Martini Art School Exhibition in Schio

Students of Schio's art school A. Martini, organise an annual art exhibition to present their works. This exhibition has hundreds of exhibits. This year I was able to visit it. It was wonderful to see Schio's familiar streets, buildings and monuments in their works.

This first image below is about some of the city streets and has art works by Fatima Sadkaoui, Eva dal Maistro and Giacomo Scarpati. (You can click on all the images in this post for a bigger view)

It is not possible to talk about all the works that I liked in this exhibition, I can only present a small selection of them. Who knows, one day one of these students will be a famous artist! This post is dedicated to all of them.

A. Martini Art School in Schio

The Martini art institute is part of the Tron-Zanella-Martini high schools. It has a 5 years course for art students including 2 years of general study which is common to all the students, followed by 3 years of specialised studies in 2 areas - figurative arts and architecture.

Many years ago, this art school had an evening course and I know some local artists who had done that. I wish they would again conduct an evening school or may be have an art course for elderly people - I would also like to join it.

Let me now show you some of the art works from the 2025 exhibition. They are no particular order. All the students in the art school learn about and work with all the different figurative art forms including designing, sketching, painting, graphics, sculpture etc. 

Some Sculptures

Some years ago, I had seen some computer made sculptures from 3D printers. Since they were made of resins, I had mixed feelings about them. I am sure that in future, a mix of CNC and 3D printing will make more human-made kind of sculptures but I am sure that good sculptor will always have a value.

The two sculptures on the sides in the image below are by Tommaso Guadagnin & Anita Peruzzo.

Perspectives

I liked the works using a kind of binocular effect in the drawings to show a different perspective of their subjects. The three works presented below are by Sofia Damoc, Andrea Busato & Angelica Guido.

Ex-Lanificio Conte

This art exhibition was held in SHED hall of the old Conte wool mill (ex-lanificio Conte). There were different art works of this building. The image below presents three of them - all the three have the building as seen from the Conte Square, through the artists' locations and colours are different. It has the art-works of  Alessandra Peron, Elisabeth Salin & Sofia Rapagnani.

City Landmarks

There were many art-works about the city landmarks. The two images below present some of them.

The first one has the Rossi monument and St Anthony church by Benedetta Valente, the civic theatre building by Agnese Gasparella & the Salesian sports' complex by Aurora dal Pezzo.

The second one has the works of different students including the Duomo church in the centre by Mariem Fatou.

Sketches and Graphic Designs

The image below has sketches and graphic designs by different students.

Self Portraits

To conclude this here are some of the self-portraits based specific themes like water, air, etc. I liked this idea of the students imagining themselves are mythological or cosplay figures.

In Conclusion

It is not easy to be an independent artist and earn a decent living from it. Many of the students will probably end up doing some other day-time work and continue being an artist in their free times and week-ends, till some of them will find success and recognition.

Apart from the challenges of finding work related to art, I think that in the kind of world that is coming, having a connection with art will be very important for the human experience. Whatever they will do in their lives, hopefully making and appreciating art will continue to enrich them.

So, best of luck to all the art students.

*** 

 

Life & Times of Almerico from Schio

Recently Cooperativa Trama organised a city walk to introduce the life and times of Almerico da Schio, known as the inventor of the first airship in Italy. Last year, I had visited the "Da Schio" family library, which has some precious manuscripts and written about the library as well as, about the first airship built by Almerico. This post focuses on some of the interesting things I learned from this city walk.

The image below is a street mural about Almerico in the city square dedicated to his name, built in the old lands of Da Schio family (click on the picture for a bigger view).

Before I start, a brief note - while Almerico's family used "Da Schio" (from Schio) as its family name, that appellation can also be added to persons from Schio, thus not all persons known as "da Schio" may necessarily belong to the family. 

Da Schio family tombs at St Francis church 

Our city walk started from this 13th century church of Schio, known for a beautiful painting of Francesco Verla and an old choir room made in wood at the back of its altar. This was an opportunity to talk about the family of Almerico.

Da Schio has been an important family in Schio since around 1500s when they had received the noble title of Count from the emperor. Almerico was born in 1836 in one of the family homes in Costozza, about 50 km from Schio. Some of the Da Schio family members are buried inside the St Francis church, where their tombs are located right in front of the altar, which can be recognised by the family coat-of-arms, which includes an imperial eagle and a two tailed mermaid.

