Busy, busy

Tags

Chicago, Food, Friends, Italy, life, Palenque, Quahogs, Rocky Point

Last weekend appeared as if there was nothing to do, quiet. However like the weather in PEI, if you wait 10 minutes things take a dramatic turn.

So Friday morning we went to a schedule appointment at the Vet with Nicky and Nora for their annual physical, they are both 12 yrs old now and for their annual shots. They are both in good health with some medical problems connected to age. Otherwise spoiled and happy puppies. Nora is particularly a drama queen at the Vet and it is quite the scene. Nicky on the other hand is quiet and stoic, not a peep out of him, such a good boy.

We returned home and out the door we went to Rocky Point for lunch at friends Summer home, though they can also live there year round and they have been doing that quite a bit in the last 15 months. Rocky Point is reached by doing a semi-circle around the bay of Charlottetown, crossing the North River and the East River to reach the point which faces the Strait of Northumberland. Our friends just extended their property to 70 acres. From the road you cannot see a thing, it is all treed and you have to know where to turn off to the long unpaved driveway towards the house, at on point you turn left and then right again facing on a high cliff the Strait and the view of water with in the far distance Nova Scotia.

When they bought this property many decades ago, the land belonged to the great grandfather of my current barber. The next door neighbour is the brother of our neighbour in town. The land itself back then did not have one tree on it. It was all farmland and no house. Today a forest has grown all around and dominates the area, making it a very private and secluded residence. The house is also quite beautiful, all wood recycled from the old railway platforms of Charlottetown Train Station when it was all decommissioned 35 years ago and the wood was free for the taking. The house is filled with art work and has a giant deck which dominates and gives panoramic views of the Strait.

The only reason we wanted to see our friend was to give him a birthday gift and say hello, but we got invited to a fantastic lunch of Quahog clams and spaghetti with lots of lemon and clam juice for the sauce, a green salad and a tomato salad, accompanied by beautiful wines. For dessert we had ice cold Limoncello. The sort of lunch we would have in Italy.

We also walked around the new purchased land which is connected with their own.

The land seen extending into the strait is Point Prim, where one of my favourite lighthouse is located. It indicates the way for ships into the bay of Charlottetown. This photo is taken not far from the Block House Light House which indicates the actual narrow entrance into the bay. It is a big lighthouse and has a house attached to it. The house belongs to the Federal Government but no one lives there and apparently it is for sale. It is a located next to the old French Fort of 1700 and is splendidly isolated with views of the water and the city in the distance. All ships coming in past this lighthouse.

We have been many times to the Summer house but this time was somewhat special.

High Tide, the beach is red sandstone.

Then on Saturday we went to York which is outside Charlottetown, very rural and green.

We love to go there to chose plants and flowers for our garden. They always have a good selection and offer good service at reasonable prices.

Corner of the deck, with the terra cotta head of the Prince of Palenque bought in Mexico in 1986, it travelled with me all over the world.

Citronella plant on top of the terra cotta pumpkin bought at the florist in the Drake Hotel in Chicago in 1994.

We have been busy and now tonight we are promised muggy weather in a few days. The expression here on PEI is, We are having the muggys (high humidity). I have not mentioned what I am also involved at the Club or everyday, so no we are not bored.

The Haviland Club at Haviland and Water street in Charlottetown.

Going through old photos

Tags

Italy, life, Padua, Veneto, Venice

We have been to La Serenissima as the City of Venice is known in Italy, many times.

It is a city we saw change from being a real live city to slowly becoming a tourist trap, from selling beautiful objects, books, beautiful paper products for wrapping, to letter writing and papier maché masks to basically going whole hog with cheap chinese plastic crap putting out of business, many Venetians. Good restaurants becoming fast food junk and hotel prices in the $400 dollar range and up. Far too many cheap tourists tours, garbage everywhere, a truly sad situation.

There are still pockets where in this small lagoon city you will find the quiet pace of old, but it is becoming increasingly rare. Only the pandemic put an end to the onslaught and emptied the city.

