HOLLOW HOUSES

AT ALDO'S:

A43: " Ciao Massimo!"

Massimo: " Ciao James! Come stai?"

A43:   "Va bene. Massimo, I keep seeing abandoned farmhouses all around the countryside. Are they                           empty because of taxes? If not, why?"

Massimo:   "No, it's not taxes...It's just, how do you say...tastes change. Young people want new
                   houses, not in the country."

ROVINE (Ruins)

Rovina, Casalini ( in progress)
James Aponovich
pencil on paper


I seem to be attracted to the farmhouses in Italy that have been abandoned to time and nature. Perhaps I find empathy with them due to the fact that often I feel like a rovina myself.

Rovina, Podere Poggio del Lago
James Aponovich
pencil on paper


As you drive try Umbria and Tuscany the landscape is dotted with these grand Fattorie sitting in the middle of fields. I wonder where are the English and Americans who want their own Romantico Under the Italian Sun?

Rovina, Panicarola ( in progress)
James Aponovich
pencil on paper



As you look closer, you find the answer. We, who are "from away", want not an Italian farm but our 'vision' of an Italian villa. The ground floor of most farms here were for animals. It takes a long time to get that smell out. The staircase (scalette) is on the outside and it leads to
the second floor ( piano nobile).... heat and running water? Probably not. Electricity?
In other words........

" With enough money you can make water run uphill."
                                                -Italian proverb

So, if your vision is a villa in Italy with sweeping views and an infinity pool, you can find it and with enough time and money make it. Just be aware that at the end of the day, it will be nice, but is it Italian?



{week 34}
Copyright 2015 James Aponovich

DRAWN TO ITALY

LAGO TRASIMENO

Lake Trasimeno is the third ( or fourth?) largest lake in Italy and it dominates northern Umbria. It is only a drop of what it once was, it once stretched from Arezzo in the north to Spoleto in the south. Leonardo Da Vinci proposed linking the Tiber and the Arno to the Lake so there could be navigable commerce between Rome and Florence. He was full of big ideas, rarely realized. The Lake is quite shallow so the water is often  turquoise green. Unlike lakes in New England,no vacation house dot its shores, only fields and a few marshes.

The name is derived from the legend a failed (what else) love affair between the nymph Agilla, who was born in nearby Agello, and Trasimeno, son of the god Tyrraene. As their union was impossible, they threw themselves into the lake that now bears his name.

Isola Polvese from San Feliciano

James Aponovich

pencil on paper, 9" x 14"

The largest of the three islands that seem to float around on Lake Trasimeno is Polvese. It is largely uninhabited now but its history goes back to before the Etruscans. During the 13th Century, a fortessa (castle) was built on the south side of the island by the Knights Templar. Later, on the other side a monastery ( Orvieitan) was constructed and both ruins still stand. It once housed hundreds of people but malaria  drove them out. Napoleon wanted to drain it.

All I know is when you see the emerald Polvese sitting in the turquoise water....magic happens 

{ week 33}

Copyright2015 James Aponovich

THE LURE OF DRAWING IN ITALY

James Aponovich

sketchbook

"Idle hands are the devils tools."

                           - Puritan proverb

Q.  I've noticed that you do a lot of drawing in Italy, what gives?  Are they studies for paintings?

                                                                                  - Roberto C., Toronto

A. I don't crochet so it keeps me busy.

DESIGNARE

Drawing is active meditation or it can be likened to a dancer taken class daily or a pianist playing scales. With drawing, you sit yourself down in front of something and you must digest a lot of information. Somethings are discarded as superfluous, others are emphasized. The minds eye  edits and the hand puts it on the paper. Tools are simple, pencil and paper, but it is not easy.

Podere Poggio del Lago (abandoned farm / ruin)

James Aponovich

Due Pini  ( Two Pines)

James Aponovich

Today, Elizabeth and I went to Bagno Vignoni in the Val D'Orcia. It's a tiny Medieval Spa known since Roman times. A large Piscina (pool) dominates the piazza which was constructed by The Medici's. Lorenzo D'Medici himself came to the pool in an effort to alleviate his gout.