It may have started as a humbler farming family and the earliest records are from 11-12th centuries. They owned all the farming land starting from the right and front of Schio's Duomo church in the city centre, up to the St Francis church and parts of Valletta.

One of the first well-known persons from the family was a Dominican priest in 13th century, Fr Giovanni da Schio. Another important person in the family was Girolamo da Schio (also known as G. Bencucci) in the 16 century, who was close to different popes and had become the bishop of Vaison in France, who was responsible for the nobility title of this family. Terracotta busts of both these persons can be seen the Jaquard gardens of Schio. 

Almerico's father was a well-known archaeologist and had a beautiful Gothic house in Corso Palladio in Vicenza, Ca d'Oro. Almerico became famous for making the first airship in Italy, which had its first flight in Schio in 1905.

The Football Arena in Valletta 

The family was also involved in construction of a sports arena in a natural depression called Valletta near the St Francis church in 1852, which had stairs around it for people to sit and watch football matches. Different personalities of Schio of that period, including Alessandro Rossi, Giovanni da Schio and Clemente Fusinato contributed funds to make the area oval-shaped and to build the stairs. Unfortunately, part of those stairs collapsed and some persons were injured. Those stairs were later removed, but the place with the depression, denoting the area still exists and used for play. The old print of the sports arena below is from Schio Cultura. In it, you can see Schio's Duomo church in the background (click on the image for a bigger view)

Schio's poet, Arnaldo Fusinato was also there to watch a match and later, he wrote a poem about playing football, titled, "Un impressione autunnale", in which a ball hit him on the face and he lost of one of his teeth. 

The Family Arch near St. Mary Chapel

All this area was farm-land of the Da Schio family, and was known as "Brolo del signor Conte".

The road coming down from the Castel-hill and going towards St. Francis was separated from the farm by a wall on both sides, part of which can be seen in the old photograph on the signboard near the St Mary chapel from 1400s.

Near the chapel, there was the old water spring called Gaminella, water from which went into Gaminella canal today mostly hidden under Via Gaminella, except for a tiny bit close to the chapel. There was a time, when this canal ended in a lake in this area.

An arch built during 1700s still remains from the old wall. If you look carefully, you can see the coat of arms with twin-tailed mermaid and the words F.S. for the Da Schio family on the arch. The arch has two pyramid-shaped decorations resting on round stones on the sides. Some years ago, a professor noticed that there are Latin words written on the arch. These words are mostly family recommendations to the people, such as, "One who asks will receive and who knocks on the door, it will be opened", "Stealers remain always poor",and, "Don't take loan if you can't pay". The image below shows the arch.

Later, part of Da Schio family building in front of Duomo church was demolished to create Via Capitano Sella.  

Almerico and Meteorology

Almerico studied law but he was not interested in that subject. He had interest in mathematics, astronomy, science and photography. While studying law in Padua, he had been an assistant to well-known astronomer Prof. Virgilio Trettenero. In those years, this part of Italy was under Austria and Almerico took part in cavort liberation and resistance activities.

His first job was as the director of the meteorological centre of Olympic Academy of Vicenza, which had one observatory. He recognised that this new discipline needed better understanding and decided to care observation centres in all the province. Over a period of next 20 years, he would help in creating 200 observation centres to study temperatures, rains, storms, etc., including in neighbouring regions, including one of the first centres in Schio in 1873, located on his own land (Image below shows the family gate with the twin-tailed siren from the coat of arms and the area where the meteorological centre was located) .

Bringing together all the data he had collected, he contributed to the foundation of national centre of meteorology. Development of this discipline also contributed to development of more precise measuring instruments.

The study of weather patterns was very useful for agriculture, including their own farm production. He helped his brother, engaged in agriculture in Costozza to start a new activity, growing cave-mushrooms.

Almerico's Collaborators & Friends 

Different persons collaborated with him on this. In Schio, his administrator Matteo Manea and his wife Minimina, were tasked with daily checking and noting the temperatures at specific times - 9 AM, 3 PM & 9 PM.

