Posted on
September 27, 2007 by
Stile Mediterraneo
Craftsmen in Lecce make wonderful hand-made objects out of leftover materials. Artisans add wire, straw, materials, glue and chalk to old paper and create wonderfully sculpted and coloured figures.
Papier machè art has ancient origins in the Salento area and is popular worldwide now because of Leccese artists’ creativity and inspiration.
This art has been passed down from father to son. Artists produce Madonnas, Saints and little statues all over the year, which are displayed during the Presepe (the crib) period at Christmas time.
Craftsmen make a structure out of wire and straw and then cover it with several layers of paper soaked in water that is then glued together by mixing water and flour.
Clothes are done with papier machè (cartapesta) while faces, arms and legs are made out of terracotta (earthenware). Then the statues are put in the oven and then painted.
Tags: Italy Christmas holidaysLecce papier machèThings to do in Puglia
Category
Puglia, things to do in Puglia, traditions
Posted on
August 13, 2007 by
Stile Mediterraneo
The old part of the town of Matera is one of the most fascinating places in the world, playing witness to a very particolar form of human development. Matera has a rocky ‘tufo’ surface into which Palaeolithic humans dug grottoes intended for use as dwellings. One of the oldest urban quarters in the whole world, which due to its peculiarity has been termed ‘ the underground city’.
Its antique area, known as the Sassi (stones) of Matera, are gigantic sculptures, an urban miracle through which it is possible to discover elements which refer back to various events that have happened through the centuries.
Today the stones of Matera are almost uninhabited, but right up until 1952, they housed 15 000 people until the Italian state declared that the inhabitants be re-housed due to sanitary regulations. The urban settlement which is dug into the rock at Gravina di Matera is the only one of its kind and consists of an intricate network of alleyways, steps, grottoes, arches, kitchen gardens, terraces and chimney tops. The hydraulics system is also completely unique in that it was dug into the ground where cisterns were created to enable the inhabitants to take advantage of a fresh water supply. The inhabitants of Matera slowly came to the surface, so to speak, building rooftops and small, kitchen gardens. A perfect example of historic art concerning human space carved into the limestone or ‘tufo’ rock face.
Towards the end of 1993, the Sassi of Matera were declared as part of the World Cultural Heriatge of UNESCO he patrimony for future generations of humanity’. The Sassi are renown as one of the 365 wonders of the world.
In 1994, Matera was awarded a prize from the European union for the best territorial urban programme. Many churches in Matera were erected between XIII and XIX centuries, the majority in Baroque style – evidence that the town’s people developed in unison with the grottoes. At Matera (55000 inhabitants) one may enjoy a variety of interesting historical influences as well as the ‘new city’.
After having left the area of the Sassi, one may enjoy the suburbs which are characterised by the variety available; small country houses, large farmhouses, small mountain top hamlets.
Places well worth a visit are: the ‘Parco delle Chiese Rupestri del territorio di Matera’ (the Rupestrian churches of Matera), with more than 8000 hectares that have beautifully conserved the natural beauty, a historical witness where one can view the so called ‘gravine’ of Matera; bare, bleak rock faces with a limited vegetation which seem to cut irregular slits into the earth. One may see evidence of previous limestone removals which were carried out by the ancient inhabitants of the area.
Tags: about PugliaMaterapuglia vacationsThings to do in Puglia
Category
Puglia, Travel, things to do in Puglia
Posted on
August 13, 2007 by
Stile Mediterraneo
To mark the festival’s tenth anniversary, the “Notte della Taranta” phenomenon will be the starting point for a round table chaired by the music journalist, Valerio Corzani, entitled “Examples of artistic policies for territorial development“, an exploration of various examples from around Europe of ways in which local areas have been boosted by artistic planning and production.
This year there will be a closer bond between the “Notte della Taranta” festival and the many foreign journalists and operators who will be there, attracted by an artistic project which was born a decade ago out of the desire to breathe new life into traditional music forms such as the pizzica and songs in the Griko language, and has since then become not only one of the most popular and well-known festivals anywhere in Europe, but also a driving force for the development of the local culture and economy.
This was recently given official backing by a report drawn up by Eurispes Puglia on the region’s main production-related characteristics and potential. In the “Tourism – national and international events” chapter, our festival is named as one of the four most important events in the region for promoting the circulation of human resources and materials, alongside the Fiera del Levante, the Festival of the Valle d’Itria and the Putignano Carnival.
The sheer number of concerts and the figures for the recording industry (despite their huge losses) underline the strong relationship between local art and development. There is little question that world art and world music have become huge resources for artistic endeavours and for the development of infrastructure and tourism in Europe: a whole array of seasons, festivals, specialist institutions, networks and production companies are concrete proof of a dynamic situation responding to the needs of an audience increasingly attracted by different cultures – especially untainted ones.
World music is now a key part of our “musical space”. Whether they are called ethnic, traditional, folk, primitive or world, these music forms – urban or rural, high-brow or pop, religious or profane – no doubt express the most dynamic and living part of a common heritage, a common thread uniting people no matter where they live. This music has spread to all parts of Italy and to the rest of the world with unprecedented speed.The meeting will be held on Thursday 23rd August at 6 pm in the cloister of the Convento degli Agostiniani, in Melpignano, a location that symbolises both this growth and the connection between culture and local development that has occurred in the Salento peninsula and in Apulia as a whole.
For more info visit the website: lanottedellataranta
Tags: events in Italypuglia holidaystaranta danceThings to do in Puglia
Category
Puglia, things to do in Puglia