These are photos of one of our visit in Venice, having tea at Café Aurora on an afternoon, having tea, sandwiches and pastries. The last time we were visiting Venice we stayed in Mestre which is on the mainland but not the same. We did discover that Padua is only by train about 20 minutes from Venice and a good alternative for an hotel when visiting the Veneto region. Padua is a beautiful small city, and tourists do not go there in hordes, probably because it is known for its pilgrimage sites devoted to Saint Anthony, who was Portuguese. Padua is also a university town.

Wearing my Borsalino bought in Naples.

Excavation

Tags

Archeology, Germany, history, Italy, Pompeii

Reading and reading a lot about various historical sites and discoveries and history, renovations and reconstructions, archeology and discovering ancient artifacts shedding light on the past.

Here are paintings on the topic of Pompeii, a resort city of ancient Rome destroyed in 79 AD by the spectacular eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Here a young peasant woman from the area of Naples admiring the frescoes of ancient villas as the site is unearth. Much of the frescoes discovered were then removed and placed indoors in Museums both in Naples and in Rome. A highly romantic painting but nonetheless it gives an impression of what workers saw.

The book of Teresa Demauro entitled Restauri a Pompei 1748-1860 is presented by the Parco Archeologico a Pompei. In her doctoral thesis she narrates through her research the story of the discoveries of the archeological work in Pompeii from 1748 to 1860 the last period of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. pompeiisites.org/en/projects-and-research/publications/

Pompeii and Herculanum are two very rich sites, though it requires some knowledge of history before you go otherwise it won’t make much sense.

Here is another painting showing char women carrying basket full of rubble in an area which looks like the central Forum of Pompeii with the Vesuvius in the background.

Italian Universities and international teams of archeologists publish on a regular basis studies of findings, it really never ends because what we know, though important and somewhat extensive, is not complete and so the research goes on.

Martin G. Conde in his blog details archeological research and also for many years now the damage done to sites like Pompeii by the constant flow of mass tourism. https://romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/author/romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura/

Martin has also written a lot on the new Metro line C in Rome which has become one of the most expensive infrastructure project in the world. The Metro line C currently under construction crosses the Roman Forum one of the most rich archeological sites in the world. Metro Line C is also a decade behind schedule and no one is counting the cost overrun anymore in the billions of Euros. Eventually line A and B of the Rome Metro will connect to line C and everyone it is hope will be happy.

Other site I follow currently, The rebuilding of the Garnison Church in Potsdam built in 1735, blown up by the Communist regime of East Germany in 1968.

The Palace of Versailles multiple projects of rehabilitation, conservation and re-furnishing of various rooms, an unending process with dramatic results, not to mention the gardens and the rehabilitation of the numerous water fountains and sculptures.

The Berlin City Palace now Humboldt Forum built in 1445 and blown up in 1957 by the Communist regime of East Germany, rebuilt and re-opening on 17 December 2020.

Reconstruction work in Dresden old city centre which is almost complete and re-creates the city centre as it once was prior to its destruction by fire bombing on 14 and 15 February 1945.

Potsdam old city centre of the 17th and 18th Century and the palace complex and gardens around Sans Souci and the Neues Palais.

What is fascinating about all this is the number of stone cutters and sculptors, artists and artisans employed for this work using original techniques and finding inspiration in paintings, drawings and old photograph and archival records for their work.

Sunday morning

Tags

art., Italy, kaufmann, life, sunday

Another beautiful quiet sunny Sunday morning. Listening to Marc Hervieux who is a Canadian Opera singer and he has his radio show on Radio-Canada.

This morning he was playing this Italian song Parlami d’amore Mariu.

Come sei bella più bella stasera Mariú!
Splende un sorriso di stella negli occhi tuoi blu!
Anche se avverso il destino domani sarà
Oggi ti sono vicino, perché sospirar?

Sung by Jonas Kaufmann, who has a clear pronunciation in Italian.

https://youtu.be/pMgbDt31wnM

Dealing with changes

Tags

Canada., Italy, museum, NGC, Ottawa, painting

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, An Offering to Pan​ (detail), c.1645–60. Photo: NGC

This painting I have seen countless times at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa on the second floor in the baroque room. It’s a very big painting and a fascinating one. The title of my post is about change, but what it refers to is the change that occurs in a painting over the years as paint ages and nature takes its toll. Like people paintings do age and decay with time and they need restoration and cleaning.

