art, marble and tourism - newsletter 29 11 2009

8/4/2019 Art, Marble and Tourism - Newsletter 29 11 2009

1/12

www.pietrasantaresort.com

Pietrasanta Newsletter

Inside this issue: page

Travel diary 1

History and stories 1

An artist at a glance 2

Do you know Pietrasanta ? And win! 2

Weather forecast: look at the past 3

Whats on at Pietrasanta 3

One day trip4

Your comments 11

Surfing the net 11

Less money, more holidays 12

Carving marble is just a hobby for

me. I like to extract from the white

stone what I feel inside: an object,

an idea, a new design, a model

for the future.

Every year, I use to spend 3

weeks in Pietrasanta, and every

year I come back proudly home

with a new marble sculpture.

In May 2009 I rented an

apartment at Palazzo Ferretti and

I met interesting people there. I

remember Lois, Ray, Giampaolo

and other fellows with I talked a

lot in the evenings about Art,

M a rb l e a n d T o u r i s m i n

Pietrasanta.

During the day, I worked hard at

the Kyles Studio, a friend of mine

that rents out room and carving

tools.

Every time the atmosphere and

the people in Pietrasanta left a

deep and lasting positive

impression to me.

The restaurants, the galleries, the

(Continues to page 5)

Travel diary.Sculpting at Pietrasanta

by Hank Hauser, Switzerland

History and stories: Michelangelo at Pietrasanta

WhatsonatPietrasantaa

ndits

surroundings

Quaterly newletter

Fall issue, November 2009

Michelangelo di

Lodovico Buonarroti

Simoni - born on March

6, 1475 near Arezzo,

Tuscany, died on

February 18, 1564 in

Rome is the most

important artist of the

Renaissance along with

Leonardo da Vinci.

Michelangelo's output in

every field during hislong life was

prodigious: he created

many masterpieces as a

sculptor (David, Mos,

Piet, etc.), as a painter

(the frescos of

Cappella Sistina), as an

architect (the Saint

Peter Church).

Here we focus on the

links between

Michelangelo and the

town of Pietrasanta,

where Michelangelo

spent about thirteen

months of his life. We



2/12



Do you know the name ofthe sculpture and its loca-

tion (the name of the

square) ?

The first who emails us

the right answerwill win a

Hic manebimus optime

T-shirt.

(specify your size).

... I am here in Piet rasanta , to

take advanta ge of the

c enturies-long experienc e of the

loc a l bronze foundries.

I was elected to join the

Royal British Society of

Sculptors in 2006 through

a bursary competition and

s u b s e q u e n t a w a r d ,

enabling younger and

emergent artists to access

t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f

community.

Last year, when I sent my

application for the Brian

M e r c e r B r o n z e

Scholarship, I could realize

how Pietrasanta is nice and

how I feel good living in this

small town.

In October 2008 I was

selected by a panel of 5 to

take up the award that is

generously funded by theBrian Mercer Charitable

Foundation.

Today, I am here in

Pietrasanta, to take

advantage of the centuries-

long experience of the local

bronze foundries.

The nature of the award

was to enable a sculptor

w i t h p r o f e s s i o n a l

exper ience, but not

necessarily any experience

of working with bronze, to

experiment for three solid

months with the processesand limits of bronze in a

foundry. The charity have

established a yearly award

at Foundation SEM for

marble which has run for

several years, and this was

the first time they developed

an award specifically to

cover a per iod o f

scholarship of bronze

techniques and processes.

I had never worked in

bronze before, so the experience

is a steep learning curve for me.

I am learning a lot and very

quickly, mainly because the

artisans at Fonderia Mariani are

so hospitable and kind in the

sharing of their knowledge with

me, despite the frequent language

barriers. I try to talk Italian too,

even if it is very difficult.


Page 2

An artist at a glance: Samantha Donnelly, Manchester, UK

Do you know Pietrasanta ? (.and win !)

Liquirice, by Samantha Donnelly,

2008


3/12



Weather forecast ? Look at the past !

Seasons weather at Pietrasanta is

warmer than in London and New

York.

