Sweet Chestnuts in Tuscany: Think that the only thing you can do is roast them? Think Again.

If you have been lucky enough to go to one of the local chestnut festivals (Sagre delle Castagne) this month, you will have seen the myriad selection of cakes, tarts, pasta, sweets and preserves that the Tuscans have devised using this much-loved, humble fruit.  These events have been running throughout October, and involve train-loads of Italians schlepping up to tiny towns in the hills at weekends to eat chestnuts, drink, eat chestnut pasta, drink, eat chestnut cakes and make merry.

If you need a reminder that Autumn is here, in spite of the sun, you can pick up roasted chestnuts (caldarroste). However, at a chestnut festival these are not the tiny bags of warm-ish chestnuts sprinkled with salt available on the English High Street. You will get an enormous bag of the things, charred to perfection over a wood fire in an enormous metal drum. You eat these without salt, but with the delicious accompaniment of a glass (or few) of sweet red wine which complements their smoky flavour and also smooths over their dry texture.

This is the tip of the iceberg; we proceed to conserves. Not just jams, obviously… Jars of chestnuts submerged under grappa and rum, the very thought of which is enough to make you tipsy, or for those cultivating the Italian sweet tooth (and definitely NOT those with any family history of diabetes) quintessential candied chestnuts, marroni canditi. Do you want any chestnut with that nugget of sugar? No? Ok.

This being Italy you will, of course, find chestnuts used in pasta. The fruits are used to stuff ravioli and often combined with a meat sauce for a savoury dish that screams of autumn. Stalls also sell  version made with a sweet dough and fried.

Cakes are also made using chestnut flour. Honestly, they are aren’t the best looking. Castagnaccio is the most common and looks a bit like an under-baked brownie (other, less flattering comparisons have been made!). It is often scattered with nuts, dried fruit and rosemary. The texture is unlike any English cake I have ever experienced, not quite dough but not a sponge either, sort of like a fridge cake without chocolate. Torta di castagne is a speciality local to Marradi (a town north of Florence famous for its chestnuts and its sagra) and is chestnut tart with a very thin, soft pastry and a chestnut mousse filling. The flavour of both cakes is quite delicate, and the variation in texture and taste from the nuts on the castagnaccio might be a bit of a relief to the English palate.

Slightly easier on the eye is the crostata di marrone e ricotta, a tart with two layers of filling – one yellow and one brown – and a pastry much more like what we’re used to in Blighty or the tronco which is a swiss roll with a chestnut filling.

The best looking and best tasting thing I have seen resembles an oversized pink macaron. It was in fact a ball of sponge, with a crunchy, pink sugar-coated exterior and concealing a marron glacé at its centre. Not exactly good for you, but I think you’ll agree that that doesn’t really seem to be the point of the Chestnut Festival!

Chestnuts are available in most fruttivendoli at the moment so have a look for them, and look out for some of the confections mentioned above in pasticcerie and gastronomie too. If you’re looking to eat as much authentic Tuscan food as possible whilst you’re here, a few chestnut dishes are going to have to be added to the To Eat list.

- Sophia Dzwig, Intern at the BIF

Nanni di Banco and the Revival of Classicism: An Early Renaissance Procession to the Church of Orsanmichele.

So far in the Early Renaissance series, students have received on-site lectures in a variety of historically significant locations.  From the Palazzo Riccardi Medici to the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, each masterpiece we have observed played a pivotal role in determining the development of style in fifteenth century Florence.

But from where do concepts behind sculptural works, such as Michelangelo's 'David', emerge?  What source led Botticelli to choose a pagan subject like Aphrodite for his famous 'The Birth of Venus'?

Botticelli, Close-up of Venus from
'The Birth of Venus', 1484-1486.

Michelangelo, David, 1501-1504, marble.

Whilst these renowned works possess complex internal narratives of their own, on a physical and theoretical level they share a similar ideal - the classical.  For Michelangelo, it was the muscular anatomy of Grecian youth and for Botticelli, the ethereal imagery evoked by Greco-Roman mythology.  However, this revival of classicism, which is rooted in the artistry of Early Renaissance Florence, advocated more than aesthetic pleasure.  It referenced the prestigious civilisation of the Augustan era and acted as a national symbol of Florence's desired political status.

