep in touch!