In December the average

temperature is between 44 and 59

degree F at Pietrasanta. On average,

we have 7 days of strong rain, with

a total of 93 mm of precipitation.

You can get the weather forecasts

few days before your arriving at

Pietrasanta. In any case, if you

want to know something moreabout weather, you can consider

the characteristics of the weather of

the last years.

We can say that the Holiday

In London, they have a mean

temperature that goes from 38 to

47 degree F, and in New York the

minimum temperature is 43 onaverage and the maximum is 87. In

New York and London there are

more rainy days than in Pietrasanta,

9 and 13 days, respectively.

Whats on at Pietrasanta

6 Dec and 3 Jan: antique-brocante

open market, Dome square,

Pietrasanta

6, 21, 22, 23, 24 Dec: artisan open

market, Dome square, Pietrasanta

Sunday 20 Dec: Christmas songs

at the Cathedral, Pietrasanta

Untill 10 Jan: Armando

Marroccos exhibition at

SantAgostino, Pietrasanta

Dec: Christmas tree and nativity

scene at Dome square, Pietrasanta

31 Dec: New Years Eve at Dome

Square. Songs, dancing, panettone

and spumante for everybody,

Pietrasanta

7 Jan: Winter sales at local shops

Whats on at Pietrasanta

surroundings

21 Dec: Living nativity scene,

Serravezza

26 Dec: Santo Stefano Fair and

old Nativity statues (XVII

century) at Vallecchia; at 9 pm,

concert at the Pieve of Santo

Stefano

Holidays seasons: Nativity scene

at Antro del Corchia grotto, 2000meters of walking through

stalactites and stalagmites

6 Jan: Epiphany party at Marina di

Pietrasanta: gifts and cookies for

kids

Holiday Seasons Tips

Pietrasanta downtown is adorned

by Christmas lights and candles,

and by a huge Christmas tree inthe Cathedral square. On the left

of the Cathedral, at the base of the

Tower, there is a traditional

nativity scene, made by the

students of the local school of arts

(Istituto Stagio Stagi).

New Years Eve in the main

square is terrific: music and

dancing all night long, eating

panettone and drinking spumanteat free for all the citizens; local

people cheering each others. All

downtown celebrates the New

Years Eve in this open-air party.

You will be bothered or fascinated

by the so-called petardi, that are

noise bangers and firecrackers that

kids (and their dads) use to shoot

during the New Years Eve. As a

matter of fact, every evening fromChristmas to Epiphany is

celebrated by many shoots of

f irecrackers , bangers and

fireworks.

December

Mean Temperature C Mean Temperature F

Mean

Total Precipita-

tion (mm)

Mean

Number of

Precipitation Days

Daily Daily Daily Daily

Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

Pietrasanta 6,6 15,0 43,9 59,0 93,0 7,3

London 3.4 8,2 38,1 46,8 57 13.2

New York -0.8 5.9 30.6 42.6 86.9 8.7

Page3

Whats on: December and Christmas holidays

New years eve in Piazza


4/12



Germans! Yes, Germans. It

seems that we happened to visit

Colonnata on the one weekend a

year that their sister city inGermany sponsors a trip to come

and share in some cultural

exchange.

In the main Piazza, a placard

offers an explanation of the

history of Colonnata.

No visit to Colonnata is complete

without sampling their famous

Lardo. So we, of course, dined

for lunch at Venanzios, a

restaurant on the piazza. It is the

best restaurant in Colonnata, and

maybe the only one

www.ristorantevenanzio.com),

and it was really great.

A common appetizer in

Colonnata: Sliced lardo on the

left, some kind of prosciutto on

the right. Actually, they were both

VERY good. But, my arteriesthanked me for NOT eating all the

lard.

Now the surprise. This is the

other view of the Piazza.

Different than the last one yes?

Again, note, there is NO snow in

these shots. What you are seeing

is in reality a marble mountain!

