Lecce

25 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Italia, Photography, Travel

Tags

Barocco Leccese, Baroque art, Negroamaro, Puglia, Salento, Southern Italy, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Lecce reminds me of a Caravaggio painting-Baroque, dramatic and opulent, with attention to detail. It is unfortunate he did not live long enough to visit the city! Lecce, in the Salento area of Southern Puglia is over 2000 years old and rich in tradition and local customs. Originally called Syvar, it was founded by the Mesapii(Mesapians) from Crete. There is a long history of Greek settlement here, in fact there is still a group of 9 towns called ‘Grecia Salentino’ where ‘Griko’ dialetto is spoken.

Conquered by the Romans in the 3^rd Century BC, it was renamed Lupiae. Hadrian moved the city 3 Km northeast in the 2^nd Century AD and called it Licea. Then came the Byzantines in 549, followed by Orthodox monks. Lecce and the Salento were an independent country from 1043 until 1463 when Emperor Carlo V conquered Puglia, and they became part of the Kingdom of Napoli until Italian unification in 1861. Lecce was an important commercial city, with a building and cultural boom.

Lecce is best known for its dramatic Baroque architecture and ornamentation, which even has its own name-Barocco Leccese. The style was around from the mid 1500’s to the early 1700’s, so even among buildings constructed at different times there is continuity of style.

The Baroque style features over the top details and intricate carvings that create a sense of movement. Barocco Leccese is even more expressive and unique. Windows, balconies and loggias are elaborately ornamented with twisting columns, scrolls and cornices. They are carved with human figures, animals, wreaths, vines and gargoyles. There is also a lot of marble, gilt and bronze involved. Corbels supporting balconies are a common decorative element in Lecce.

‘Salento and the Barocco Leccese, including Lecce, Nardò, Gallipoli, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Francavilla, Galatina and Galatone’ are on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 2006. This is the step before becoming a World Heritage Site.

Lecce’s buildings are made of Pietra Leccese, a local, honey coloured porous limestone. It is soft and workable for sculpture, and was hardened and weatherproofed by soaking in a liquid solution made with whole milk. Pietra Leccese is still one of the area’s main exports, mined in open quarries.

What to see in Lecce:

The Centro Storico of Lecce, with its narrow stone streets, 22 churches and unique architecture is a historically preserved walking museum. It is mostly pedestrian only and very walkable. After dark the streets are lined with outdoor seating for vino and aperitivo, and everyone is out for passeggiata.

Lecce’s defensive walls are gone, but 3 gates remain: Porta Rudiae, Porta San Biagio and Porta Napoli, which marked the starting point of the road to Napoli.

The 2 main piazze are Piazza Duomo and Piazza Sant’Oronzo, which are connected by Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Piazza Duomo is a large open space, but you can almost walk by and miss it! There is only one entrance, and it is closed off on 3 sides. The Duomo is unique as it has 2 facades. This was done so that visitors to the piazza did not have to face a big blank side wall as they entered. The Campanile is the tallest in Italia at 68 m. Piazza Duomo also contains the Palazzo Vescovile and Seminario, which is used mainly for exhibitions.

Piazza Sant’Oronzo, named for the first Christian bishop and the patron saint of Lecce, was the site of the mercato. The 2^nd Century AD Roman anfiteatro was discovered in 1901 during construction of a new Banca d’Italia. The 20,000 seat arena was originally built outside of the walls of Lecce and was still in use in the 12^thCentury. More than half of it has not been excavated!

Looking down over the anfiteatro is Il Sedile, a 1590 Gothic structure which was the seat of the town hall. It is now the Tourist information office.

The Colonna di S Oronzo, is a column topped with a bronze statue of Sant’Oronzo. It was originally built in 110 AD-one of a pair of Turkish marble columns marking the end of the Via Appia from Roma to Brindisi. This one toppled and broke in 1528 and its twin is still standing in Brindisi. In 1659, the broken remains were given to Lecce to thank Sant’Oronzo for saving Brindisi from the 1656 plague. The Brindisini have wanted it back ever since!

Not far from the piazza is Museo Faggiano- a unique museum, especially for archeology nerds like me! Plumbing issues result in DIY renovations that uncover layers of history…..Blog post coming!