I presented this painting to school groups who come to the National gallery in Ottawa. Children and adults are fascinated by the subject and all the items shown. Doing interpretative work on paintings is to me always interesting, this is something I love doing.

This painting has changed, the colours are much darker with age. The darkening has changed the view we have of the painting.

Here is what Stephen Gritt, Director, Conservation &  Technical Research, at the National Gallery of Canada has to say about it.

When William Hogarth published his book The Analysis of Beauty in 1753, he touched upon a subject that could potentially strike fear into the heart of any art lover. “When colours change at all, it must be somewhat in the manner following, for as they are made some of metal, some of stone, and others of more perishable materials, time cannot operate on them otherwise than as daily experience we find it doth, which is, that one changes darker, another lighter, one quite to a different colour, whilst another, as ultramarine, will keep its natural brightness,” he stated. “Therefore how is it possible that such different materials, ever variously changing … should naturally coincide with the artist’s intention.” The English painter was stating, in effect, that art objects – here specifically paintings – begin changing right from day one, so what we ultimately see is not the work the artist originally intended.

These changes in a work may occur on their own, within the object’s raw materials – for example, drying oil in oil paints darkening over time. There are also changes that can be engendered by “misuse” of these materials, typically called “inherent vice”, for example when the use of too much oil produces even greater darkening. Although this term is usually thought to apply to works of art that may be experimental in nature and made in the last 50 years, artists have always pushed the limits of their craft and knowingly used materials that were going to change. One could argue that we have centuries of inherent vice with which to contend.

Typically the artworks we see today have changed in a way that stems from the interaction of these various phenomena and the environments in which they have been kept. What often has a more profound effect on the nature and appearance of these works is the way conservator-restorers have treated them, and what they may have done to correct or simply hide any changes. Today, one of the roles a conservator-restorer should play is to look at the forensics of the situation, while trying to unravel the causes and effects of the changes over time. If the conservator-restorer is able to achieve this, thoughtful treatment can mediate these effects and enable a presentation of the work that has it talking in something like its own voice once more.

Painted in the mid-17th century by the painter Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, An Offering to Pan illustrates examples of such compound effects. The painting depicts an altar-like structure, heaped with offerings and trophies to a damaged sculpture of the ancient god Pan, shown in his characteristic form as half-man, half-goat. Pan was an embodiment of wild and eruptive nature, as well as fertility. His followers were mainly people in remote and rural areas, and in this portrayal one sees hunters, shepherds and herdsmen making offerings, in the hope that he will assist them.

Unlike depictions of the Classical world by Castiglione’s contemporaries, the eclectic and exotic nature of the clothing and objects is designed to invoke Pan’s non-Olympian strangeness, and potentially his origins in the East. Castiglione is attempting to bring that world to life by making it vibrant and exotic, full of unusual beauty, which allows him to show off his ability to represent the sumptuous and glittering bounty. Castiglione was also an excellent painter of animals, and the spaniel is simply one of the best depictions of a dog in the Gallery’s collection.

The upper part of the canvas shows some of the changes that have occurred over the years. In addition to the top section of the sky looking uneven and blotchy due to cleaning damage and discoloured old restoration, a horizontal line has become very prominent. It is a seam where two sections of fabric were originally stitched together to make the large canvas, and the seam has been pushed forward by past structural treatment of the painting.

The mottled cloud-forms should actually read as a more even, luminous pale blue, set against and contrasted with the gold colour. The blue pigment used here is called “smalt”, which typically decolourizes and ultimately is more susceptible to damage during cleaning operations. In this particular instance, the combination of the colour change in smalt, an increased visual effect of the dark red-brown underlayer and the significant cleaning damage twists the painting away from Castiglione’s originally realized intention.