Of course, all of this region of

Italy owes a debt of gratitude to

the many, many men who have

carved these large blocks of

marble from the

mountaintops. So,

Colonnata celebrates

these brave men with

the Monument to

Cavatore (the person

who extracts marble

from the quarry). This

monument to all those

who lost their lives inextraction of the(Continues to page 10)

Page 4

One day trip: Colonnata, by Joe Chiarella

An excursion to Colonnata, Italy

(September 2009)

Colonnata is a small town formedin the first century before Christ!

It was essentially a colony for

convicted criminals who were

then forced to work in the marble

quarries. So, it is VERY

old. Today, the population is

around 700 residents and the town

is known mostly (are you ready...)

for their special formula for

making LARD! Yes, I said Lard:

pig fat. Their Lardo cakes arevacuum packed and encrusted with

all kinds of herbs and other secret

ingredients and processes, and is

very much sought after. Lardo is

aged some months into a marble

box, the same marble used by

Michelangelo, before the final

process. I took a great many

photos, too many to show here, but

Ill share a few along with some

brief explanations in the hope that

you can get a feel for this town

(1800ft / 550m elevation) that sits

nestled between great marble

mountains. In ALL the photos you

will see below that appear white

capped that is marble NOT

snow. There is zero snow this time

of year of course.

This was a hoot and an unexpected

surprise. We arrived at the main

town piazza (ok, the ONLYPiazza) to discover a busy

celebration that involves

Colonnata is known mostly for

making lard. Before the final

process, lard is aged some

months into a marble box, the

same type of marble used by

Michelangelo 500 years ago


5/12


Pietrasanta NewsletterPage 5

Continued from p.1 Hank Housers Travel Diary

Collodi is the Hanks apartment at Palazzo Ferretti,

Pietrasanta downtown

small kids playing on the

Piazza, the curly violinist in

front of the church, the dogs

playing, not to forget the too

many pigeons that files all

around the main square.

Pietrasanta downtown is a

very special place, and I

suggest do not miss the

opportunity to visit it.

Touring some of the marble

studios of course is a special

attraction. You can see

different talents, ideas,

techniques and meet

gifted people (the so

called artigiani and

those who never will

reach the level of an

artigiano. )

One day, on the

o u t s k i r t s t o w a rd s

Querceta, I watched a

computerized machine that

was drilling into a block of

marble to form a life-size

sculpture. It was impressive

how precise it worked, day and

night, in order to replay and to

enlarge a model.

Another day, I met some high

pressure water jets

doing jigsaw puzzles out

of marble in all colours.

In that studio, I met a

very old man and his

son, both very pleasant

people, who can make a

sculpture base for you

in no time, and for a

very reasonable cost, in

any colour you like.

Next to the studio there is a

superb tool store, where youget all the different kind of

tools you could image, some

friendly advice and a rebate if

you pay cash.

Over the years I have put

together a manual with dos

and donts on marblesculpting, good for beginners.

Are you interested in? Send

me an e- mail and I will share

it with you.

The daily work and the

inspirations from galleries,

studios, and exhibitions of

course make you hungry.


.Pietrasanta downtown is a




Computerized machine carving a block ofmarble

Hanks sculpture

Collodi is the Hanks best favorite apartment at

Palazzo Ferretti


6/12



Continued from p.5 Hank Housers Travel DiaryHere there are some

recommendations for special

places to go for a good meal. I

had great time in all these

restaurants:

* Lo Studio (in the courtyardbehind the Botero warrior):

very special ambiance, good

food and reasonable prices;

* Il Vaticano: the best pizza I

had (and I had many in my

long life), also good pasta

*Il Gatto Nero: good ambiance

and good food

* Non Solo Vino : good steak

* La Dogana (5 minutes by car

outside Pietrasanta direction

L u c c a ) : a v e r y

special and excellent

food choice.

Hank Hauser

for further info send me a

email [email protected]

- - - - - -

Thank you Hank for your

travel diary !!!

Please, send us your travel

diary too, and well share itwith the other members of our

Community.

.Pietrasanta downtown is a




Look at the picture: it is the sculpture I

Page 6


7/12



impressive book it is not

enough to shed light on this

period of the Michelangelos

life.

I would like to give you some

stylized facts, i.e. information

that are undoubted true.