The facade of Orsanmichele from Via Calzaiouli.  The reason for the churches'
peculiar architecture is based upon its rich, complex history.  It was first
constructed on the site of an orchard belonging to a Benedictine convent in 1337,
initially functioning as a grain market and later as a grain storehouse for times of
famine/siege.  Owing largely to the religious observance of the Compagnia della
Madonna di Orsanmichele and the population decrease following the Black Death
(1348), between 1380 and 1404 the building became a fully-established church.

Turning to the facade of Orsanmichele, it is impossible to ignore the sense of civic pride embodied by the sculptures which occupy the churches' fourteen niches.  Each sculptural figure or group is framed by an elaborate Gothic tabernacle, boasting materials such as expensive bronze or imposing marble.  In many cases the sculptor simulates movement by drawing emphasis upon the creases of drapery and the bold gestures of individual figures.  It is here we are able to identify the progression of sculptural formalism from classical to naturalistic and the function of this style in constructing a public "Florentine" persona.

With this in mind, it is unsurprising that Orsanmichele was one of the first walking-tours on the Early Renaissance programme.  Students visited this unusual church with Frank Nero, looking in depth at Nanni di Banco's 'Quattro Santi Coronati' and Donatello's 'St George'.  Frank encouraged the group to re-enact a Renaissance-style procession, where students knelt before the 'Quattro Santi Coronati' viewing the sculpture from the perspective of a contemporary Florentine citizen.

A kneeling view of Nanni di Banco's Quattro Santi Coronati, 1408. This high-relief 
scene on the predella depicts members of the stone and woodworkers guild.

The ultimate revelation of this exercise was the integral relationship between the viewer and the sculpture.  The iconographic features of Nanni di Banco's 'Quattro Santi Coronati' rely significantly on the angle of the processors' gaze.  At different moments, students were able to identify discrete sculptural details hidden when observed from a frontal viewpoint.

Stage 1 of the procession: students begin

their journey towards the Quattro Santi Coronati!

Stage 2: Nanni di Banco's figures begin to 
emerge.  Our attention is drawn towards the

coat of arms on the predella and the
accompanying scene.

Stage 3: Students end their procession before Nanni di Banco's
sculpture.  What changes? 1) The interior vaulted dome of the
tabernacle comes into view.  2) Emphasis is drawn upon the
relationship between the three divided sections of the
tabernacle - the pediment depicting 'Christ Blessing', the
central 'Quattro Santi Coronati' and the predella frieze which
is accompanied by two stemma's representing the
commissioning guild.

Dedicated to the guild of stonemasons and carpenters, Nanni di Banco's sculpture illustrates the story of four Christian martyrs who refused to carve a stone idol of the pagan god Asclepius.  As a result they were all executed under the tyrannical orders of Emperor Diocletian.

Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, The Scourging of the
Four Crowned Matryrs, early fifteenth century.

On the outset, the heavily classical character of Nanni di Banco's sculpture barely acknowledges the Christian context of the scene.  Yet it is possible that the sculptor, in utilising ancient costume and posture, sought to re-adjust the look of Christianity to suit the contemporary vision of a new republican Florence.  The figure of 'Christ Blessing' positioned in the pediment surmounting the main scene further obscures the boundaries between religion and secularism.  It is the hierarchy formed through the symbolic division of pediment, niche and predella that heightens the stone and woodworkers craft to the realms of a divine occupation.

Scholars have claimed that the features of the
"oldest" bearded martyr and the "youngest"
(relatively) clean-shaven figure were based
upon portraits of Roman philosophers and
the iconography of ancient sarcophagi.

A detailed view taken from the right-side of Nanni di Banco's
predella.  Here we can identify a sculptor in the process of
creating a marble Christ child, which shares a close resemblance
to pagan putti figures.  Through this act the stonemasons craft is
deemed a holy practice, enacted in the dual service of God and
Florence.

The heavy, almost robust appearance of Nanni di Banco's sculpture does not necessarily appeal to the modern eye.  He does not present us with the chiselled physique of 'David' nor the ethereal grace of 'Venus', but what di Banco does demonstrates is the fundamental importance of classical art in initiating the style of early Florentine masters.

Donatello, St George, 1416.  This sculpture occupies the

niche adjacent to the Quattro Santi Coronati and was 

commissioned by the armourer's guild.

This close-up image of St Georges' predella draws emphasis upon Donatello's
use of atmospheric perspective to enhance the sense of movement within the
scene.  The sculptors' innovative use of relief not only demonstrates painterly
effects but also contrasts with Nanni di Banco's Byzantine-style predella.