 It is one of the most charming spots for a light lunch. While we were sitting there at a small enoteca, I did what I so often do in Italy, I drew.

Bagno Vignoni

James Aponovich

{week 32}

Copyright 2015 James Aponovich

ITALIAN ARTICHOKES

Artichokes

James Aponovich

oil on panel, 20" x 16"

The artichoke is the vegetable counterpoint to the lobster. Both wear armored spikes and are formidable opponents. In America, both are enjoyed simply....hot and dipped in melted butter. Here in Italy, the artichoke sings a different song.

THE KING OF VEGETABLES

The artichoke,that most Italian vegetable is in reality a thistle. The best artichokes come from the top of the plant, the Italians call these 'cimaroli' because they come from the 'cima' or peak of the plant. The season runs from December through April. The Roman artichoke is the round 'Romanesco' which is green. The other dominate variety is the elongated 'Violetto' with

 purple leaves (shown above).

CARCIOFI

The Culinary Holy Trinity of Rome

CARCIOFI ALLA GIUDIA ( Jewish Style)

Flattened and deep fried in olive oil to a deep golden brown. Crisp on the outside and warm and tender in the middle. Order these a Da Giggetto, next to the Portico d'Ottavia.


CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA

The leaves are stuffed with chopped artichoke stems, garlic, parsley, lemon and Roman mint called 'mentuccia'. They are then braised in olive oil and water until very done.


CARCIOFI con I PISELLI

Artichokes stewed in olive oil with onion, prosciutto and peas.

!!!*** MEDICAL ALERT ***!!!!

I write this on Pasqua ( Easter Sunday). Pasqua is enjoyed with family with huge feasts. Tomorrow is Pasquetta and is meant to be spent with friends. Elizabeth and I had planned a dinner party with friends featuring 'Carciofi Lasagne' (Artichoke lasagna), but, unfortunately we haver"prendiamo raffreddore " (caught colds and cough). Perhaps next week.

To be continued....

CIAO

{week 31}

Copyright 2015 James Aponovich

THE BASKET CASE

Still Life with a Basket of Fruit, Vegetables and Flowers

James Aponovich

Oil on canvas, 28" x 26"

WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND

Some things just never go away. Take the basket. The first decorations on pots from the Ancient Levant were reed baskets pressed onto the clay. It was if to say, "I know this pot is new technology, but it's function is the same as the basket,...to hold things." Now, you can buy plastic woven baskets pressed out in China.

Once a year or so, I feel compelled to paint a bowl or basket of fruit and I owe a debt to a painter I probably would not have gotten along with....

MICHELANGELO MERSI

aka.

CARAVAGGIO

Boy with Basket of Fruit

Caravaggio

oil on canvas, 1593

Caravaggio was the genius boy painter as thug, but that's another story for another time. Let's just say, we would call him 'troubled'. The hand that paints the painting doesn't always belong to the body that walks and talks.

Caravaggio began his career painting two things, portraits and still lives. He is reported ( although most of his 'reports' are through police records) to have said,"Good still life painting requires as much of his artistry as good figure painting." Good painting is good painting regardless of subject matter, a bold statement in the 16th Century when most artists were trying to procure large religious commissions.

THE MASTERPIECE AS STILL LIFE

Still Life with Basket of Fruit

Caravaggio

oil on canvas, 1601

His is only known painting that is exclusively still life. It was probably a commission from Cardinal Borromeo. To the Cardinal, these were not just pieces of fruit they celebrated God's creation in their fidelity to nature. Also, in true vanitas tradition the blemished apple and shriveled leaves are reminders ( as if we need them) of mortality and the ultimate vanity of earthly things. So, my debt to Caravaggio is that he was in fact, the first Italian painter since the Romans, to pay serious artistic attention to the still life. Later today, I will raise a glass of wine to him......he would have liked that.

{week 30}

Copyright 2015 James Aponovich

THE EGG { il uovo}

Egg

James Aponovich

oil on panel, 3" x 5"

"We Serve Breakfast All Day"

                                       - Slogan on an American diner

Americans love breakfast yet Italians couldn't give a fig about it. (In fact a fig would be breakfast).

