fertile land for art - Emilia Romagna Turismo

fertile land for art
L
ike all places with a rich historical heritage, Bassa
Romagna is bursting with art, and we are not only
referring to ancient buildings, sculptures and paintings. In
the past as well as in the present Bassa Romagna has been
the cradle and the adopted country of numerous painters,
writers, musicians, opera singers, composers and poets, whose
work has been influential on a national level, but also on an
international one. It's no wonder then that this tradition is still
on. Bassa Romagna has a wide and varied artistic community
of creative people who prefer to live in this area, instead
of large cities that could give them more visibility, because
here they find a powerful source of inspiration and a sense
of respect for their sensibility. This corner of Romagna has
nourished the creativity of several writers, musicians, actors
and directors. This somehow "enchanted" land can also claim
to have hosted in its mist the poet George Gordon Byron (in
the picture), hero and symbol of Romanticism.
· FERTILE LAND FOR ART ·
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reading bassa romagna: landscapes of literature
The
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landscape of Bassa Romagna has
been the inspiration for outstanding
poets such as Dante and Byron. This is also
the birthplace of remarkable protagonists of
past and present literature. Several writers
from other regions and countries have found
inspiration here for their essays about Romagna
and for the evocative settings of their novels.
The senior figure amongst local writers is without
any doubt Tomaso Garzoni (Bagnacavallo,
1549 - 1589). His birth name was Ottavio, but
he took on the name Tomaso when he became
a member of the order of the Canons Regular
of the Lateran, in the monastery of Santa Maria in Porto in
Ravenna, where he spent the rest of his life. He wrote several
encyclopedic works, amongst which La piazza universale di
tutte le professioni del mondo (1585), a best-seller volume that
has been translated into several languages; to the extent that
Garzoni has been described as the Umberto Eco of the 16th
century (indeed Eco opened the 51st chapter of his novel Il
Pendolo di Foucault with a quote from Garzoni). His tomb stone
can be found in the parsonage of the church of
San Francesco, in Bagnacavallo, and the local
Museo Civico delle Cappuccine has dedicated
a part of its collection to the illustrious writer.
Vincenzo Monti (Passetto, 1754 - Milan, 1828)
was born in a tiny village near Alfonsine
and is one of the most important figures of
Neoclassicism; he was officially nominated poet
of the Italian Government and historiographer
of the Kingdom of Italy. His lecture Sulla
mitologia upholds the poetic value of classical
myths and his masterpiece is considered to be
the translation of the Iliad. The house where
Monti was born has been recently restored; it now houses
a museum and an environmental education centre. Leo
Longanesi (Bagnacavallo, 1905 - Milan, 1957) was born in
Bagnacavallo about a century later. He was a journalist and
the founder of several weekly magazines, such as È promesso,
Il Toro and L'Italiano; together with Mino Maccari he
worked at Il Selvaggio and was also a member of the literary
movement Strapaese. Longanesi was also a graphic artist,
· landscapes of literature ·
Tomaso Garzoni
Leo Longanesi
Vincenzo Monti
Eraldo Baldini
drawing inspiration from Giorgio Morandi as well as from the
historical examples of Daumier, Toulouse-Lautrec and Grosz.
After the war he established the Longanesi publishing house, of
which he was the director. In Bagnacavallo, the herbal garden
Giardino dei Semplici celebrates his scathing personality with
special benches engraved with some of his famous aphorisms.
Giovanna Righini Ricci (Lugo, 1933 - Bologna, 1993) is a
more contemporary writer, perhaps less widely known, but
nonetheless important for her role in the field of education.
Indeed she was one of the most innovative writers for young
readers towards the end of the 20th century; her vast production
often features rural Romagna as its narrative setting. The
municipality of Conselice has set up a literary prize named after
her, to celebrate her contribution to pedagogy. Eraldo Baldini
(Russi, 1952) is an established novelist whose work is also
translated and published abroad. His career as a writer started
when he won the first prize at Cattolica's Mystfest in 1991 with
the short story Re di Carnevale. Since then, his narrative style
has constantly developed and we could define it "rural gothic",
from the title of one of his collections of short stories. Baldini
also writes scripts for cinema and theatre and organises cultural
events. Gian Ruggero Manzoni (San Lorenzo di Lugo, 1957),
a descendant of the famous Alessandro, is also quite a versatile
writer and artist.
