Friday 29 March 2013

Tour of the roof levels of the Duomo of Siena. A unique opportunity during 2013.

Cathedral of Sienna
The Cathedral (Duomo) of Sienna
I think everyone agrees that the Cathedral of Sienna (il Duomo di Siena) is one of the most beautiful buildings in Italy, if not the world, and an incredibly rewarding one to explore. Last week, I recommended a wonderful "underground" tour of the Duomo. Today we have something even more spectacular! During 2013, for the first time, it will be possible to take a tour of the roof levels of the Duomo of Siena. Passages, balconies and other spaces high up in the structure of the cathedral will be open to small, guided groups. Until now, these parts of the Cathedral were accessible only to the architects and builders in charge of maintaining the structure over the centuries.

Tour of the roof levels of the Duomo of Siena
View of the pavement of the Duomo of Siena
The two huge towers on each side of the façade of the Duomo house spiral staircases that lead up into the roof where there is a series of walkways and rooms that provide astonishing views of both the interior of the Duomo and the city of Siena outside. You will be able to look down onto the intarsia floor of the main nave and understand its design in a way that until now could only be done by means of not-very-good photographic collages. You will be able to traverse the walkway over the main altar and examine Duccio di Buoninsegna’s rose window from just a short distance away, and, of course, to walk along the balcony inside the dome of the cathedral from which there is a fabulous view of the high altar. The exterior views extend over the Basilica of St. Domenico, the Medici Fortress, the entire dome of the chapel of St. John the Baptist and the landscape of the surrounding Siennese hills.

Don't miss it!

la porta del cielo siena
The staircase up to the roof area of the Cathedral of Sienna.
The Door to Heaven Guided Tour (La Porta del Cielo)
6 April – 27 October, 2013
Reservations required: tickets per person €25, groups of max 17 people €400. Tel +39 0577 286300 (Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm) or email: opasiena@operalaboratori.com


Borgo di Vagli restored mediaeval hamlet in Tuscany
Borgo di Vagli has been authentically restored as a Tuscan vacation hamlet. The residences can be bought in the form of fractional ownerships, making a holiday home in Tuscany possible at modest cost.

Fulvio Di Rosa
All content copyright © Fulvio Di Rosa 2013. All rights reserved.

Thursday 21 March 2013

Getting to understand the Etruscans of Cortona

Lack of extensive written records combined with a wealth of sometimes enigmatic tomb art has earned the Etruscans the qualifier "mysterious", and I guess it's true that they are among the most mysterious of the Mediterranean peoples of any significance. Luckily, here at Borgo di Vagli we have several excellent nearby opportunities to get to understand the Etruscans of Cortona quite well. First and foremost is the fine Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona (Etruscan Academy Museum of the City of Cortona), MAƎC for short. This museum compares favorably with the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Chiusi and the Museo Guarnacci in Volterra.

Etruscan Academy Museum of the City of Cortona
Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona.
The Etruscan Academy Museum is located in the Palazzo Casali, also known as the Palazzo Pretorio and dating back to the 13 C. The Museum was founded in 1727 and between 2005 and 2008 underwent major renovations including much-needed modernisation of the displays. It's now one of the most pleasing archaeological museums in Italy.

An entire if small viewing space is dedicated to the bronze lampadario found at Fratta near Cortona in 1840. This is a magnificent bronze hanging lamp very likely cast for a north Etruscan religious edifice of the highest importance during the 4th century BC. An inscription shows it was rededicated in the 2nd century BC. Under the 18 burners, its iconography includes alternating representations of Silenus playing double flutes and of sirens. Within reliefs of waves, dolphins and other fiercer sea-creatures is a gorgon-like face with protruding tongue. Between each burner is a horned head of Achelous. Don't miss it! It's housed adjacent to the entrance of Room II.

Display gallery in the Etruscan Academy Museum of the City of Cortona
Etruscan display in the Etruscan Academy Museum of the City of Cortona.
In addition to the Museum, there is evidence of Cortona's Etruscan past throughout the town and in the surrounding countryside. Within Cortona, Etruscan remains include parts of the mighty defensive walls, the double-arched gate of Porta Bifora as well as a series of underground sites such as the vaulted arch in the Palazzo Cerulli Diligenti, the barrel vault in the Via Guelfa, and an Etruscan section of wall in the Palazzo Casali itself.

The countryside around Cortona is dotted with "meloni", Etruscan burial-mounds. These can be seen at Camucia and also in the village of Sodo. Tumulo II at Sodo displays imposing terrace-steps decorated with sculptural groups and other architectural elements.

