Dear Art Lover,
The first of May is the Festa del Lavoro [Labor Day]
in Italia. It comes the morning
after La Notte Bianca (The White
Night) in Florence. Each town sets its
own date for the city-wide party that is the White Night, in which the streets
are packed with people, food, music, and sometimes much more amazing things,
such as light shows and theatres.
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| Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy on 1 May 2015 - Labor Day |
So, I was a bit drowsy starting off my Italian Labor
Day. Thankfully, I did not have to be
anywhere until 3 pm and I got to meet a wonderful lady, Camila Martinez. She is a
friend of my Texas-based friend Kate and we shared a lovely evening and meal
together. She had been
down in Roma presenting her creations at a conference.
Camilia is making a series of films working with the Mayan peoples (whom I did not realize still
existed) to educate them on how Monsanto is spreading its GMO
life-destroying seeds in Mexico. Camilia has many interests and
this was not her first time in Florence.
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| View from behind the base for Cellini's bronze Perseus sculpture |
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| The left side of the base shows the dead Medusa's hand (bronze). |
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| I could not resist this shot "Lion bites the head off of a man." |
I was elated to find
out that Friday morning on Facebook that the historic competition Trofeo Marzocco was starting at 3.30 p.m.
in Piazza della Signoria. This is the
flag-waving competition (Trofeo = trophy, Marzocco = a lion that is the
symbol/protector of Firenze). The
flag-waving group Bandierai
degli Uffizi di Firenze performed as well as a couple of others. I was charmed by the group nicknamed the “Zanzare” [mosquitos]: children learning the art of
flag-waving. All wore costumes designed
in medieval times or inspired by that era.
Incidentally, it is my
understanding that bandiera is the flag
itself, whereas the “S” in front as in sbandieratori refers to the people who
throw the flags. [The ending of that
latter word is also a clue that the word prefers to people who do a specific
thing.] I also like it that girls, boys,
kids, and old men perform together.
The timing of the event
was perfect and Camilia was delighted and enchanted with the performance. While I am not big on crowds, I was surprised
how relatively few people were up inside the Loggia dei Lanzi to get a gander
of the acts. But it was nice to me to take a break for a wee bit and just sit
in this environment full of sculpture as the medieval drum beats filled my
heart. Thank you, Kate!
The flag-waving group of Florence:
https://www.facebook.com/BandieraidegliUffizi
Symbol of Florence: The Marzocco (lion) created by Donatello:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzocco
Images from the flag-waving competition:
http://www.lanazione.it/firenze/sbandieratori-marzocco-1.908669
Incidentally, the crew
of Ron Howard with actor Tom Hanks, among many others, are filming in Florence
now on another of the Dan Brown novels.
Peace,
Kelly
~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor,
painter, writer, teacher
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| Kids should be able to see too, but at the expense of everyone else in the crowd? |
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| Nice dreads! Thankfully she was not up high for long (not a kid!). |
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| Could David be less interested in the judges or even the performers? |
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| Make a standing pyramid and then rotate all in a 360 ! |
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| Comparing profiles: Perseum and Lion |
