CATALOGO_ZEUSsenza marchi.indd
Transcription
CATALOGO_ZEUSsenza marchi.indd
tioned contribute and inspires to further studies, to new researches and above all that could increase the sensibility in the defense of the cultural goods, to protect the patrimony and the to valuate the richness. On.le Dott. EUGENIO OZZA Sindaco di Ugento Avv. MASSIMO LECCI Assessore alla Cultura 51 IN THE GENEROUS HEART OF SALENTO of Pietro RODOLFO It is possible to visit Salento through the eyes of the mythic hero Enea who spoke woods of haulm oak, eucalyptus and ageless oak trees taking turns with aro- “Humilemque videmus Italiam” (we see the low shore of Italy). You could matic plants, Indian fig-trees and scented agavi. catch a glimpse of its modest heights that decrease softly towards a dear indigo sea, that brings life to beaches of There are no mountains. And the eyes would sweep over far horizons running into the ancient architectures of yellow, gracious shores, high rives that breaking down weave a network of rock the stone here and there: dry walls are simple or complex, linear or winding or on the coast. One can journey in Salento like the arranged in intricate patterns, assaulted by myrtle, by the branches of the haulm geographers and travellers of the 14th century did as they especially praised that “ beautiful, vague and plentiful oak and of the thorny oak tree and turned into the dwellings of reptiles and insects, chased by the intense industrial land”. One could then spot the rough farming; the pinion, small pyramids of plains beaten by the wind where the cotica Corsica enables the stunted looking plants survive, stretches of centuries old olive trees with their gnarled trunks, stone laid closed to the gates of the crop land, that silently told to the shepherds not to use those grounds for the pasture entangled and figuratively marked by architectonic solutions, fortified together with the outhouse attached to it, noble or functional. And then the Menhir, the Dolmen and the Specchie. The mountains are missing. And so are the rivers. That’s why the eyes would of their herds; the farms of the various the strict layer of ungrateful rock, most hard rock; fertile cloaks of tamed soils, one over to crops, most strikingly represented by the fruitful wine yards, authentic flag of the wise and caring work of the peasant and yonder, aboriginal sweep over a landscape of rocky layers 52 and calcareous banks. A miser landscape of soil and dryness, where the waters nel”, a mixture of races and tribes, of traditions and cultures, of beliefs and rain, where do not staunch, find a place in the bowels of the soil, creating tanks religions. And how could not one find the signs of this crucible in the popu- from which people have drawn water for centuries through the digging of deep wells. A landscape where the nature has lar rite of tarantismo, that since as far as the Middle ages has egged women bitten by the tarantula to go on pilgrim- been hard and where only the climate and the stubbornness of man has made age on 29th June to the well of the small church of San Paolo in Galatina, where it possible to produce the good products that for centuries has been made thanks the wild dance to the sound of pizzica tarantata, and the coloured ribbons tied to the noble soil. But Salento is not only the land of sun and sea, of red dry soil and sirocco around the wrist, eliminate the deadly languor. Or in the sword dance, that original folk winds. Salento is most of all of history dance which one can admire from the and a meeting point of cultures. It is a transmission of stimulus and messages, of fascination of myths and signs of ancient civilizations. “Placed as it is, located in the Italian sunset of the 15th of August to the dawn of the 16th in front of the sanctuary of san Rocco in Torrepaduli, a part of Ruffano. Or in the pizzica di core, the type of peninsula, closest to the Balkans, with a view of the channel through which the Ionic sea insinuates to create the long and narrow Adriatic sea, the spur of Italy, stretched out towards the seas pizzica tarantata which represents the feeling of love, eroticism and passion in the courting rite between a man and a woman: a woman begins to dance to the frantic rhythm of tambourines and of Levante and towards the Suez chan- violins, waving a red scarf, the colour 53 of love, with which she then invites to dance a man pointed out by the whim. Bored with the companion, she invites another and another one and once again to her pleasure, giving the scarf only to the man able to