Almerico also wanted to create a centre for observing storms, for this he found a collaborator in Giovanni dal Pozzo, who was a tailor but who had a passion for astronomy and sciences. He was also a musician, playing Viola and a poet in the local dialect of Schio, and had translated an opera, Oralando Furioso, in the dialect. He had a big family and his wife had died. He also started a tavern called Osteria Cantarana, to earn some more money, on Almerico's land in the area near Via Baratto. Almerico helped him to get good wines for this tavern. 

Giovanni and Almerico became friends. Almerico wrote a booklet about instruments used for meteorological observations and in this mentioned the work of Giovanni.

Another friend of Almerico was Don Francesco Faccin, a local priest born in 1871, who was interested in astronomy. Schio's astronomical observatory located on Monte Novegno is named after Don Faccin and there is a city street in his name. Almerico wrote to Queen Margherita, to ask for a telescope for Don Faccin and this request was accepted by the queen. 

Another collaborator of Almerico was Giacomo Moracchioli who lived in Via Fusinato, in front of the church dedicated to St. Bakhita. He was a historian and interested in astronomy. He was in charge of the meteorological centre of Schio. He had build an observation tower on his roof. Both Almerico and Giacomo were passionate about mountains, and were part of the group which had created the Alpine group of Schio, which later became part of CAI-Vicenza (Italian Alpine Club) and introduced the importance of scientific study of the mountains.

Schio's Aqueduct

One of Almerico's most important contributions to Schio was the construction of city's water supply though an aqueduct. The idea of bringing water from surrounding mountains started being discussed in 1870s, because the city had grown and industries had polluted the local water sources. A priest called Don Michele Saccardo started the campaign for the aqueduct.

The first study on how to make an aqueduct was paid by Alessandro Rossi. This project proposed bringing water from the area of Poleo in cast iron pipes, but was considered too costly. A second project with stone-tubes was proposed, which reduced the cost a little but it was still considered too much.

Then Don Saccardo spoke to Almerico, who came up with a third project, which was approved by the municipal authorities but they didn't have the funds to cover all its cost. Almerico asked the citizens to make donations for building the aqueduct. About 100 families were promised that water-pines will come to their homes, while there will be public taps in 14 locations of the city.

The fund-collection was successful and the aqueduct was inaugurated on 18 June 1872, with a fountain with a nymph and a 27 metres high water-jet in front of Duomo. (Image show a painting belonging to Angela Rossi showing the aqueduct inauguration)

In Conclusion

Almerico da Schio had played an important role in carrying forward the ideas of scientific knowledge in 19th-20th centuries in different fields, especially astronomy, meteorology and air-ships. Italy's queen Margherita had come to Schio on 1 July 1905 to see one of his flights.

This post, based on a walking tour organised by Cooperativa Trama in 2025, focuses on some aspects of Almerico's life.

You can also check my post from 2024, in which I had written about Almerico's airship and the old books in his family's library in Schio.

***  

The Forest Farm-House of Andrea Zenari

Andrea Zenari has a degree in forest development and for about ten years, he worked at international level and travelled to look at the forests in different parts of the world, especially Europe. In 2018 he decided that he had travelled more than enough and needed to settle down and grow his roots.

For settling down, he chose the edge of a forest near a tiny village-town called Caltrano with around 2,500 residents, where his family had some pasture lands. On this land, with the help of some of his wood sawing and cutting students, he has built a wood house.

Around his wood house, Andrea has set up a farm-house called Fattoria del Legno with a number of activities for teaching interested persons, especially children about nature and the role of farm houses.

Reaching Andrea's Farm-House

Caltrano is located on the road going up towards the high-plains of Asiago in the province of Vicenza. It is about 11 kms from Schio.

To reach Andrea's farm-house you can leave your car at the parking of the cemetery of Caltrano, and walk up on the road passing behind the cemetery and going up. It is a ten minutes walk up the hill. Along the way, you will pass different areas each dedicated to a specific activity, from Christmas pine trees to the sheep and hen raising areas.

Andrea has a Facebook page of his farm-house where you will find his phone number and email.

Our visit to Andrea's Farm House

With our Book Reading group, we went to visit him a couple of weeks ago.   Each of us brought something to eat or to drink and we had planned to visit him, talk to him about what it means to be living in a forest and to have an open-air dinner.