· landscapes of literature ·
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He has written poetry, novels, essays and scripts for theatre, some
of which have been translated abroad; he is also a painter and an
actor. Amongst the youngest writers, it’s worth mentioning the
talented graphic novelist Stefano Babini, author of Non è stato
un pic nic!, which is currently one of the most interesting books
of this genre in Italy, and the writer Deborah Gambetta, born
in Turin in 1970, but a long-term resident in Massa Lombarda.
Her debut novel, Viaggio di maturità, tells the adventurous tale
of three eighteen years old from Romagna that travel to Puglia;
it’s a successful teen novel that has won several prizes. It would
be too long to mention all the writers that have been interested
in Bassa Romagna; amongst the contemporaries, we suggest that
some of the best interpreters of the unique character of this land
are Alfredo Antonaros, Renzo Bortolotti and Gino Giardini.
Brief suggested reading list:
Alfredo Antonaros: I Romagnoli, la tribù di
Fellini - Sonda ,1997
Dante Arfel li: Quando c'era la pineta - Edizi
oni del Girasole, 1975
Eraldo Baldini: Gotico Rurale - Frassinelli, 2000
/ Mal'aria - Frassinelli Paperback, 2003
Renzo Bartolotti: Nunàz - Il Ponte Vecchio
ed, 2008
Mario Bejor: Le rane quella notte cantavano
- Vallecchi, 1953
Francesco Fuschini: Concertino Romagnolo
- Edizioni del Girasole, 1986
Gino Giardini: Erbe palustri - Walberti Edizi
oni, 2004
Adriano Guerrini: C' è stato per tutti - Racco
nti brevi - Bacchilega Edizioni, 2007
Giovanna Righini Ricci: Nel cavo della mano
. Un pugno di terra - Longo, 2003
Gian Ruggero Manzoni: Il Francese - Edizioni
del Girasole, 1995
Francesco Serantini: Il fucile di Papa della Genga
- Edizioni del Girasole, 1989
listening to
bassa romagna:
landscapes of music
In
Italy it's probably impossible to find another small
area without any big city, such as Bassa Romagna,
boasting such a prestigious music tradition. The earliest name
is that of Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli (Fusignano,
1653 - Rome, 1713), one of the celebrities of his time as well
as an excellent violinist; he created a school that had several
followers throughout Europe. Fusignano's choir was established
in 1971 and named after Corelli; it is still a very active choir. The
musician and composer Giuseppe Malerbi (Lugo, 1771 - 1849)
was born about a century later; he and his brother Luigi (Lugo,
1776 - 1843), a composer and organist, ran a famous music
school in Lugo. Giuseppe is renown as one of the earliest teachers
of the celebrated Gioacchino Rossini (Pesaro, 1792 - Paris,
1868); the young Rossini studied singing, composition and
harpsichord under Malerbi's guidance. The author of immortal
operas such as Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Gazza Ladra took
his first "musical steps" in Lugo, where his family moved in 1802
and stayed until 1804. Following his debut at Milan's La Scala in
1812, with La Pietra del Paragone, his fame grew continuously
and he moved on to perform in the major Italian theatres, then
in Vienna, where he met Beethoven, in London and finally in
Paris, where he became the director of the
Théâtre Italien. The house where he lived in
Lugo is now an art exhibitions venue. While
he was a teacher at the Bolognese Liceo
Musicale, Rossini had amongst his students
Marietta Alboni (Città di Castello PG,
1826 - Ville d'Avray, 1894), whose father was
originally from Bagnacavallo; she became
successful worldwide as an opera singer. Alessandrina
Drudi (Cotignola, 1878 - Villa Verucchio 1961) also started out
with a promising career as opera singer; due to sudden adverse
financial circumstances she moved into the more profitable
field of operetta and gained great success with the stage name
of Gea della Garisenda. The fascinating choir singer Anna
Lolli was just few years younger than Drudi; she became the
