Village Festival and House Museum

A corner of  the Casa Museo  

two apette guard the City Hall 

Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia,  a tiny hamlet of just over  1000 souls, is a mere  spot on the  map of central Italy, well hidden among the green  hills that stretch from  Vetralla to Blera.

making magic  in Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia

Last weekend its  quiet streets came alive with artisans showing off their handicrafts  and  street artists frolicking as the village celebrated  the arrival of spring .   

Dario soaks twigs for  basket making  in  the 1909  fountain

Showing off finished products..with a  new shirt 

The history of the town mingles with its present.  

objects of the past: clock, brush, mirror, battipanni and oil lamp

modern mosaic mirrors by Bruno of Blera 

Many of the  artisans have "escaped" from hectic city life in New York and Rome and found a new home close to nature in which to practice their crafts  and organize  laboratories for children and adults. 

Cristina shows the technique for making pots 

kitchen ware of the past 

and   the present 

Mosaic pavements of a Roman villa were discovered here  a few decades ago when new water pipes were being laid. 

Rita  shows kids T-shirt decoration

More recent is  the discovery  nearby  of an intact sanctuary dedicated to the Etruscan goddess Demetra which pushed the clock back  even further to about 2,000 years ago.  

 Milorad from Montenegro and  Laura, who designs and makes  textile bags 

Its an open door  town, note the keys in the lock 

Time  goes so  slowly  in this area known as  Etruria that those over  50 were surprised  when the House Museum, Casa Museo was set up,  for the  interiors are just  as they remembered their grandparents’ homes.   

essential bedroom furnishings 

madia for bread making next to the fireplace 

Cannoli  with sweet ricotta cheese 

And, like all village festivals, there were plenty of  good things to eat and drink during the day and at evening dinners.   

Villa Chiarini Wulf wines from nearby Vetralla

 a hungry clown, Johnny Biscotto 

olive oil in repro Etruscan flask exported to China

Feel free to  share with friends  and leave comments. 

Condividi  con gli amici  ...i vs. commenti, anche in italiano,  sono graditi. 

Florence International Handicrafts Fair

Foreboding fortress  near Florence's railway station 

 Fortezza da Basso  is a  Renaissance fortress  complex  built by the Medici in the 1530s on a design of Sangallo il Giovane. Inside the massive   walls that once protected the city,  enormous  hangar like exhibition spaces  were bursting with bargains and   beautiful objects, traditional foods,  and stalls for the Artisans’ Fair which closes today .

ceramics resembling ivory 

The Fair,  first set up   76 years ago, gives  pride of place to both traditional   artisans and contemporary design.

 Scattered throughout  eight days in April  are  25  collateral happenings plus  special  areas  pulsating with creative  people.

wooden toys, figliditrottola@yahoo.it 

The scope  of the Fair is enormous making it necessary to prioritize, choosing  only certain sectors  and  interests  in order not to  wander aimlessly  among the hundreds of exhibits.

delightful cat  ceramics 

The main exhibit hall, Spadolini, has areas set aside for  the  guest country-this year Thailand, restaurants and unique handmade objects  in classic, modern, ethnic, contemporary and futuristic styles .  

I noted young people trying on  Japanese  kimonos  in the  Cavaniglia  hall next to Italian handicrafts  in  textiles, wood,  silver and  ceramics.  

The Fair is  an  international   mix of cultures. Where else will you find  jewelery  made from coins in  Argentina  or hear the  haunting sounds of  aboriginal  didgeridoo  while sipping red wine from  Tuscany’s Maremma? 

 Where else could you watch Cretan icon artist  Nektaria  painting while  women tried on   summery frocks made in India?  

 The  traditional artifacts on show and for purchase  range from tiny  toys  in olive wood   up to  heavy travertine sinks and  fireplaces, unique  chests  from Umbria alongside traditional  Tuscan-style furniture. 

With Italian artisans still producing such magnificent furniture, built to last for generations,  who needs  Ikea ? 

Legno & Colore  from Città di Castello, Umbria 

traditional Tuscan furniture 

Most of Italy’s provinces were represented : from the province of Bari  we admired   beautiful   cushions and magical lamps  and the  ice-colored bracelets of almost pure silver fashioned in northern Umbia.

lamps by Giuseppe Campanella, Polignano a Mare

From Monopoli, cushions by Giovanni Giotta 

Bottega Orafa Bartoccioni, Città di Castello (PG) 

There were  many irresistible tastes and perfumes in the air. The sellers entice by offering tiny tastes  and dabs of their wares. The strategy works and a jar of hand cream, one of the  perfumed cosmetics  made with  donkey milk, came home with me, as did a flacon of Modena's delicious vinegar. 