On the left, the same effects can be seen in the darker clouds. The black lines rising up above the ducks are actually the artist’s initial drawing in paint, which has been revealed by the changes, and it appears that Castiglione originally intended to include a tree. On the right, the foliage of the trees has also changed over time. Green tints were typically based on copper, which causes the oil medium to turn brown. Pan was associated with springtime, and this change potentially takes the viewer to a different season. Overall, the effects of restoration processes and the basic aging of the materials will have caused the painting to be generally darker, and to have lost force in the mid-tones, creating an effect of heightened tonal contrast.

So what does all this mean? How does one interpret and understand works that are far from their intentional state? Much of Castiglione’s fine-tuning in finalizing this painting has simply disappeared, although some sections have survived relatively unscathed. As Hogarth noted, the blue ultramarine, used here in the mountains and drapery, has proved resilient, and now consequently stands out as strident.

This should give us pause for thought, but it should not be critically unnerving. With the right kind of information, one can meet the work halfway and, in turn, achieve something more meaningful. Helping us do this is one of the key roles of Museums, and has been since their inception. With enough information we can retrieve more of the work’s nature and its original grandeur and, in turn, engage with it and appreciate it in a more meaningful way.

https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/in-the-spotlight/coping-with-changes-a-work-by-giovanni-benedetto-castiglione?

 

Line C, Metropolitana

Tags

engineering, heritage, Italy, Metro, metropolitana, monuments

Rome remains a city of great interest to me and since we left some years ago I still follow what is going on. It remains really our second home and very dear to us.

The completion at snail pace of the Line C of the Metropolitana di Roma, the infamous line C which connects line A and B in Rome is something I have been following for years. When we left Rome in 2011 I thought it would be completed in a year or two. This is a very long metro line which crosses Rome from one end to the other however given that Rome is a very compact city building a metro line over 24 Km should not be a long tedious affair, well think again. The first tranche of Line C is now complete from the Eastern Suburb at Monte Compatri-Pantano to San Giovanni where is intersect with Line A.  San Giovanni is the site of the ancient Basilica of San Giovanni Laterano, the Pope’s church since he is the Bishop of Rome with a Papal Palace attached. The first section now functionning opened in 2014 and two more stations in 2018. The biggest hurdle is all the archeological sites along the route, as the construction gets nearer to the historical centre of Rome the engineers have to dig ever deeper and at the same time all work must stop the minute they hit any ancient site. Archeologists and historians are brought in and a major study is undertaken, which can take a couple of years, so this causes many long delays.

The result the digging has now reached the Roman Forum area and the Colosseum, continuing down the Via dei Fori Imperiali, as you can see from the photo upper right corner down to the Altar of the Nation, ( the big white monument) the tunnelling is now more than 90 feet under ground to avoid any ancient structure. Some stations because of the complexity of avoiding any archeological structure or monument have been cancelled out right, like the planned station at Lago di Torre Argentina where four ancient temples of the Republican era around 2200 years old are located and also it is the site of the Theatre of Pompey where Julius Cesar was assassinated in 44 BC.  So far the line is 15 years late in completion and billions in Euro over budget.

Centre of Rome, Piazza Venezia in front of the Altar to the Nation. 

In any other city, engineers and politicians would have compromised and agreed to save some monuments and ignore others, based on the importance historically of what should be preserved and what should be discarded. In North America, this is a common compromise, in Canada often everything is bulldozed and only a plaque will recall what was destroyed. However in Italy it is a very different matter and any question of not studying what is found and not taking measures to preserve it is considered barbaric. So I have seen years of discussion between the various Mayors of Rome, Prime Ministers of Italy, Ministers of Culture, archeologists, University deans, members of the public etc. go on and on and on, enough to drive you crazy.  If this was not enough there was also a big discussion around the two boring machines or Talpe (Italian for moles)  underground digging the tunnels, what to do with them, should they be left in a side gallery once the work is over or …

How much this is costing in total is not even considered. it is not important, what does matter is to preserve the past of Rome. Some Metro station will have museums built within to exhibit the artefacts, so that riders can view it all as they come to the Station. The design of each station in the historical centre must be practical but also appropriate to the surrounding area and style matters. The Piazza Venezia station will be unique in the world given the Palaces of noble princely families, like the Colonna and Doria Pamphilij in the neighbourhood and the importance of this square in the heart of Rome.