As we entered his home, we were welcomed by Andrea's friendly and curious cat, Pici-Pici.  

We started by sitting on benches around a big table, both built by Andrea, talking about his life. His grandfather had his farm-house here but after his death in 1966, no one was living here and the grassy pastureland was taken-over by the forest. This change, from pastures and farmhouses to forests, has occurred in many other places in the hills and mountains around Schio. In the nineties, his parents used to come here in their roulotte.

Since 2018, when Andrea decided to settle here, he has reclaimed some parts of that forest to create his farm-house.  It aims to be a forest-farm-house for teaching and learning. The first building was smaller, 30 sq.meters. Two years ago, it was enlarged around the first building and now it was a bigger kitchen, living room and a covered veranda.

He has a bathroom inside the house and an open-air wooden tub with a shower made from an old flower watering can, for the summer. We were wondering about the tap of this open-air shower, which is very high and needs a ladder to go up to open and close it. He said that he is working for a wooden extension rod, so that the tap can be turned on and off more easily.

Apart from tree trunks used for the wood, everything else in his house is made from recycled materials. He has solar panels for energy, which can be saved in batteries for using fridge, computer, etc.

Some of Andrea's Activities at Fattoria del Legno 

He runs different training courses. Young children come to see how a farm house works. Adults can learn the use of electrical saw and wood-work (short course of 8 hours and a long course of a couple of weeks, both recognised by the region). People can learn basics of being a carpenter, making tables, chairs, cupboards. 

We talked of his experience of raising a variety of heirloom sheep called Lussò. There are around 200 of these sheep in the world. This part of Italy has four varieties of the heirloom sheep and ensuring the survival of those old genetic pools is a challenge. Andrea told us about the difficulties of guarding these sheep from the attacks of wolves. Wolves had become extinct from these areas and have been reintroduced in the recent past. However, with increase in their numbers, there are difficulties in avoiding human-animal interactions and safeguarding the sheep.

Andrea has lost some of his sheep to the wolves in January this year, and now has just 3 female sheep left, two adults and a baby (Lussò dwarf-sheep, originally from Groix island in Brittany). He is hoping to get a new male sheep. The Italian law says that only the males with high genetic values can be used for reproduction of the heirloom sheep.

In the winters, Andrea rents pine trees for Christmas - after Christmas, you can give it back to him. When the trees grow up, they are planted. He also keeps bees and grows vegetables.

Another recent initiative of Andrea, in collaboration with a bio-architect Maurizio Signorini, is that of creating a natural open-air church / meeting hall called Vegetalis. 1,150 trees and creepers were planted all along its walls in February 2021. Birch trees play a central role in this building. As they grow up, they will create the building, which can be used for meetings as well for silence, reflection and meditation.

In the End

Our book-reading group called Lettori in Circolo, is very active. Some months ago, we had visited an expert in old books and the art of book-printing (I still need to write about that).

This was our second outing this year and I really enjoyed meeting Andrea and visiting his forest farm-house.

I felt that apart from thinking about nature, farming and how the human experiences keep on changing with new technologies, an important part of this visit was the discussions on the re-introduction of wolves in these forests and the challenges that creates for human habitats.

It is wonderful to be part of such a group of people, with whom I share the love of books. At the same time, it gives us opportunities to visit new stimulating places, which force us to share, think and discuss.

Thanks to Andrea Zenari for being such a wonderful host and for sharing his life and Fattoria del Legno with us. 

***** 

Some Beautiful Minerals from GM Museum of Schio

I like beautifully coloured minerals and I like to learn about ancient beliefs about the power of different minerals. For example, in India, based on people's astrological birth-charts, they are advised to wear certain mineral-stones to build up their positive energies and to counteract the negative influences. 

However, minerals have also played a fundamental role in the human history. In my first post about the  Geo-Mineralogic Museum (GMM) of Schio, their president Alessandro Sella had talked about the mineralogical history of Schio and surroundings starting from the Copper age mines.

This post is about some specific minerals from Schio and its surrounding areas. It also has information about 6 of my favourite exhibits from the GM museum.

Alessandro Sella about local minerals of Schio in the Museum 

I asked Alessandro Sella, president of the to tell me about the exhibits of the local areas around Schio. 