muse and greatest love of the celebrated composer Pietro
Mascagni (Livorno, 1863 - Rome, 1945),
author of Cavalleria Rusticana. Mascagni
spent the last thirty years of his life with
Lolli and dedicated her his operas Isabeau
and Parisina; however, their love affair was
secret and the resulting correspondence
amounts to almost 5,000 letters that are
kept in the Museo Mascagni in Bagnara di
elli
A. Cor
ni
G. Rossi
Romagna. The composer Francesco Balilla
Pratella (Lugo, 1880 - Ravenna, 1955) was
a pupil of Mascagni; he is the author of five
symphonic poems called Romagna, which
then converged into the local dialect opera
La Sina'd Vargöun (Rosellina dei Vergoni),
scena della Romagna bassa per la musica, in
tre atti. Pratella befriended Marinetti and in
1910 wrote the Futurist Manifesto tecnico della musica futurista
(in which he celebrated the principles of atonalism, enharmonic
modulation, absolute polyphony and free rhythm) followed by
Manifesto tecnico della musica futurista and Distruzione della
quadratura; his works l'Inno alla Vita and L'Aviatore Dro made
him an important protagonist within the field of Futurist music.
The great heritage of opera in Bassa Romagna is still perpetuated
today by the productions of Lugo's Teatro Rossini; its Lugo
Opera Festival was created in 2001. John De
Leo (Lugo, 1970) is a contemporary musician
whose remarkable talent has been nourished
by this land; his voice has been defined a
"polysemous instrument" and somehow
the third path after Demetrio Stratos'
revolutionary experimentation and Bobby
McFerrin's jazz paradigm.
· landscapes of music ·
M. Alb o
ni
P. Masca
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gni
De
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Leo was the leader of the "cultured" pop band
Quintorigo until 2005. The band gained prizes and important
recognitions from the audience and from the critics alike; it still
boasts amongst its members the gifted double bass player Stefano
Ricci, born in Fusignano. De Leo has moved on with a solo project,
partly in collaboration with the pianist and composer Guido
Facchini, also from Lugo; innumerable are the collaborations
of the versatile musician, with some of the most innovative jazz
and experimental musicians in Italy and abroad, but also through
contaminations between music, literature and video art, which he
defines "videomusicazioni".
· landscapes of music ·
The tradition of “liscio” folk music
This genre of music is specific to Romagna and quite unique in its
kind; it originates from the unlikely combination between dances
and music from North European courts, such as waltz, polka e
mazurka (which arrived in Romagna with the aristocracy that
came on holiday on the Riviera) and 18th century popular music
such as tresconi, saltarelli, manfrine and furlana, to name a few. The
violinist and composer Carlo Brighi, known as Zaclén, brought the
two genres together during the second half of the 19th century in
Romagna. However the greatest interpreter of liscio was Secondo
Casadei, who launched the trend of singing in the regional dialect
and included jazz instruments such as drums and saxophone,
inspired by the American soldiers that came here during the war.
The extraordinary success of this music genre was due to the fact
that it was meant to be danced in pairs, which was rare at the time.
Liscio is still alive after seventy years of changing music trends and
this is the proof that its connection with this land is very deep. Liscio
orchestras still perform their concerts in dance-halls in rural villages
or in town feasts, where you can see people dancing along. The socalled "s'ciucaren" certainly constitute one of the most folkloristic
sights during these concerts: dressed in traditional costumes, the
unmistakable masters of the whip keep up with the rhythm of the
orchestra by cracking their instruments.