Santa Croce’s façade is the masterpiece of Barocco Leccese. It took 200 years to build. The exterior was recently cleaned and renovated. The interior has a gilded coffered ceiling and 14 chapels with carved, twisting columns.

Sant’Irene is dedicated to the ancient protector of the city 1591-1639. The interior is simple, but has twin Baroque side altars. My amazing balcony at Palazzo Belli B&B looked out onto the side entrance.

Santa Chiara built in 1687 has an unusual façade and an extravagant interior with a wooden ceiling. There are loads of other beautiful churches to see in Lecce, but i have only mentioned the main ones.

Sometimes the scenery looks like an old movie set! Walk down Via Palmieri, lined with grand palazzi, ending at Porta Napoli.

Things I did not have time to see include the Castello Carlo V and its carta pesta (papier maché) museum, the Teatro Romano and the Museo Provinciale.

Lecce is a great place to shop. Specialties include colourful Pugliese ceramics, carta pesta, olive oil and vino. Lecce observes the pausa pranzo which means shops are closed from 2-5pm.

Make sure to try pasticciotto. My favourite is the kind with crema and amarena. Yum! Sit outside to have Caffè Leccese –espresso on ice with almond milk and of course local vino, especially my favourite-Negroamaro. Here is my cena with Negroamaro rosé.

Since the centro storico is car free, dealing with a car in Lecce can be a pain. During high season, it is easier to get around by bus or local train. During low season, a car will make it easier to visit places that are not on the main train line. Lecce is between 2 seas, the Adriatic is 11km away and the Ionian 23 km away.

Lecce (pop. 96,000) is on the Adriatico train route that starts in Bologna. The Stazione is a flat walk, 1 km south of the Centro Storico. Last year, I took the train from Foggia (3 hours) staying 3 days in Lecce and 1 in Nardò. It was late July/early August, and not crowded at all. I booked my train and accomodation 3 days in advance. Try to avoid making Lecce a daytrip, as you will miss the beautiful evenings and fun nightlife. I am looking forward to going back as soon as possible!

Buon viaggio, Cristina

L’ultimo Caravaggio

18 Saturday Jul 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Art history, Roma

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Baroque art, Caravaggio, Life of Caravaggio, Napoli, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Roma, Sant'Orsola

410 years ago today, Caravaggio died in a tavern in Porto Ercole. This is about his last painting and the time I went to see the WRONG Caravaggio. I rarely use the words wrong and Caravaggio in the same sentence, but in this case it works.

A few years ago, I had an extremely Caravaggio’d out day in Roma. After my visit to Galleria Borghese, I stopped in to see more Caravaggio works at Santa Maria del Popolo, then met a friend at Sant’Agostino to see the Madonna dei Pellegrini. Whew! I ended up in a Caravaggio Coma and had the best day ever!

When my friend Romano heard I was going to Sant’Agostino, he immediately offered to meet me there. I remember thinking this was odd, since I knew he had a full day. As soon as we approached the painting, and he said ‘Questo è il collo più sensuale nella storia dell’arte /This is the most sensuous neck in the history of art’, I realized he was a fellow Caravaggio nerd. This was, in fact his favourite painting. Afterwards, we went to have caffè freddo and talked about Caravaggio for an hour!

Romano had recently been to Napoli and told me about a Caravaggio painting in a former church owned by a bank. The bank bought the building and it came with the Caravaggio! Whaaaaat! I knew I had to see this Caravaggio if I was ever in Napoli. The name or subject of the painting, and the name of the palazzo was not part of our discussion.

I usually fly home from Napoli, arriving in time to have caffè marocchino and a sflogliatella at the airport, then off I go. 2 days before my departure, I decided to arrive a day early, and spend 24 hours in Napoli.

One of the 4 things on my list to see that day was the painting Romano spoke about. I quickly googled ‘Caravaggio, Napoli, decomissioned church, bank’ and all results came to the painting ‘Sette Opere di Misericordia’/Seven Acts of Mercy’ located in Pio Monte della Misericordia. All 4 of my ‘must see’ places were walking distance from Piazza Dante, and I booked a B&B appropriately called ‘Il Paradiso di Dante’.

I had heard of ‘Sette Opere di Misericordia’ but was not familiar with the location, where it has been hanging for over 400 years. Pio Monte della Misericordia seemed to be a functioning church, so I suspected that something was off. I was not too concerned because it was earthshatteringly amazing, as you can tell by my happy photo. I visited the 3 other places, ate lots of sfogliatelle and had an amazing day. Read all about it in the post Un giorno a Napoli.