The sculptures seen today in the tabernacles of Orsanmichele are in fact copies of the original works currently displayed in the churches' museum.  'Quattro Santi Coronati' and 'St George' are only two of the fourteen unique sculptures devoted to Orsanmichele, all of which demonstrate the talent and innovation of early Renaissance sculptors.

The museum of Orsanmichele is open from 10 to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Monday.

- Ellie Porter HOA Intern

Henri Cartier Bresson: the eye of the century comes to Lucca.

Looking for something to do next weekend?

Until 3 November, the Lucca Center of Contemporary Art (Lu.C.C.A) hosts “Henri Cartier Bresson: Photographer”, a fascinating exhibition that may not rival the Uffizi’s for size or grandeur but which displays an important collection of photographs by the 20^th Century’s original and greatest photojournalist.

The black and white photographs provide a contrast to the wealth of earlier artwork that we see so much of in Florence and are displayed elegantly on two floors of this small museum in north-east Lucca. Cartier Bresson’s photographs, taken with his beloved Leica camera, document the landmark events of his century through the people that experienced them (Ghandi’s funeral, George VI’s coronation and the days leading up to the Cultural Revolution in China, to name but a few).

Take his photograph Berlin Wall from 1963. Yes, it records a historical period, but the viewer’s attention is drawn to the three men standing on what appears to be a post box, looking over the barrier. At a first glance the position of these men recalls child-like curiosity and determination to “see what’s on the other side”; prior to reading its caption, the work appears almost whimsical. Then, one realizes that the objects in photograph and the subject it depicts are physically much larger and far more significant than kids peeping over the garden wall.

This mix of the playful and the hard-hitting seems to characterize much of Cartier-Bresson’s oeuvre, which often does depict children and captures its subjects in movement, whether in France, Russia, China, Mexico, Italy, Spain, India or America. However, the principal characteristic of these photographs is the beauty of their composition… Cartier-Bresson trained as an artist and every image is taken at the perfect moment, at the perfect angle, to capture a perfectly balanced frame. All of this in spite of the fact that, as a street photographer, little of his work was “set up”.

If you can’t make it before the exhibition closes, Lucca is still well worth a weekend visit for its own sake; the old centre is a lovely maze of old buildings, squares and tiny streets, pasticcerie and beautiful churches. So far, so like Florence? Perhaps, excepting the enormous walls that surround the old town, which are topped by a wide, tree-lined path and simply beg you to hire a bike and go for a leisurely cycle. There is also the fascinating Piazza dell’Anfiteatro which conserves the shape of the old Roman amphitheatre but is now full of little cafes and shops (FYI, Top Gear once begun a challenge there!). Puccini was also born in Lucca, and its Duomo is considered spectacular.

A bus costing less than 15 euros (return) runs from Florence to Lucca regularly from Via Fiume (near S.M.N station) and takes a little over an hour.

For more information on the exhibition, see http://www.luccamuseum.com/HCB.php

- Sophia Dzwig, Intern at the BIF

Artisan Lessons in Florentine Techniques. A Sculptural Experience at the British Institute of Florence and the Accademia Arte San Giovanni Firenze.

Last month a visitor to the British Institute, Nathalie Arbel, received a hands-on experience in a variety of Renaissance and modern art techniques.  Nathalie’s lessons were situated at the centre of Firenze’s artisan quarter, enabling her to become fully immersed in Florence’s contemporary art scene. 

Nathalie's lessons were orientated around specific artistic methods ranging from egg tempera, fresco painting, water gilding and ceramics technology to clay and marble sculpture.  These diverse art forms were practiced under the instruction of professional artists, Dr. Alan Pascuzzi, Lauro Pepiciello, Fabrizio Lucchesi and Luca Viviani.

Nathalie's unique Florentine experience allowed her to engage with techniques utilised by modern and Renaissance masters.  As you can see, the results of her artistic experiments were particularly impressive!

For those wishing to replicate Nathalie’s experience, the British Institute offers private sculpture lessons taught by Alan Pascuzzi.  As stated on the BIF website, the duration of the course will be tailored to suit the requirements of the individual.  Other courses undertaken by Nathalie can be found at the Accademia Arte San Giovanni Firenze.

For more information visit the link below,

http://www.britishinstitute.it/en/course/126/fine-art-courses/sculpture/private-sculpture-lessons/.

- Ellie Porter HOA intern