Alessandro: We have samples of the oldest Quartzite rocks present in this area, which are metamorphic rocks (1) primarily composed of quartz. These have more than 300 million years. These can be found in Pasubio valley, Torre Belvicino, Recoaro Terme, etc. They are important because these are the base for all the successive sedimentation leading to our mountains.

Then we have Yohansenite, a mineral found in Monte Civillina in our territory, which is recognised widely. For example, I found references to it in a book in Ottawa.

Around 15 years ago, some of our members, while on an excursion in Monte Trisa in Valle dei Mercanti, came across an old mine-complex, where the rare mineral Laurelite, as well as corkite and lanarkite were found.

We also have the quarries of Pearl-grey Marble in Val Posina along th Astico river, as well as in Ronchetta (in the Pasubio valley). These abandoned quarries were active around mid-18th century, and this marble was used also for the altar of the church in Valle del Pasubio.

Then there is the Sandstone of Val Gardena, which is a sedimentary rock that comes to the surface in the Pasubio valley and Torre Belvicino, cut into round-shaped stone disks with lathe machines, which were used for sharpening knives and scissors, as this sandstone is formed by sand which is rich in quartz, which is one of the toughest stones (7th on the Morse scale). The image below shows quarzite and sandstone specimens in the GM museum. (You can click on all the images for a bigger view) 

We also have the Agate stone (a kind of Chalcedony) found in the Timonchiello torrent which joins Timonchio, and comes down from San Rocco under the Tretto area of Schio. Agate is also a quartz, it is very beautiful stone even if the ones in Schio are not as colourful like the ones found in Brazil.

 

Among the precious stones, not so much in economic terms but in scientific terms, we have Pink Quartz from Campo Grosso. Then we have brucite (magnesium hydroxide) and magnetite (ferrous oxide), both from the pearl-grey marble quarries. We also have zircon (zirconium silicate) found in the caves of Novale. 

Among the minerals from other parts of the world, we have some big and imposing looking Amethyst from Brazil, which is a quartz stone in a shade of violet colour. 

My Personal favourite 6 minerals from GMM

To conclude this presentation of GM Museum of Schio, let me talk about 6 of my personal favourites.

Malachite: In the museum, there are two rocks with Malachite from Namibia with beautiful velvety looking green deposits over white crystals. It is composed of copper carbonate hydroxide. The name comes from Greek and literally means Mallow-green because it has the colour of Mallow leaves. Since ancient times, Malachite was used to produce copper as well as, used as a semi-precious stone. It was also used as a green pigment in paints. 

Xonotlite: The specimen in the museum is from Spagnago, south of Valdagno, not far from Schio. It is an ino-silicate mineral with prismatic or needle like crystals. Xonotlite is a luminescent mineral, producing grey-white florescence in short UV light. I like its creamy and chalky white flower-like appearance. 

Blue Smithsonite: The beautiful turquoise blue rock in the museum is from Sardinia. The zinc containing smithsonite mineral comes in different colours. It was discovered in 1802 by James Smithson, the person who donated money for the creation of the famous Smithsonian museum in the USA. People who believe in powers of crystals, say that it helps to calm the mind and they recommend it for anxiety, depression, low energy and even, shyness.

Iron Pyrite: It is also called Fool’s gold. Schio’s GM museum has different samples of this minerals, which were found when the tunnel connecting Schio and Valdagno was built in the 1990s. It is an iron sulfide mineral, with a metallic brass-yellow hue. Striking against pyrite can produce a spark and in 16-17th centuries, it was used in firearms.

I especially like the sample of reticulate pyrite found near Schio, it looks like a shining lace overlaid on a black rock (in the bottom-right part of the image below - click on the image for a bigger view).

Rhodochrosite: This red coloured manganese carbonate mineral sample in the museum is from Peru. Its name comes from Greek, Rhodo means Red, and Chrosite means coloured. For people who believe in the power of crystals, this stone is good for getting love and compassion and it is supposed to help you get over heart-break.

 Crocoite: The beautiful saffron-red prismatic needle like crystals of Crocoite are from Tasmania in Australia. It is a lead-chromate mineral. Its name comes from the Greek “crokos” which means saffron. It is too delicate for jewellery, while people believing in the power of crystals use it for energy, vitality and detoxification.