First of all, it is true that

Michelangelo spent about

twelve or thirteen months in

Pietrasanta, between 1518 and

1519. He lived in a house in

the Cathedral Square, andtoday you can watch on its

faade a white Carrara marble

Continued from p.1 History and Stories: Michelangelo

Page 7

talk about Michelangelo as a

sculptor, and not about the other

qualities of his artistic genius

(for additional information, readthe page on

www.wikipedia.com).

Michelangelo at Pietrasanta

There are different and opposed

information about how long

time Michelangelo spent in

Pietrasanta, why he lived there,

and the results that he got from

his staying at Pietrasanta.

Main information comes from

the best historical resourceabout Michelangelo, i.e. the

biography that Vasari wrote

about him, even if this

inscription in memory of this

important event. Nowadays, the

house is a bar - the Michelangelo

bar - and when you drink an

espresso at the outdoor table, you

should dream about the

Michelangelo life in the XVI

century.

Secondly, we know exactly about

the aim of the Michelangelos

stay at Pietrasanta: he was

charged by Pope Leo X to build

the facade of the Saint Lorenzo

church in Florence. Vasari wrote

there was a public call for thatfaade and that the

Michelangelos application won.

Other historians discovered that

Michelangelo got the commission

two years before, in November

1516, but he got a written

contract only in 1518. The Pope

Leo X did not send him to

Carrara (as

Michelangelo

did few yearsbefore) but to

Pietrasanta

because the

Pope preferred

to use the

quarries under

the Florence

dominion, and

he didnt want

to buy the

marble from the

Duke of

Carrara. This

decision created

much trouble and work for

Michelangelo and it was really a

waste of time: on one hand,

Michelangelo wanted to use the

best white marble in the world,

the Statuario one, on the other

hand, a wonderful vein of whitestatuario was found on the Monte

Altissimo, at 900 meters above

see level. (Continues to page 8)

Michelangelo apartment at Palazzo Ferretti, Pietrasanta

downtown.

Michelangelos Pietas (1499).

Carrara marble.

Michelangelos David (1504).

Carrara marble.

Bar Michelangelo, Duomo Square,

Pietrasanta downtown


8/12



It was a hard location to exploit:

no quarries, no roads, no

infrastructures to move the block

to the seaside!

Michelangelo ordered a new road

up to the Monte Altissimo, and he

spent few months waiting for its

construction.

Thirdly, there is a widespread

belief that the results of the

Michelangelos visit were not a

good business for him: in March

1520 Pope Leo X inexplicably

cancelled the contract about the

Saint Lorenzo faade. In order to

reduce the damages for the

Divino artist, Pope Leo X gave

to Michelangelo the Medici

Chapel project. The

mausoleum of the

Medici family tombs

was built in the SaintLorenzo church in

Florence, too.

Michelangelo realized it

in the 1520s but he

didnt use the marble

from Monte Altissimo

for it, as the road and the

quarry on the Altissimo

were not finished yet.

This very special white

marble was used only 50 years

later, when Cosimo I de Medici

completed the road designed by

Michelangelo, and exploited

the so-called Michelangelo

quarries on the Altissimo

mountain.

Finally, we can say that the

town of Pietrasanta received

great benefit from the visit of

Michelangelo in 1518-1519.The town was known because

of her attitude to the marble

art: there were some good

artisan even before 1518, and

historians say that

Michelangelo agreed to stay at

Pietrasanta also because of the

skills of the local artisans:

Pietrasanta was an artistic town

and Michelangelo could use the

local artisans and studios to

realize his project. Michelangeloknew Pietrasanta very well even

before 1518, as in 1514 he spent

few month at Carrara, extracting

the marble block for his best

sculpture, the David, a colossal

statue portraying David as a

symbol of Florentine freedom, to

be placed in the Piazza della

Signoria, in front of the Palazzo

Vecchio.

Of course, the marble studios in

Pietrasanta boosted after the visit

of Michelangelo, as the artist was

so famous that his stay in

Pietrasanta was attractive for other

artists, artisans, and

businessmen of that age. Thanks

to Michelangelo, Pietrasanta wasrecognized as the capital of

marble art in Italy, and the town

has been taking this award until

nowadays.