Laura Rovida's hand loomed textiles -the only artisan  from Lazio 

Florence  is also Fashion and the leather sector is one of the few in Italy's present crisis not undergoing a recession. In fact  there is  need for hundreds of   trained technicians and  artisans to turn out belts, bags and shoes for international markets.

Bochicchio belts  and bags  from Leonardo da Vinci's hometown   

Colorful bags  of Gioia Chiara's   

 I picked out a soft blue leather bag that doubles as a backpack from Gioia Chiara whose family has been producing and selling  on Via della Scala in Florence since the 1940s. 

Bargain prices from Pistoia factory 

Sweaters and shirts in bright spring colors  were presented by Cashmerissimi, a  Pistoia factory.    

The food sector  was amply represented. There were  huge loaves of  bread and  biscotti from Puglia,  truffles and mushrooms,  pates, mozzarella,  gelato,  chocolate and  beers.  

Bread man of Puglia

Mark your calendar  for next  year’s  event and if you missed this fair, perhaps you can make it to  Florence on the May 12-13  weekend for the  smaller fair happening in the gardens of Palazzo Corsini.

Tips for Florence: take the train, leave the car at home. 

Beato Angelico frescoed the monks' cells - San Marco Monastery 

Where to stay?  I keep going back to  Hotel Orto dei Medici, a 3 star hotel with 5 star feel.   

cloister of San Marco's  near the Hotel Orto dei Medici

Library of San Marco, where Savonarola was captured

   

If you liked this story, share with friends and subscribe  to  receive future,  weekly stories.   

Outings for April: peonies, pyramids and a potter's cave

water fountain, Vitorchiano 

Rome residents  and visitors  have traditionally used a series of “free days “  in April  (April 21-Birthday of Rome,  April 25^th - Liberation Day and  May 1^st –Workers’ Day) to  create mini-vacations known as  ponti.  

The cloud-laden skies  and  sudden showers of  the past weeks have made  it difficult, however, to travel without an umbrella.  

Rain or shine, grab an umbrella, your walking shoes and take a day trip to  one of these special places near  Viterbo and Rome. 

The first and easiest outing,  is  to Centro Botanico Moutan, a  private  garden open to the public in April and May. 
Acres of  magnificent  Chinese peonies extend over the hillsides,  delighting  the senses .

Lorenza, Fabio, Letizia, Fulvio  & Carla 

The Centro Botanico offers free entry and  guided tours plus  a colorful, relaxing café and bookshop .  

It is a perfect place to relax, drink in the beauty and perfumes of thousands of flowering shrubs and find inspiration for  garden design. 
The owners produce a line of garden furniture as well as an array of beauty products  and perfumes made from the peony flowers.

The colorful  cafe at the peony gardens 

If you can find a place to park near  Vitorchiano’s  centro storico, take advantage and  plunge into the Middle Ages with a walk among  the  12^th century buildings  of  the intact medieval town, historically  allied to  Rome and enemies of nearby Viterbo.

charming medieval  streets of Vitorchiano 

bell tower of the City Hall 

Orsini Palace now the Town Hall 

The next exit on the highway is Bomarzo where  you can visit the iconic Sacro Bosco/Park of the Monsters  and the hilltop town.   

Be sure you take the new elevator to the upper part of town and visit  the  Orsini Palace.

the urban elevator of Bomarzo 

For intrepid explorers there is even an  Etruscan pyramid. 

This itinerary has an Indiana Jones   level of difficulty- more arduous  than  the  Etruscan sites of Grotta Porcina and  Norchia in nearby Vetralla. 

Salvatore our guide to the pyramid 

A local guide who knows the intricate paths in the  thick woods is a must. 

We were lucky to be accompanied by  Salvatore, who helped archeologists recuperate the sacred  Etruscan site. 
It had been used as shelter by generations of local farmers but was unknown to scholars until recently . 

Pro loco office in  Bomarzo 

A further reason to visit Bomarzo is the Festival dedicated to Sant’Anselmo, the town’s  patron, on April 25th . 
Festivities include a palio horse race, and distribution of the traditional sweet bread, Biscotto di Sant Anselmo. 

rock formations  

For in town exploration,  you can  follow in the footsteps of  the group of young law students  from 17 different countries who visited Vetralla this week for an end-of-course outing . 

Bill and students  in Checco Lallo's workshop-cave

Entrance to potter's cave , wearing the ancient  apron 

students from Liberia and other countries

Besides learning about the city’s  English connections, they visited the  cave-like  pottery workshop  of Checco Lallo, which has remained untouched  over the centuries. 

Christian  gets a lesson from Francesco 

Francesco, the last of the Vetralla potters' dynasty  known as Checco Lallo,  showed them the  traditional craft of  pottery. 



They celebrated the end of their  course of studies with an evening dedicated to  good food, music and the hospitality of a town with a long, intricate  history. 

International law students visiting in Vetralla