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BRIEF RECOMMENDED
DISCOGRAPHY
Arcangelo Corelli: Sonate per violino op.5 no.7,
no.8, no.9, no.10, no.11, no.12 - Naxos, 2007
Gioacchino Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia Deutsche Grammophon, 2006
Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana / I Pagliacci - EMI, 2005
Francesco Balilla Pratella: Concerto dell'albatro / {25}
Trio - Bongiovanni, 2003 / AA.VV:
Musica Futurista - Multhipla/Cramps, 1980
John De Leo: Vago Svanendo - Carosello Records, 2007 /
Zolfo (DVD) - Carosello Records, 2009 Bompiani
Quintorigo: Rospo - Universal Music, 1999 /
Grigio - Universal Music, 2000 / In cattività Universal Music, 2003
:::
seeing bassa romagna: landscapes of cinema
C
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inema lovers will find Romagna a
magic place because it's a very rich land
from the visual point of view. The director
Giuliano Montaldo maintains that: "These
towns of Romagna are captivating because
they haven't been modified with tasteless
interventions. Old things have been restored,
the new doesn't look new, because it's been
planned according to the design of time,
therefore there are no clashes. This is the
cultural heritage of the people of Romagna."
Several Italian films have been shot in Lugo,
Bagnacavallo, Russi, and in the countryside
of Bassa Romagna, around Alfonsine, Massa Lombarda
and Fusignano. The landscape has become a very enjoyable
cinematic character rather than just being the background;
its simple beauty has remained unchanged over the centuries.
While strolling around the towns or walking in the
countryside, it's easy to catch a glimpse of what inspired film
directors. Cinema lovers will naturally try to spot the various
locations in which films were shot in the area. Bagnacavallo
is perhaps the most cinematic town. Places
here have a natural musicality: open spaces,
palaces and churches seem to have a natural
predisposition for the camera; therefore several
directors and scriptwriters have staged their
films here, or have just stopped by to steal an
image, a fragment, details and circumstances
that they couldn't find anywhere else. The first
of many directors to work in Bagnacavallo
was De Sica, who shot La riffa in 1962; the
following year the Taviani brothers directed
their second film here, I fuorilegge del
matrimonio. The oval square Piazza Nuova
is a very characteristic place which has attracted a lot of
attention for cinema and television alike; it was chosen by
Vittorio Gassman for his reading of Dante and has also been
the setting for a series of commercials shot by the director
Daniele Lucchetti. Pupi Avati's La mazurka del barone,
della santa e del fico fiorone (1974) was tailored around
Bagnacavallo, as the ideal town of Romagna; however it was
not shot here. The countryside and the small villages of Bassa
Ivano
Marescotti
· landscapes of cinema ·
Romagna have also been the setting of several films about the
resistance movement; no other area of the country has been
so enticing for films about this topic. It is worth to mention
L'Agnese va a morire (1976), shot by Giuliano Montaldo in
the countryside of Alfonsine, where the "Casa dell'Agnese"
is still a significant memento of the film; this traditional late
19th century rural house currently hosts cultural events every
summer. There is an anecdote which explains, like nothing
else does, the tight bond between the topic of the film and this
territory. The leading actress Ingrid Thulin went in a second
hand shop in Lugo and chose a black bicycle that was in quite
poor conditions, against Montaldo's advice, who would have
preferred to use a better looking bicycle for the film. While the
bicycle was being repaired, the message of a partisan courier
was uncovered where the seat is connected to the frame. The
director claims to still feel a shiver when he thinks about
that moment today. Bagnacavallo has also been the setting of
several light-hearted films in the genre of Italian comedy. Il
presidente del Borgorosso Football Club (1970), directed by
D'A mico, co-scripted and performed by Alberto Sordi, was
almost entirely shot in Bagnacavallo; here the director found
friendly and lively people, great lovers of food and wine and
ideal characters embodying the football fans described in the
film script. Not everyone knows that the local Italo Zingarelli
· landscapes of cinema ·
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(Lugo, 1930 - Rome, 2000) was the creator and producer of
the popular series of films starring Bud Spencer and Terence
Hill. More recently, Soldini's Agata e la tempesta (2004)
was partly shot here and the two-episodes TV drama Al di là
delle frontiere (2004), directed by Maurizio Zaccaro, used
Bagnacavallo as its stage for several weeks. Contrary to what
Totò claimed in the film Totò nella luna (1958), that no actor
could ever come from Bagnacavallo, the village of Villanova,
near Bagnacavallo, is actually the birthplace of the famous
actor Ivano Marescotti, born in 1946. The actor, director
and documentary filmmaker Amerigo Alberani, who has
collaborated with Marco Bellocchio, is also from Bagnacavallo.