Returning to the B&B-and access to wifi- that evening, I looked it up again. As I suspected, Pio Monte della Misericordia is a functioning church with an incredible history. It turns out I went to see the WRONG Caravaggio! If only all of my mistakes were this amazing!There are 3 Caravaggio works in Napoli. The one Romano saw was Il Martirio di Sant’Orsola /The Martyrdom of St Orsola, Caravaggio’s last painting before his death, and only recently re attributed to him. He may have even referred to it as ‘l’ultimo Caravaggio’, which would have been a helpful clue, but I did not remember that detail.

Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano was converted to a bank from 1898-1920 and now houses the Banca Intesa San Paolo Collection. It was not far out of my way back to Piazza Dante, so I could have made it there if I had realized my mistake earlier. Mannaggia!

The painting was commissioned by Marcantonio Doria, a young banker and collector from Genoa. His stepdaughter was about to enter a religious order and take the name Suor Orsola (Sister Orsola). Lanfranco Massa, the art agent in Napoli wrote to Doria on May 11, 1610 that the painting was finished but not yet completely dry, so he had put it out in the sun (bad idea!) and the varnish had gone a bit soft. Massa also encouraged Doria to commission more Caravaggio works, as patrons were fighting over him and this was a good opportunity.

Caravaggio arrived in Napoli for the second time in October 1609. Within days, his violent past caught up to him and he was brutally attacked by 4 armed men. There were rumours he had been disfigured or killed. His recovery was long, and he produced only 3 paintings during this time. Sant’Orsola arrived in Genoa June 18, 1610. Soon afterwards, Caravaggio set sail for Roma to finally receive a pardon for his murder conviction from Pope Paul V. He died enroute in Porto Ercole on July 18^th 1610 from a staph infection caused by the attack.

The subject of the painting, Orsola, and her 11 companions were captured by the Huns on the way back from a pilgrimage to Roma. The companions were killed, but Attila the Hun was impressed by Orsola’s modesty and beauty. She refused to marry him and he shot her with an arrow. The painting captures the moment of action when the arrow strikes her. She is deathly pale as she looks down at the entry wound with a surprised expression, as if to say ‘Oh my….look…there is an arrow sticking out of my chest’. The painting is looser and more impressionistic than usual, as if it was painted in a rush. It is very dark, less chiaro, more scuro and does not have the divine light present in most Caravaggio works. He was going through a difficult time, which is reflected in the darkness and mood of the painting. One of the shocked bystanders behind Orsola is Caravaggio in his last selfie.

Caravaggio-Martirio-Sant-Orsola-2

The Doria estate eventually ended up in Napoli, bringing Sant’Orsola back home. In 1854, it was listed in the inventory of Giovanni Doria’s inheritance along with Palazzo Doria D’Angri. Caravaggio only signed one of his works. The Doria family owned this painting for 300 years-so long that over time the artist was forgotten. Oops! Caravaggio’s influence and style defined painting in Napoli for several centuries. During a 1963 exhibit in Napoli called ‘Caravaggio e Caravaggeschi’, Sant’Orsola was attributed to Mattia Preti (1613-1699), although several art historians believed it to be Caravaggio’s work. In 1973 Baronessa Avezzano sold it to Banca Intesa.

In 1980, in the Doria family archives, art historian Vincenzo Pacelli (1939-2014) found the letter from the agent which I mentioned earlier, confirming that Sant’Orsola was painted by Caravaggio. Finalmente!

Palazzo Zavallos Stigliano is on Via Toledo 185, Napoli, not far from the Toledo Metro station. Admission is €5. It is closed Mondays. Hours Tu-F 10-18, Sat/Sun 10-20

Links: For more about the life and death of the Baroque Bad Boy – Caravaggio.

To recreate my Caravaggio coma day in Roma –Caffè con Caravaggio a Roma

I hope you found my convoluted story molto interessante!