 

In Conclusion

If you want to visit the GM Museum in Schio, it is located in the old Cella Barracks on Via Pasubio, not far from the city centre. The museum is open on saturday afternoons from 3 to 7 PM and entrance to the museum is free.

When I had asked Alessandro about the name of Monti d'Oro (Gold mountains) near Schio, he had told me that it was only a legend and gold had never been found in this part of Italy. However, this area is rich in iron pyrite, which is also called Fool's Gold. Looking at the samples found in the Schio-Valdagno tunnel, they do look shiny like gold. Thus, I was thinking that may be the toponym Monti d'Oro had come from pyrite rocks. What do you think?

I also think that apart from the scientific and practical curiosity about rocks and minerals, since ancient times, human beings also associate specific, or even magical, powers with some minerals, and create stories, legends and myths about them. I think that a guided tour of the GM museum, which touches on those myths and legends about the minerals in GM museum would be very interesting.

If you visit this museum, do share your experiences in the comments below. You may also like to check my earlier post about this museum where I had spoken to Alessandro Sella, president of the GM Museum.

***** 

Notes 1. Metamorphic rocks are formed when existing rocks are altered by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions deep within the Earth which changes the rock's mineralogy, texture, and chemical composition.

Geo-Mineralogical Museum of Schio

Schio, in north-east of Italy, has a wonderful little museum about local geology and minerals of the surrounding areas. It is hosted in the stable buildings of the old Cella military barracks, not far from the city centre. The Geo-Mineralogical (GM) Museum has free entrance and is open on Saturday afternoons, when the volunteers of the local Geo-Mineralogical Association (GMA) can guide you its collections.

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit the museum and to talk to Alessandro Sella, the president of Schio’s GMA. (The image below shows the museum entrance - you can click on all the images for a bigger view)

This first part of my blogpost is about my talk with Alessandro. A second part of this post will focus on some of the exhibits from the museum. Finally, there should be a third part, focusing on the contributions of Pietro Maraschin, a 18th century geologist from Schio.

Let me start this post with a brief history of the building which hosts the museum.

Cella Military Barracks: Brief History

These barracks were built in the second half of nineteenth century and functioned till the end of second world war. In September 1943, when Italy asked for armistice, it was hosting the 57th Infantry Regiment. It was attacked and occupied by the German soldiers, who used it for their troops as well as a prison for the partisans.

In 1945, when Germany lost the war, on 29th April, the German troops stationed in Alto Vicentino gathered in its courtyard and left for Austria through the Fugazze pass on the Pasubio mountains.

The old barracks were bought by the municipality of Schio and the old stables were renovated. These now hold the Geo-Mineralogical museum as well as the offices of Association IV November, involved in historical research, especially about the first world war.

Pietro Maraschin Exhibition

Though I knew that there was this GM museum in Schio, I had never been to it.

I learned about it in an exhibition on Pietro Maraschin organised by the museum in collaboration with local schools. He was an amateur geologist known for his mineralogical studies in Schio. That exhibition was an opportunity to know more about some of the local toponyms and their links with geology and history. It was also an opportunity to see some of the exhibits from the GM museum.

The image below shows the inauguration of this exhibition (click for a bigger view). Thus, I decided to visit the museum and asked Alessandro for an interview.

 Talking to Alessandro Sella, President of  the GM Museum

 Q: Alessandro, how did you develop an interest in geology and mineralogy? 
 

Alessandro: I was always passionate about natural sciences, I loved studying them at high school and university levels. I never lost that passion and thus even if I work in another area (as a product quality manager), I continue to be active in this area in my free time. I deeply love Schio and its surroundings, I was born here. (Alessandro Sella, left)

Ever since I was a child, I was very curious about places like the Pasubio Valley and the little Dolomite mountains. I wanted to know why a rock was dark and another was white, how were they formed, why do certain plants grow only in one area and not in another, why some animals live here and not others, and so on. About ten years ago, I became associated with the GM museum and I am its president for the last 6-7 years. My aim is that our little museum should remain alive and active. It is a private museum, maintained by the work of all the volunteers of our association called MUSA and the GM group of Schio. I feel that this museum is important because it narrates the natural and geological history of this area.