The silent cinema star Luciano Albertini was born in Lugo in
1882, with the birth name of Francesco Vespignani. Lugo is also
the birthplace of film director Esodo Pratelli (born in 1902),
author of comedies such as Se non son matti non li vogliamo
(1942) and of drama films such as Gente dell'Aria (1943).
The director and documentary filmmaker Mario Cottignola,
born in 1928 in the village of Lavezzola, has shot a number
of documentaries about Romagna, amongst which Romagna
amor... (1970) and Il nostro pesce (1981). With regards to
theatre, we should mention two talented award-winning
actresses: Silvia Calderoni, born in Lugo, and Elena Bucci, from
Russi; both have achieved national and international success.
· landscapes of cinema ·
FILMS, DIRECTORS, ACTORS AND PLACES
· Caccia tragica (1947) by Giuseppe de Santis, with Andrea Checchi, Piero Lulli, Massimo Girotti, Carlo Lizzani. Alfonsine
· Boccaccio '70 (1962) the episode of “La riffa” by Vittorio De Sica with Sophia Loren. Lugo (historic town centre), Bagnacavallo (via Mazzini
and via Farini)
· I fuorilegge del matrimonio (1963) an episode by the Taviani brothers and Valentino Orsini, with Ugo Tognazzi. Bagnacavallo
(S. Francesco, Piazza Nuova, via Garibaldi and piazza della Libertà)
· Una bella grinta (1964) by Giuliano Montaldo, with Renato Salvatori, Norma Bengell, Marina Malfatti. Lugo
· Il presidente del Borgorosso Football Club (1970) by Luigi Filippo D'Amico, with Alberto Sordi. Bagnacavallo (Teatro Goldoni, via Mazzini,
piazza della Libertà), Lugo (historic town centre and surroundings)
· Permette, signora, che ami vostra figlia? (1974) (1974) by Gian Luigi Polidoro, with Ugo Tognazzi, Felice Andreasi. Bagnacavallo (Teatro Goldoni)
· L'Agnese va a morire (1976) by Giuliano Montaldo with Ingrid Thulin, Stefano Satta Flores, Michele Placido, Aurore Clèment, Ninetto Davoli,
Massimo Girotti, Johnny Dorelli, Eleonora Giorgi, Flavio Bucci, Gino Santercole, Aldo Reggiani. Alfonsine, Bagnacavallo (piazza della Libertà,
via Mazzini and railway station), Fusignano, Lugo
· Il Passatore (1977) by Piero Nelli, RAI TV drama with Manfred Freyberger, Tina Aumont. Bagnacavallo (Teatro Goldoni, Piazza Nuova), Lugo
· La neve nel bicchiere (1984) by Florestano Vancini with Massimo Ghini, Ivano Marescotti. Bagnacavallo (the square opposite the church
of Carmine) Massa Lombarda
· Miranda (1985) by Tinto Brass, with Serena Grandi, Andrea Occhipinti. Alfonsine
· La fiera dei sette dolori (1986) (1986) by Ghigo Alberani, not distributed. Bagnacavallo, Russi
· E allora mambo (1999) by Lucio Pellegrini, with Luca Bizzarri, Paolo Kessisoglu and Luciana Littizzetto. Bagnacavallo, Lugo (historic town
centre)
· Agata e la tempesta (2004) by Silvio Soldini, with Licia Maglietta, Giuseppe Battiston, Emilio Solfrizzi, Marina Massironi. Bagnacavallo (via Mazzini and via Farini)
· Al di là delle frontiere (2004) RAI TV drama in two episodes by Maurizio Zaccaro with Sabrina Ferilli, Johannes Brandrup, Lino Capolicchio,
Leo Gullotta. Bagnacavallo (Teatro Goldoni, piazza della Libertà, Castellaccio, Palazzo Massari, church of S. Girolamo)
· landscapes of cinema ·
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