Today, at Pietrasanta there are a

lot of foreign artists that continue

the Michelangelo art, and that give

to the town the same benefit that

Michelangelo gave six centuries

ago. Viceversa, the town gives tothe foreign artists many benefits

too, maybe they are the same of

the Michelangelo age!

Continued from p.7 History and Stories : Michelangelo

Commemorative marble inscription at the facade of bar

Michelangelo

Michelangelo and Donatello at Pietrasanta downtown

Michelangelo quarries are just on the top of the

Altissimo mountain

Page 8


9/12



Continued from p.2 An artist at a glance: Samantha

Page 9

The artisans work with me to

ensure I can bring the complex

forms of my art into reality,

including developing structures

to help hold the forms in place

whilst I am working on them.

In Pietrasanta I live downtown,

at Palazzo Ferretti.

I enjoy staying at Barsanti

Apartment as it is a quiet

place that is fantastic to

concentrate on ideas and has

a large living / dining area

which is perfect to write and to

make collage and drawings in

the evenings. I found my

location great, not too far from

the Piazza and still able to walk

to the sea in just over half an

hour.I found the experience to be a

positive one and I greatly enjoy

my new friendships here in

Pietrasanta, which have been

many, as the community is so

friendly. I really hope to return

to Pietrasanta at some point in

the future to make larger scale

works in bronze.

Samantha Donnelly's biography

Samantha Donnelly's practice is

realized through a combination of

sculpture, drawing, collage and

lens-based practice. Samantha

originally trained in Time-Basedpractice in Sheffield Hallam,

graduating in 2000. Her time

t h e r e s a w h e r d e v e l o p

photographic and film projects

concerned with interpreting

Psychoanalytic Theory, Feminism

and ideas of Deconstruction.

After some years of exhibiting,

travelling and working in London,

in both

g a l l e r yeducation

a n d

p r o j e c t s

w i t h i n

a r c h i t e c t u r a l

p r a c t i c e s , s h e

completed her MFA

at The University ofNewcastle gaining

distinctions in theory

and practice.

B a s e d i n

M a n c h e s t e r ,

England, for the last

4 years Samantha

has shown work and

par t ic ipa ted in

projects throughoutthe UK, Europe and America.

Her work is held in private

collections both in the UK and

America. Most recently she

showed as part of Perhaps

Nothing Perhaps Something at

Leeds Metropolitan University

Gallery alongside Cornelia Parker

and Rachel Whiteread. She has

been involved with several

International residencies andexchanges one of which was

SWAP / VAIHTO with 18 artists

from Helsinki and the UK,

exploring methodologies of

collaboration and process. Prior

to this she has participated in

Triangle Workshop 2006, with a

group of 30 International artists in

New York City. She is showing

as part ofVolta 5, Basel later this

year and is currently developingwork for two solo shows for 2009;

the first to show the work made in

Pietrasanta at the Royal British

Society of Sculptors in London

that opens late July and runs into

August; the second at Ceri Hand

Gallery in Liverpool.

When she is not working as an

artist she works on a freelance

basis tutoring and lecturing.(Continues to page 10)

Ebony, by Samantha Donnelly, 2007

The Barsanti apartment at Palazzo Ferretti has been used by Samantha

during her stage at Pietrasanta


10/12



Continued from p.4 One day trip to Colonnata, by Joe Chiarella

marble from the quarries is located just outside the main entrance to the Church in the town. Show below is

the entrance to the Piazza and the face of the church adjoining the Monument.

There are a LOT of other photos I took of the town set against the backdrop of the marble in the

mountains. However, I think the one below does a wonderful job of showing thedramatic scenery.

While there may be drama surrounding the town - in the town - it is "warm" and

cozy feeling.

What else is there to say but A house built on Marble now sustained on

Lardo!