In the digs discovered so far are barracks of the Pretorian guards with beautiful mosaic floors intact and some wall paintings, then at Piazza Venezia the forgotten Athenaeum of Emperor Hadrian was unearth which prompted great excitement amongst Academia. Not to mention all the other finds and artifacts.

Line C is important for the future of the City and public transport, it needs to be built and the delays only make things worse in terms of traffic congestion in Rome a City with a population of almost 3 million people, you have 2.6 million cars. This week the Mayor of Rome announced that the Colosseo Station will open in 2025 more than 8 years late and Piazza Venezia should open thereafter, but what about all the other stations going across the Tiber and beyond St-Peter’s, no one knows.

Rome for Romans remain the Capital of the World and it seems that from what I have seen this belief is entrenched in how people see themselves and their City.

Line C is in pale green, remains 6 stations to be built from Colosseo to Clodio Mazzini.

Grooming day

Tags

cuisine, dachshunds, Food, Italy, Vet

Well Monday 15 June is grooming day for our little Dachshunds, it has been many months since the last grooming and we are happy they can get it done. Next week we are going to the Vet Clinic for their annual shots and physical exam. Both are 11 and half years old and in good health. Though we have noticed that Nick is becoming anxious if I leave the house and he does not like to be left on his own.

Nora now barks at the smallest noise, which is annoying but she looks around and seems nervous. She also had another episode of what could be described as some kind of stroke, though it was short and quickly resolved itself. But we took her to the Vet Clinic immediately and within one hour the Vet told us that she was stable and could come home. We don’t know exactly what happened. But we do realize that we have two old dogs who are used to their daily routine and as long as it is not disturbed all is well. It has to be said that they are spoiled and like good Dachshunds always try to control what is going on, just too clever I think.

After Nick’s grooming and a snooze, so stressful, even a cookie does not compensate enough. He has the most beautiful colouring, old gold and dark chocolate. 

Nora, back at home and resting in Nick’s kennel, which annoys him but he puts up with it. Though she is one week older than Nick, same colouring but tuffs of grey hair here and there.

Today Tuesday 16 June, the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre re-opened after 3 months of closure due to the pandemic. We were the first to arrive and the new sanitary procedures are in place, the exhibits are those of March since the gallery closed a few days after they were unveiled. They will now be on show until September 27. The 2020 Summer show has been postponed until next Summer 2021.

Lemieux, Fathers of Confederation

Many stores in town have closed permanently due to the pandemic and no tourists. Many restaurants will not open while other did open with a new menu and new Chef. One such place is Terra Rossa on Queen Street, new (well known) Chef, and a newish concept returning to the original idea for this Italian regional cuisine restaurant, sorry no pizza, no spaghetti. A grocerant/eatery with lots of specialty products like fresh anchovies in oil or burrata or N’Duya sausage, charcuterie from various regions of Italy and cheeses, most if not all unavailable in PEI up to now, so you see a refinement of gourmet offering. Fresh Anchovy as a fish is very delicate in flavour and can be eaten as is or on toast or in pasta or salad. This was a real find. A wine bar is also part of the establishment.  We were at Terra Rossa this morning and am very impressed with the place. Happy to see they have returned to the concept of four years ago which had been abandoned by a previous owner with little success and now re-instated with this new owner.

Sunday and Saturday we met with friends we had not seen in the last 3 months and it was so nice to actually see people in person, to talk and enjoy sweets. This is one thing that this pandemic has made us realize, the importance of friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Stay HOME!

Tags

Covid 19, Health, home, Italy, message, people

This little film is basically saying to all people living in Rome, don’t be stupid tonight just stay home. This way Rome will remain the Rome we know and love and we will all be safe. A simple message for all easy to follow. Italy has been hit very hard. Not all people have been careful. Enjoy this gentle poetic video addressed to us all.