This area known as Recoarese (area around Schio which covers Recoaro, Pasubio & Leogra Valley, Astico valley up to Posina and Laghi), is important because it is the southern most part of the Alps which have an outcropping of crystalline basement, which is a metamorphic formation, more than 300 million years old, on which different geological layers are located. Our museum exhibits showcase this big local geological and mineralogical diversity. At the same time, we have a lot of geological and mineralogical samples from other parts of the world, all the continents are represented here.

Q: Ancient humans have a long history mineralogical knowledge and discoveries. How was the situation in this part of the world?

Alessandro: In the Leogra valley, the area known as Valle dei Mercanti (Merchants’ valley), has traces of human occupation from the copper-age. They were using this metal because the rocks in that area have copper.

More recently, during the reign of the Venice republic (Serenissima) this area was known as a metal-district for the extraction of zinc, lead, copper, iron and even silver. For example in the Tretto area of Schio, around the area of the St. Patrick’s well (Pozzo di San Patrizio), there used to be extraction of silver, used for minting money. As the stores of silver were exhausted, the mines were abandoned.

From 1000 CE till medieval periods, groups of persons from Tyrol and lower-Bavaria regions, were invited by the local Bishops, to come and settle in the Leogra valley, as they had the necessary skills for fine wood work as well as for mining. These Germanic groups were called Cimbrians (Cimbri), literally, ‘good carpenters’. Many locations and family names of this area carry the traces of this immigration even today.

Then around the end of 18th century till the end of the second world, there was a new phase of mineral extraction in this area.

Finally, an important extraction was of Caolino, a special clay formed from alteration of volcanic rocks formed from ancient volcanic eruptions, in this area, which was used for a different kind of industrial development. It was linked with production of porcelain, ceramics and paper-industry, which were active till early 1980s.

Q: Tell us about the origins of this museum.

Alessandro: Schio’s mineralogical group was formed in 1973 by persons like Prof. Luciano de Zen, Girolamo Zamperetti, and many other friends. They were all passionate about geology and mineralogy. The group changed different locations along the years and started putting together some exhibit boxes to showcase their first collections of the materials made during their walks and excursions in the area. In the year 2000, the group was given some space in the basement of the old primary school building in Magre, where the first exposition-room was started.

The present location in the old Cella barracks was inaugurated in 2013, and it is no longer just an exposition room, it is a proper museum.

Q: Earlier you spoke about the valley of merchants in Pieve. It also has Monti d’oro (Gold mountains). Did they really find gold there? 

Alessandro: That is just a legend. It was an important area for different metals, as I have explained, starting with copper and iron. There are stories about finding gold there, but they are just stories. In more recent times, there was an article about finding a rock containing an iron-mineral, where they have found traces of gold, but it did not have any gold deposits.

Q: The area around Arsiero called Laghi is called Val di Ferro (Iron valley), did they have iron in that area?

Alessandro: If you go towards Valdastico, there is a place called Fusine, on the banks of the Astico river, where they did have smelting of iron (from the verb ‘fucinare’) found in that area, and used the water-energy of Astico river for this purpose. We have also found signs of Ematite (iron mineral) extracted in Valle dei Mercanti, which was taken to Fusine for smelting of iron.

Q: Tell me about the different collections in this museum.

Alessandro: The mineralogical collectors can collect materials from different parts of the world or they may limit themselves to some specific geographical areas, such as our collection of the minerals of Alto Vicentino. Some collectors focus on some specific kinds of minerals, for example, there are persons who collect only Agate stone, known for its colour bands. Personally I am interested in the geological aspects and minerals of our own geographical area.

Among the collections of our museum is that of Alessandro de Grandis, one of the founders of this museum, that is given on loan to us by his son Ugo.

There have been many donations as well, including one from Mrs. dalla Fina, who was a traveller, geologist and speleologist with geological and mineralogical samples from different parts of the world. She left all her writings and materials to the museum in her testament.

These persons leave their collections not just to us in the association and to the museum, but to all the population.

Q: Tell me something about the different aspects of the minerals which are studied.

Alessandro: Each mineral has a geometrical aspect, which is about how that mineral is built. Another is the aspect about its chemical composition.