Etruscan Tumulo II at Sodo, near Cortona
Etruscan Tumulo II at Sodo, near Cortona
At the foot of the hill among the olive groves is the so-called Tanella di Pitagora (Tomb of Pythagoras), an Etruscan monument already known to travellers as early as in the 1500s, the Tanella Angori and the Mezzavia burial site.

A day spend first at the Cortona Etruscan museum followed by a circuit of the archaeological sites around Cortona makes for a very pleasant (and educational) excursion.

Some Etruscan proclivities differed from ours. One was a love of roasted, stuffed dormice (ghiri). These were reared in a large terracotta pot kept in the kitchen and known to us as a ghirarium. The numerous examples in Etruscan museums have climbing shelves built into the walls and air holes. There's a good reconstruction of a ghirarium in the MAƎC. The Roman recipe - possibly of Etruscan derivation - for preparing dormice involves creating a stuffing of dormouse meat or pork together with pepper, pine nuts, broth, asafoetida and some garum (anchovy paste will do), stuffing it into the dormice which are then stitched up and baked in an oven on a tile (180 C for 45 minutes). They are still a popular delicacy in Slovenia. You can also preserve the roasted animals in honey for later consumption. Buon appetito!

Etruscan dinner
Etruscan couple dining in style.

Museum Opening hours:
1 April – 31 October open everyday from 10 am to 7 pm.
1 November – 31 March open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5pm.
Closed Mondays, closed on 25 December.


Borgo di Vagli restored mediaeval hamlet in Tuscany
Borgo di Vagli has been authentically restored as a Tuscan vacation hamlet. The residences can be bought in the form of fractional ownerships, making a holiday home in Tuscany possible at modest cost.

Fulvio Di Rosa
All content copyright © Fulvio Di Rosa 2013. All rights reserved.

Thursday 7 March 2013

A not-to-be-missed art exhibition in Siena during 2013

An excellent new art exhibition, "Resurrexi: Dalla Passione alla Resurrezione" ("Resurrexi: From Passion to Resurrection"), has just opened in Siena and continues until 31 August 2013. The full title of the exhibition is "From Passion to Resurrection, a route amongst the masterpieces of the monumental complex of the Cathedral of Siena for the Year of Faith." It provides a fantastic opportunity to see depictions of the death and resurrection of Jesus by artists represented in the holdings Opera della Metropolitana of Siena. And since paintings of the last moments of the life of Jesus were an important part of the canon of every Renaissance artist, there are some astonishing masterpieces to be seen in here.

Resurrexi: Dalla Passione alla Resurrezione
Frescoes on the crypt itinerary of the Siena exhibition:
Resurrexi: Dalla Passione alla Resurrezione
The exhibition includes two itineraries, one through the Crypt of the Duomo and the other through the Museo dell’Opera, highlighting specific works of art. Many of these masterpieces are in fact always accessible to visitors who have done their homework, a famous example being the northern gothic pulpit sculpted between the end of 1265 and November 1268 by Nicola Pisano and several other artists. This is actually the oldest art work in the Duomo.

Northern gothic pulpit by Nicola Pisano (1265 - 1268)
Northern gothic pulpit by Nicola Pisano (1265 - 1268)
However, the exhibition also includes works not usually on public display, particularly many exquisite miniatures as well as the reverse side of Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Maestà, painted between 1308 and 1311 and which depicts the entire cycle of the Passion of Christ. Frescoes are also prominent in the itineraries.

Historiated initial of a manuscript on display at the exhibition Resurrexi: Dalla Passione alla Resurrezione in Siena.
Historiated initial of a manuscript on display at the exhibition
Resurrexi: Dalla Passione alla Resurrezione in Siena.
Sienna is just one and half hours from Borgo di Vagli, making this a worthwhile day excursion for anyone with an interest in art. Highly recommended.

After absorbing so many works of art in the passageways under Siena, you'll no doubt be feeling hungry. My best tip for a meal (at a "like Dina's" place) is Osteria Nonna Gina.

The exhibition opened on 1 March and continues until 31 August 2013.
Hours 10.30 to 19.00. Last admission 18.30.
Tickets: Opa SI Pass: € 12. Free for children younger than 11 years old.
Location: Sienna Cathedral and Piccolomini Library, Museum of the Opera and Panorama from Facciatone, crypt under the cathedral, baptistery, Oratorio S. Bernardino.

Borgo di Vagli restored mediaeval hamlet in Tuscany
Borgo di Vagli has been authentically restored as a Tuscan vacation hamlet. The residences can be bought in the form of fractional ownerships, making a holiday home in Tuscany possible at modest cost.

Fulvio Di Rosa
All content copyright © Fulvio Di Rosa 2013. All rights reserved.