steal her heart, falling in with every desire and fantasy of hers. Or in the Grecìa salentina, that singular territory where the griko is still alive, similar to modern Greek and where you could still witness, to just a couple of years ago, the religious catholic functions of the Greek rite. History and culture, but also delightful art: Salento is an enchanting shrine of artistic and architectonic beauty. It is a land incredibly rich of testimonies which ranges from the Palaeolithic settlements to the signs of the Greek colonization, from the signs of the Roman rule to the Byzantine settlement, from the signs of feudality to the Norman territorial organization, from the signs of economic Spring of the renaissance era to the splendour of the baroque re- precocity of the Liberty style. Lecce particularly offers an unforgettable picture, the historic centre retains numerous wonders: from the famous basilica di Santa Croce, where the Baroque of Lecce comes to its full expression, passing through piazza Sant’Oronzo with the statue of the homonymous Santo Prottetore to the roman amphitheatre, that testifies the vitality of the Antica Lupiae. And then Piazza Duomo, correctly considered one of the most beautiful of Italy, in which the baroque exuberance links to the warm luminosity of the Lecce stone which in starry summer evenings, assumes a magic atmosphere. Not to forget the splendid coast towns. Otranto, for example, an Adriatic pearl with a coast touched by most pure waters, an enchanting castle and a cathedral among the largest of Salento, enriched by a mosaic floor from the 12th century. The Ionic beauty Gallipoli, also protected by a castle and rich of churches and chapels that makes the historical centre highly picturesque. And then Ugento, ligiousness, from refined Rococo to the 54 dawns and yellow sunsets, of hot sun and blue sea, of architectural and land- a paradise for seaside tourism, antique Mess apian centre, Roman municipium, victim of Saracens and the Turks with its castle, cathedral, Mess apian walls, museum of archaeology that preserves the famous “Zeus of Ugento”, considered one of the masterpieces of the Magna Grecian bronze period. And at last, the delights of the inland parts: among which Galatina, a dynamic centre that conserves the main Apulia late gothic pictorial in the church Santa Caterina, dating back to the 1420, with the history of Christ, of the virgin and of the homonymous saint; between Lecce and Santa Maria di Leuca, there are testimonies of the antique Mess apian, the people of the two seas, kings of these lands before the Roman conquer: the awesome Megalithic walls at Nardò, Cavallino and especially Muro Leccese. Salento is thus a continuous circle of nature, culture, history and art. It is a wise mixture of communal identities linked to the landscapes of struggle and labour. It is the incredible land of pink scape wonders, of history and traditions, of hospitality and warm-heartedness, of intense scents and flavours, that make you dream. 55 UGENTO IN THE MESSAPIAN Francesco D’ANDRIA From “ KALAOHI ZIS, IL CULTO DI ZEUS A UGENTO” Moscara Editor, Cavallino 2002 defines a hierarchy of built-up areas of which Ugento is an undoubtable point of reference. As far back as in the Ironage, there The Messapian Zeus statue found together with the painted tomb, rich with bronze plates and ceramic figures, are just some of the clues to the remarkable reality of the settled Ugento in the Archaic age. The slow proceeding of the investigation and intense research of sites close to Ugento, like the Fani farm in Salve, would have been a village of huts in the zone that today corresponds to the historical centre. Despite much destruction of the area, features of the ancient fortifications 56 from the Hellenistic age still remain, and these present an impressionable development in length, approximately 4900 metres long and that extends over an area of 145 hectares. It is even harder to appreciate the extension of the Archaic villages of which the importance is ensured precisely by the findings of Zeus and the bronze tomb. These are concentrated on the highest points of the settled area, partly corresponding to the historical centre. In that stage Ugento could present an “proto-urban” arrangement similar to the one conserved by Cavallino and Oria. In the Archaic Messapian established system, it is possible to recognise three greater centres: Oria in the north, Cavallino in the centre and Ugento in the south. Around these dominant centres smaller villages are spread in appropriate positions in order to control the territory. Like the other major Messapian installations , Ugento hade a connection to the sea. The landing-place of the San Giovanni tower, probably dating from the Hellenistic age, was situated on a vast area along the coast. In corrisondence to the coast tower, Ugento has left traces of an Archaic activity (fragments of vases made of a mixture of local production, Ionic cups and commercial amphora). 