In Italy, It's an espresso and pastry and they're off. Italians would be just as confused with the vast array of breakfast foods in the United States as Americans are when confronted with a multi-course dinner at 9:00 at night. Parity is achieved. That being said, there is an American breakfast staple that plays a prominent part in the Italian culinary and linguistic repertoire.....

THE FRITTATA  {aka. The Omelet}

The Italian Frittata Glossary:

1.  "Frittata" :   a multi-car accident

2.  "Fare una frittata" :  To make a mess of something.

     "Faccio Una frittata"

3. "Rigirare la frittata"  :  To flip over/ to turn around an argument

4.  "Ormai la frittata e' fatta"   : By now the frittata is made / the situation is irreversible

5.  "Non si puo fare la frittata senza rompere le uova"  : You can't make a frittata without breaking the     

      eggs / To get the best results, you have to pay the price.

LET'S BREAK SOME EGGS!

As number 3 says, an Italian frittata is flipped, not baked. This is a great luncheon dish or a first course dish.

Frittata di Cipolle e Formaggio

{ frittata with onions and cheese}

Beat some eggs with grated parmesan cheese. Pour into a heated pan with olive oil . Add sautéed onions. Cook until set. Slide the frittata onto a plate, cover with another plate and flip. Slide the frittata back into the freshly oiled and hot pan and cook until done. Place onto your best Deruta plate and enjoy!

{week 30}

Copyright 2015 James Aponovich

FLORENCE IS BURNING!

Florence ( in progress)

James Aponovich

pencil and oil on panel, 16" x 20"

Florence fears death by water ( the Arno), not fire. But, as the year 1500 approached Florence was swept with Apocalyptic fever, many feared the Final Days and Resurrection were close at hand. This was brought to mind as I applied a wash of red ochre ( curiously called Burnt Sienna), to my drawing on panel. The wash creates an overall tone and makes the surface easier to paint on. Back to Florence, then

THE MAD MONK FROM FERRARA

Portrait of Savonarola

Fra Bartolomeo

His name was Girolamo Savonarola and he was born in Ferrara in 1452. Girolamo was an introspective boy, gloomy and pale with a large nose and piercing eyes. It was said that he fell in love with a Strozzi girl, the daughter of a Florentine exile. She firmly rejected him, he looked into the mirror and decided to dedicate his life to God, rigid austerity and sermonizing. he would have not made a very good dinner guest.

BONFIRES OF THE VANITIES

Fra Angelico
The Damned (detail)
San Marco

San Marco, interior

He became a Dominican monk and eventually ended up at

 San Marco in Florence, the City of God ( and the Medici's). He preached against what he saw as the physical excesses of the day and he proclaimed that God spoke through him to foretell the end of time. Thousands flocked to his sermons even though he spoke in a high pitched voice, heavy with Ferrara accent. They believed every word. He formed his own version of the Revolutionary Guard 

called the ' Blessed Bands'. Children in white robes and short hair would carry olive branches and red crosses and walk about the city collecting expensive clothing, jewelry, profane books and paintings ( the  Vanities) and build mounds of 'stuff' in the Piazza della Signoria and set it ablaze to singing and bell ringing ( the Bonfires). Even the painter Botticelli succumbed to the fervor and threw some of his paintings into the flames. Savonarola also condemned the Papacy for its rampant corruption. Rome was not pleased, in particular the corpulent and lascivious Borgia Pope, Alexander VI.

Fresco from San Marco

Fra Angelico

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come from miles to watch you burn."

                                              - Chinese proverb

Had Girolamo read this in his fortune cookie, he would have known his own demise was coming. The pope had excommunicated him and Savonarola saw and praised the invading French army under Charles III as the hand of God punishing the Italians. He was loosing his popularity, even his supporters turned on him. He was arrested, tortured and, along with two of his fellow monks, burnt to death in the same Piazza della Signoria where he held his Bonfires of the Vanities. Today, a plaque is set on the spot where he was exected. It is a strange sight to watch tourists walk over it, eating gelato.

UPDATE ON THE FLORENCE PAINTING

Florence ( in progress)

James Aponovich

pencil and oil on panel, 12" x 20"

{week 29}

Copyright 2015 James Aponovich