 

Azzurro

Tags

anxiety, Canada., coping, danger, Friends, Italy, Stress, troubles, World

Italy has been hit very badly by COVID 19, the number of sick and dead amongst the elderly population is staggering, 60% of sick people are over the age of 60 and 100% of the dead are over 80 yrs of age. The Government in an effort to control the spread of the virus has ordered people confined to their homes. But those dear Italians are resourceful, people all around Italy organized themselves to sing from their balcony or windows or terraces in the afternoon at 6pm each day in an effort to socialize with neighbours. Italy gave us the Opera more  than 400 years ago and so it is normal to sing in times of joy but also of great stress.

I know that friends living in Italy have told me that they will sing this afternoon Azzurro and on other days Volare will be sung, etc.. The idea is to sing a song that is well known and popular with everyone, Italy has lots of those. Here is Adriano Celentato singing Azzurro.

Porto Azzurro is a comune in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany; it is on the island of Elba, located about 130 kilometres southwest of Florence and about 90 kilometres south of Livorno. A beautiful place.

 

As Spring approaches

Tags

Italy, memories, opera, Souvenir

I was listening to Renata Scotto sing Ch’il bel sogno di Doretta from La Rondine by Puccini. It reminded me of the many times we went to the Teatro del Opera in Rome where we had Season tickets.

Listening to the music and looking at the pictures posted here reminds me of our life in Rome. The memory of which is as strong today as it was then.

 

Opening night at the Teatro del’Opera in Rome waiting for the arrival of the President of the Italian Republic. The night Will had a funny conversation with an Italian Princess on too much botox.

On the Belvedere looking towards the Roman Forum

from our terrace, the view at sunset on Via dei Villini

Our terrace with all the plants Will and I planted, I loved those tiles with a greenish blue colour.

One of the more famous cemetery of Rome, it is a city in itself given the thousands of tombs and mausoleums. Many famous Italians are buried here and so are noble families. The Campo Verano is the one cemetery I know where even in death the dead compete with each other for social standing by the monumental graves built to proclaim who they were. A peaceful and beautiful garden cemetery.

Rome in Winter during a rare snowstorm

The Barberini Palace once the family home of Pope Urban VIII now a beautiful museum to classical painting. Setting for the movie Roman Holiday.

The Pontifical Academy of Science in the Vatican gardens, copied from Emperor Nero’s Palace built by the nephew of the Pope Pius IV, Cardinal Charles Borromeo later Saint Charles Borromeo. We were told by the Cardinal guiding us that originally this building was used by Cardinal Borromeo to receive his male friends and to party. It caused a scandal and he was sent to Northern Italy for a period. This area of the Vatican gardens is not open to the public.

Italian cooking classes where I discovered that the Anchovy is a delicate white fish and fresh is simply grilled and served with lemon juice or eaten raw marinated in lemon juice, it is quite good and more a shame we do not have it here in North America.

Our dining room at home set for a Christmas dinner party.

The Borghese Gallery built in 1605 by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V and patron of Bernini. He built this gallery to house his art collection. The settings of the immense gardens all around makes for a nice park to walk and relax in the centre of the City.

Gardens of the Residence of the Canadian Ambassador at Villa Grandi in Rome set up for a staff picnique. This is also the site of the Villa of Scipio Africanus which is under the garden. This villa was given to Canada by the Italian Government in 1950 as War reparation, it formerly belonged to Dino Grandi the #2 of the Fascist Government who fled in 1944 to South America.

General view of Rome from the Gianicolo Hill in the background the Alban hills South East of the City.  St-Peter’S dome is just out of sight to the left of this photo.

Will making ravioli by hand, he made the dough and then put it through the machine, next he prepared the stuffing which was pumpkin. Cooking the ravioli takes only minutes. I remember they were quite good.

The entrance to Hell or the Underworld according to ancient Romans beliefs situated between the Arch of Septimus Severus and the Temple of Saturn.

The Arch of Titus commemorating his destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Part of this arch in the Roman Forum was damaged during the middle-ages and it was Rachele Guidi, second wife of Mussolini who had it restored around 1930. Walking in the Forum in all Seasons was always pleasant, so much to see and study.

Near Piazza Venezia

Entrance to our home in Rome on Via dei Villini

Italian cheeses, meats and wine shop, a real pleasure to discover the incredible variety of cheeses made all over Italy.

At dinner with our friend Diana in Rome.

The ancient Via Appia in Rome.