57 CHORA OF UGENTO di Roberto MARUCCIA lence the “sites in a cave”, they do not represent stable settlements; they rather connect to functions of cultural charac- The appearance of Prehistoric Apulia and in particular the most southern parts of Salento present light evolutional differences compared to the sites in Gargano and in the Bari area. The appropriations depend on the territory and the Pleistocene landscape outlining a valid choice of camp, coming from the fact that Ugento is close to the mountain ranges of Calaturo and Fontane. The most noted settlement of this territory, the district Focone, tells us of an evolution in the litho epigravettiano industries, from which the most ancient examples are found at Cipolliane and Taurisano, these foretell the later ones of Romanelli. The Eneolithic facies of Salento known as “ Zinzulusa” equal other settlements, like Grotta della Trinità of Ruffano, Grotta delle Veneri of Parabita, Grotta dei Cervi of Porto Badisco and the first stage of Grotta Cappuccini of Galatone. Although we can document in preva- ter, for example, Grotta cod. Don Carrillo and probably the Grotta Artanisis as well, both of them situated at the foot of Sera delle Fontane. The Bronze Age showed a typological difference in how the settlements were constructed; they tended to be arranged more and more along the coast. This marked a profound change also in the material culture, which became evident in the settlements, both in length as in width , besides the presence of fortification structures, the most representative examples being: Roca Vecchia and Torre Sant’Andrea. The following locations represent the principal coastal and per coastal settlements of the Ugento territory: Terenzano, Le Pazze, Mammalie, Artanisi and Madonna del Casale that persevere at the foot of the mountain ranges of Calaturo and Fontane. In the recent and final stage of the 58 Bronze Age the cave settlements were abandoned, instead defence appeared on naturally higher ground, arranged in strategic positions in order to control the territory. This prevail the vicinity to the sea with big gully and water sources. 59 THE HISTORY OF DISCOVERY di Paolo SCHIAVANO Ugento 22 December 1961 “ The pickax stopped, it had struck the rock… it’s not difficult that this should happen here, in this country that rests its foundation on the chalky bed. How much work to build a veranda… and we have still only taken away a meter of earth, and its not even any good for the land; it’s full of small shards so we took it to the outskirts of the town and made two large heaps of it. And now too the rock… it seems to be stone however, a square stone, regular, curious! I call the others, it’s too big to be able to move by myself… the effort of three people is just about enough to remove it, then to great amazement a hole opens underneath this block… as big as the cover that protected it… how strange!! I go down into the rocky opening.. no one would believe me were there not other persons there with me to testify to it…but… there is something hidden inside!! NU PUPU………IL PUPO…..” (THE LAD… THE BOY) ered one of the masterpieces of Magna Grecia’s bronze sculptures began like that. The statue, known by the name of “Poseidon of Ugento”, was discovered during the digging for the foundations of a veranda that Mister Luigi Corsano was building in front of his house… certainly not thinking of bringing to light something extraordinary, of inestimable value, of indefinable beauty, from a hollow covered with a stone that would reveal itself to be a Doric capital decorated with rosettes in relief that the statue surmounted in antiquity. At the moment of discovery “il pupo”, the name by which the work was designated immediately from the beginning, turned out to be lame and missing its right hand… it was not beautiful, and also gave off a foul smell, stinking and disgusting, due to the organic wastes that the nearby dwellings heaped on to the place where it was found and which had evidently polluted the piece as well, so that it was carefully undertaken to re- The fascinating story of what is consid60