Once again, I am struck by the sheer history and

AGE and DRAMATIC BEAUTY of this place. But I hasten to add the

realities. This is a VERY hard place to get to. A 1.5 car width wide

switchback road to get up or down is both hair-raising and, well, sometimes

simply impossible. And, finally, as one of the locals says This was a town

built on anarchists so normal rules (legal, economic, etc.) dont reallyapply here.

- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks to Joe for his travel diary. All the pictures of Colonnata are on our web site,

www.pietrasantaresort.com, at the tourist resource section. Look at them, and you will get the wish to visit

Colonnata you, too.

Continued from p.9 An artist at a glance: Samantha

Recent positions have included visiting lectureships at The University of

Newcastle, The University of Teeside and Huddersfield University.

Samantha currently sits on the Board of Directors at Yorkshire

ArtSpace, Sheffield - the largest maintained studios under one roof for

artists and craftspeople in the North of England.

More information on:

www.axisweb.org/artist/samanthadonnelly

www.rbs.org.uk

www.artspace.org.uk/

Prima, bronze in process, by Samantha

Donnelly, 2009

Page 10


11/12



Your comments

Dear Giampaolo,

Thank you for the latest

Pietrasanta newsletter, which I

have enjoyed. I hope you are well

and I look forward to returning to

Pietrasanta.

Best wishes, John (York, UK)

Your newspaper is wonderful.

Thank you for all of the work it

takes to produce it. It keeps us in

touch with our summer destination

(again we hope).

Tewis (Key West, Florida, USA)

Please, dont hesitate to email us

your comments and critics about

this newsletter. What would you

like to read about ?

Page 11

In 2007 Burke Paterson made a one-year trip all around the world. He made 30000 miles, andstop for a while at Pietrasanta.

We read on his blog:

If you think of Carrara as the region's gritty working town, then Pietrasanta is the neighbouringpicture-perfect tourist town. Similar to what Edinburgh is to Glasgow, or what Niagara-on-the-Lake is to St. Catharines. Whereas Carrara has plenty of marble quarries and workshops, butfew hotels, and no tourists maps; Pietrasanta has loads of hotels, lots of pretty retail shops, andis home to some internationally renowned sculptors - attracted by the high quality of the thelocal stone and craftsmen, not to mention the allure of living in a place that Michelangelo helpedmake famous.

More information on:

http://www.burkepaterson.com/bmad/index.html

Surfing the net: Pietrasanta

Christmas ball of Museo dei Bozzetti, Pietrasanta downtown


12/12



About usYour holiday rentals in downtown

Palazzo Ferretti

Via del Paduletto 10/12

55045 Pietrasanta

For bookings:Giampaolo Vitali

Phone +39 328 2259111

email: [email protected]

Skype: giampaolovitali1

Page 12

This is a quarterly newsletter for foreign tourists

and artists.

Its about Pietrasanta and its surroundings. The

newsletter is mainly written by you: your comments,

your experience, your true stories. We want to

collect and publish them on the newsletter, and to

share your experience within the Palazzo Ferretti

Community.

Please, do not hesitate to email us your personal

experience about your stay and your holidays in

Pietrasanta: write about one day off, one trip to

Lucca or Florence, one friend you met there. Well

publish it on the next issue.

This issue has been emailed to about 250 foreign

tourists and artists Please, send it to your friends:

maybe they will become Pietrasanta lovers, too.

All the best

Giampaolo Vitali (Palazzo Ferretti)

Your garden in downtown

Less money, more holidays

LOW-COST SECTION

Holiday seasons at Pietrasanta.

Special offer from Ryanair: from London toPisa (27 December) and return (5 January),

at 100 GBP, taxes included !!!!

(www.ryanair.com).

Delta Airlines offer: from New York to Pisa

(28 December) and return (9 January), at

575 euro, taxes included !!!!!

(www.opodo.com)

PALAZZO FERRETTI

SPECIAL OFFER

Palazzo Ferretti is pleased to offer one

week rental (from 7th January to 28thFebruary) at 400 euros, all fees and WIFI

internet access are included (except heating

and electricity). This special offer is only

for Pietrasanta Newsletter readers (and

their friends).

Bookings at:

[email protected]

art, marble and tourism - newsletter 29 11 2009

Documents