Ciao, Cristina

Caravaggio

23 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art history, Roma

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Baroque art, Caravaggio, Death of Caravaggio, Life of Caravaggio, Roma

Caravaggio is one of the most brilliant and influential painters that ever lived. He pioneered chiaroscuro-dramatic use of light on a dark background and went for the ‘shock’ factor, really testing the boundaries for his time. His life was as dramatic as his paintings and he was always getting into trouble with the authorities, drinking, gambling, brawling, sword fighting. I have a few Caravaggio centered posts planned, so I will start with one about the Baroque bad-boy himself.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was born and studied in Milano. His family was from the town of Caravaggio. He fled to Roma at the age of 21 after wounding an officer in a fight. He found employment in the studio of Cavaliere D’Arpino, the Pope’s painter, and spent all his time painting ‘fiori e frutta’. There is record of him being in hospital for 6 months early on in his time in Roma. One of his earliest paintings is a self-portrait called ‘Bacchino Malato’ -Young Sick Bacchus. His pale, yellowish complexion and bluish gray lips do not look healthy. He may have had malaria. Caravaggio then went to work on his own and quickly developed a name as an artist, earning commissions from wealthy patrons.

Bacchino Malato (1593)

Caravaggio’s work was powerful and dramatic. Unlike other artists of the time, he worked directly from life onto the canvas without any working sketches. Caravaggio worked quickly and produced a lot of work in his 14 years in Roma. Besides his use of light, dark and shadow, he also came up with dramatic compositions and intense realism…sometimes too intense. He usually chose to paint the realism of the moment-the exact moment the action is happening. He showed life how it was, but his realism was often seen as graphic, vulgar and shocking. He pushed boundaries and made people uncomfortable. Caravaggio used live models most of whom he found on the street, including 2 well-known prostitutes. He was frequently disputing with clients who refused to pay or insisted he redo a painting.

100,000 Lire Caravaggio banknote with his works ‘Buona Ventura’ on the front and ‘Canestra di frutta’ on the back

Caravaggio was always getting into trouble, but his name and wealthy clients protected him. In 1606, during a late night street brawl at a tennis court, he killed Ranuccio Tomassoni in a dispute over a prostitute. Even having big-time patrons like Cardinal Borghese could not save him this time. He fled Rome with a death sentence and a price on his head. He arrived in Napoli, where his influence and style defined painting in the city for the next few centuries.

In 1607 he went to Malta, hoping that the patronage of the Grand Master of the Knights of St John would help him receive a pardon from the Pope. He was welcomed and produces a lot of incredible art there. Caravaggio was even inducted as a knight, but in 1608 seriously wounded another knight in a brawl and was imprisoned. He escaped, was expelled as a ‘foul and rotten member’ and fled to Sicilia where he had a friend. His behaviour grew increasingly bizarre. He destroyed paintings at the slightest criticism and slept in his clothes fully armed. Caravaggio returned to Napoli after 9 months, to wait until he could return to Roma to receive a pardon. In 1609 his dangerous lifestyle cought up to him. There was an attempt on his life in a violent brawl and his face was disfigured. There were even rumours of his death.

Davide con la testa di Golia (1610) Galleria Borghese

In 1610 he sent one of his last paintings Davide con la testa di Golia –David with the head of Goliath to his former patron, Cardinal Borghese, hoping he could convince his uncle the Pope to issue a pardon. Caravaggio painted his own portrait as the gory severed head of Goliath, in a plea for mercy. Soon after, he got on a boat heading north and ended up on the coast of southern Tuscany waiting for his pardon for the murder. The pardon came too late. He died in a tavern in Porto Ercole of a fever, infection from his wounds and heat exhaustion. There were rumours he was poisoned, but Caravaggio likely also had lead poisoning from the lead in his paints. The homicidal genius was only 38 years old.

Poste Italiane 1960 stamp commemorating the 350th anniversary of the death of Caravaggio

In 2010, 400 years after his death, scientists think they may have cracked this ‘cold case’. They are 85% sure that bones found in the cemetery in Porto Ercole belong to Caravaggio. DNA evidence shows the age, height and date of death match, and they also did DNA testing of some long time residents of the town of Caravaggio and found there was DNA similarity. The suspected bones also contained high enough levels of lead to drive someone mad. More recent dental evidence shows that the main cause of death for the owner of these bones was a Staph infection, likely from the Napoli swordfight. Sounds convincing to me! Ciao, Cristina

*Image-Ottavio Leoni ‘Ritratto di Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’ ca 1621. Biblioteca Marucellaria, Firenze. Wikimedia Commons