Living History in Italy

Sala di Giove, Palazzo Farnese  Caprarola  

The regular schedule  of blog posts  was interrupted this week due to some unusual  events.  

 In Rome pageantry, pilgrim crowds and  piles of garbage were generated by  the canonization of two former  popes presided over by  two  living ones. 

 It was a scenario  that no novelist  could have invented  and yet it was   just another chapter in the long, amazing  history of Italy. 

Backed by Renaissance fireplace: Hugo, MJ  and Giorgia

  Here in Tuscia/Etruria, far from the confusion of the Roman canonization,  history came alive when English biographer Hugo Vickers told  the story of Gladys Deacon and her mother Florence Baldwin to a spellbound audience in one of  the magnificent frescoed rooms  of Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola . 

the spiral staircase of Palazzo Farnese 

Hugo signs  a book he wrote, in my library 

discovering Vetralla's English connections 

Henry VIII's monument in Vetralla  (foto G. Zelli )

   Hugo  flew in from London to share his research with us and to delve deeper into the lifestyle of  the eccentric expats who inhabited the palazzo  in the last century. 

at Villa Lante 

 Our morning visit to Villa Lante in nearby Bagnaia was  intriguing   for its fountains and palazzine  were a model  for those of Caprarola.  

Luciano, Hugo, MJ and Giorgia  (foto Sig.ra DiFusco)

At Caprarola we were escorted to see some of the secret corners of the palazzo by  Luciano Passini our host and head of the Caprarola Research  and History Society.  

presentation with a figure from the palazzo's past 

   

bathroom ceiling  at Palazzo Farnese 

In a tiny  anteroom which once served as bathroom to the Baldwin-Deacon  women, we  discovered the  phrase “Forse che si, forse che no” which Gabriele D’Annunzio  used as  title  for his novel  published in 1910. D'Annunzio  "borrowed" the phrase from a ceiling he saw in Mantova's Palazzo Ducale. 

ceiling of Mantova's Palazzo Ducale 

original  bathroom fixtures dating from  1920s 

During the presentation  we even had a surprise visit from “Gladys” herself, impersonated by Finnish soprano Susanna Ohtonen dressed in perfect  1920s  style. 

Gladys interpreted by soprano Susanna Ohtonen

 She  invited the audience to the opera La Traviata  which is being  held on Wednesday April 30^th in  Tuscania’s Rivellino theatre.  

Susanna Ohtonen and Giulia admiring the frescoed ceiling   (foto Chiara Porcari)

 Opera Extravaganza's  opera evenings  are another aspect of the living history of Italy which should not be missed. 

  

Info e prevendita OperaExtravaganza  tel. 0761-485247/346-7474907 susanna@operaextravaganza.com

Info Teatro Il  Rivellino P.zza Basile tel. 0761.4454250 0761-4454217

                                                                          LA TRAVIATA

Opera lirica in tre atti di GIUSEPPE VERDI

TEATRO “IL RIVELLINO” – TUSCANIA

Mercoledì 30 APRILE 2014 ORE 21.00

Biglietti prezzo unico 15 euro

Coming up next Saturday, Soriano nel Cimino 

  

 For another special evening  in one of Etruria's wonderful historic palazzi,  you are cordially invited  to  my next illustrated  presentation on May 3rd in Soriano nel Cimino.

 Please  share with friends on Facebook, Twitter, by email by using the icons below. 

Your  feedback, questions  are very welcome. See you in Soriano! 

Eccentric American Expats: The Great Beauties of Caprarola

Gladys Deacon portrait by Boldini 

the original Pentagon building
Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola
design by Justin Bradshaw 

Palazzo Farnese perched on its hillside  with views extending  over the Lazio countryside to Rome, is one of Italy’s  most  magnificent Renaissance palace  complexes, once home to  the powerful  Farnese family.

Loggia with Hercules fountain, Palazzo Farnese 

In the early  1900s it was also  home to an eccentric group of   American expats : Florence Baldwin and her daughters.   The eldest daughter, Gladys, was one of the most famous beauties of the first half of the century and went on to become  the Duchess of Marlborough.   

staircase Palazzo Farnese
photo  of F. Pignatale 

Sala del Mappamondo, Palazzo Farnese
photo of F. Pignatale 

The fascinating story of Gladys and her family will be the subject of an illustrated talk  (in English and Italian) along with English biographer  and historian  Hugo Vickers   who will be visiting from London. 

invito  per   April  25th 

Sala Giove of Palazzo Farnese,  “Le Grandi Bellezze  di Caprarola” 

Please share on Facebook, Twitter. Hope to see you there! Caprarola  is a short drive from Rome and  the 25th  of April is a holiday here in Italy.

Picturesque Ischia di Castro

Loggia attributed to Antonio da Sangallo  the younger   

It was a bright, sunny Saturday  when we drove  north towards Lake Bolsena  to attend a conference  held in the icy cold  main hall of a castle  under restoration.  

view from the Rocca 

  When the drafts (and the long-winded speakers) became unbearable I escaped to the sun filled piazza to wander through  the narrow streets  of the oldest part of Ischia di Castro, the part the local residents call “di dentro”.

beyond the Duomo  begins "di dentro " 

Farnese lily  and laundry crown this portal

Lilies  (or iris) carved above many of  Ischia’s doorways remind us that this was  once  a Farnese stronghold.

 The huge Rocca Farnese, designed by Vignola,  was one of the first  “homes” of the Farnese. As they rose to power family members commissioned other Farnese palaces including the fabulous Palazzo now the French Embassy in Rome and the   pentagonal palace in Caprarola.  

stairway to the Rocca 

Under the Rocca’s shadow lies a labyrinth of tiny  lanes hung with  drying laundry. 

Cats snooze in the sun  and   keys   are left dangling in the door locks.  

 Inside a former bread oven/ cantina  we met a bee keeper preparing  his beehives.

wine cask transformed into bar 

a wicker baby carriage  pre-WWII

in the magazzino 

Comparable  to  a cellar or garage, the magazzino  is where families store discarded furniture, old bottles, the wine supply and anything else  not urgently needed in the home.

 Visiting a family’s magazzino  or cantina  shows what happens in a country where garage sales do not exist.  After  a few generations  the old cast offs  have become  antiques.   

Ischia   is   one of the less well known of Viterbo province’s   60 towns, each  with its own  personality and history.

 A stroll through the picturesque historic center is a perfect  respite from the stress of modern city life.

curious cats  

During summer  Ischia becomes more cosmopolitan for many of the  modest houses have been purchased as holiday homes  by  Romans wishing to escape the Eternal City‘s stifling heat.

conversation corner 

 There is also a small foreign community appreciative of the town's laid back lifestyle and inexpensive real estate.

shrine connecting two buildings 

Fascist period  doorhandles  and Cactus Madonna 

Excellent  food at honest prices 

entrance to Gigiotto trattoria

pappardelle al cinghiale 

Where to eat  in Ischia di Castro? Definitely  Gigiotto, on the main piazza. 

 Do you have a favorite small town in Italy? 

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