Dear Art Lover,
Today is the last of three Sundays for “LA
SAGRA DELLE FRUGIATE DI VELLANO” or ‘The festival of the roasted chestnuts of
Vellano.’ We are in Tuscany, Italy, in the
hills north of Pescia, between Florence and Lucca. A friend and I went early on the first Sunday
after a good lunch at the nearby restaurant Da Manero with large
windows overlooking the valley.
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| Castagna / Chestnuts springing from their porcupine-like case |
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| Italians have specific words for everything food-related! |
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| The lovely Vellano, in Valleriana, Tuscany, Italy |
After looking at all of the home-made
goods and foods, we walked through Publio Biagini’s museum that features the
rock harvesting tools used in this region (Valleriana)’s history and many great
examples of a variety of rocks and gems.
We headed over to Cava Nardini to
see the stone sculptures.
You, too, may have that experience
today! Festival hours from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Castagna (or ‘chestnuts’ in English)
grow in abundance here. The wood is used
by farmers and such perhaps almost as much as the harvest of the “fruit.” While I was at the quarry on Friday, it
rained in the morning. During the little
break, quarry owner Germano Nardini showed me the castagne and told me how to prepare them the easy way. Basically soak the nuts in water with a wee
bit of salt for about 40 minutes or an hour.
Then just open and eat. I may try
that since I can usually put stuff in water without issue. Hahah.
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| Lovely contrast grey stone yellow leaves |
I must admit, though, that while I can
only eat about 3-4 roasted castagne before I no longer like the taste in my
mouth. What I DO like is the flour (farina) made from chestnuts. I have cooked with that last winter and it is
very good (a sweet flour).
In the
picks of Germano’s hands with the castagne,
I should tell you that he was clear that the little pan these were sitting in
at the quarry was NOT the right sort of pan to use to cook them. The rest of the images I took around the
quarry. Germano is 83 years old and still
crunching rock! He wore red that day and
was very photogenic against the yellowing acacia(?) trees.
Enjoy the recent scenes from the Cava Nardini. I will post the after
shots once I have finished the stone ballerina, probably in a future art
newsletter. Subscribe if interested. http://borsheimarts.com/contact.htm
Peace,
Kelly
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| Detail of Sculpture |
P.S. Remember, I am offering a pre-casting
discount on the price of the new bronze sculpture "Rock Towers and Frogs"
if you place your order before 1 November 2016. This copy in the
edition has been sold, but I will send you progress pictures of your sculpture
being made, just as I am here. In the case of a “future” artwork, we work
out a payment plan that works for you and the casting process, meaning that
after the initial payment, you pay installations based on the progress of the
work, paying in full before the sculpture is shipped to you. I have sold many
bronze sculptures in this way and am grateful to those who can envision the
finished bronze when all they have seen is clay or wax!
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| Autumn in the quarry-Face Sculpture by Kumiko Suzuki |