When I talk to children about it, I explain that we can look at the ingredients of a mineral and then, we also need to look at the dress or the form those ingredients take which determines what kind of mineral it is going to create.

Knowing both, the form and the composition, of these is fundamental for classifying the different minerals. Every mineral must have a name, a family name and the location where it is found, for its scientific and naturalistic value, which can be very different from its economic value.

Q: If you are shown a piece of rock, looking at its colours and form, can you tell its composition?

Alessandro: Generally speaking yes, eventually with the help of some of our members. We have these stereo-microscopes here for looking at the rocks under the microscope. We also have different volumes of books about geology and mineralogy. With the help of these, we can identify them by looking at their crystals, their colours, hardness, etc. and classify them.

Bigger laboratories can do spectre-photometric tests to analyse the spectrum of different minerals in a sample.

Q: We can now create molecules of different chemicals, such as those used as medicines, in the laboratory. Can we do similar creation of natural elements? For example, can we create iron in the laboratory?

Alessandro: It is a difficult question. I am not conversant with some of the new technologies like Nanotech, but I don’t think that we can create elements. For example, thinking of all the ‘rare earths’ elements used for technology such as microchips, whose mining is much in the news and is associated with difficult international situations, because we can’t just create them. For the time, we need to focus on recycling and reuse.

Conclusions

Thanks to Alessandro for sharing his knowledge and being patient in answering my questions.

The second part of this post will look at some of the interesting exhibits from Schio's GM Museum.

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János Géczi - Artist in Schio

János Géczi, the well-known Hungarian writer, poet and artist was in Schio in the beginning of March 2025. Some of his works created during his stay in the city are expected to be a part of Schio's DiCarta Paper-Art Biennale planned for 2026-27.

During his stay in Schio, János was accompanied by his friend and garden-architect, Zsolt Ambrus, who also acted as his translator.

I had an opportunity to meet János on 12th March, and to talk to him about his work. This post is based on that meeting.

Artists in Schio

Though Schio (VI) is a tiny town in the Alpine foothills in the north-east of Italy, it has a vibrant cultural and artistic life. The city has a rich calendar of artistic events including the DiCarta Papermade Biennale organised by the Commune of Schio. These events often bring to the city important artists and opportunities for interacting with them.

The next Papermade Biennale in Schio is being planned for 2026-27 and will be curated by Valeria Bertesina and Roberto Nassi.

János Géczi and His Creative Evolution

János was born on 5 May 1954 in a small town called Monostorpályi in Northern part of Hungary. His family members were mostly peasants and manual workers. He went to a local primary school, which had big classes with around 45 children.

He started writing poetry in the middle school. There, he had a good teacher who thought that he had potential and encouraged him to go to the grammar school for secondary education.

He was able to win a scholarship for the grammar school in Debrecen, where he studied biology. He understood very early that life-sciences and literature (prose and poetry), are two different ways to look at and understand the world and its reality. Thus, all his life he has followed both, the scientific and the literary-artistic paths. While in the school, he also started to explore the writings of important Hungarian writers like Péter Melius Juhász, Mihály Csokonai Vitéz, Fazekas and Diószegi.

After the grammar school, most of his classmates went on to study medicine while Janos went for 5 years to a biology institute, known for its research work. Today, apart from being a university professor and researcher, he is a well-known writer, poet, editor and artist.

During his university years, he became interested in sociological issues around the marginalisation of different groups of people and started to write about it. This was during 1970s when Hungary was under a communist rule - his writings were not appreciated by the authorities and he was told to stop.

For all his life, János has continued to observe and understand the world through those two different lenses, creativity and science, expressing himself through essays, poems and visual poems, fiction, décollage and has won different awards.

You can read English translations of two of his poems (link opens in a new window).

János & His Reflection Diary in 2025

János explained that for whole of 2025 he is participating in a writing exercise in collaboration with a Hungarian newspaper. Every month, a creative person (a poet or a writer or an artist) poses a question to him and every day of that month, he writes a kind of daily diary, reflecting on that question. His diary is published in the newspaper and its website, and after completing a year, it will come out as a book.

I thought that it was an incredible prompt for stimulating creative juices, but it also requires a very strong discipline. Even while his stay in Schio, he continues to write his reflections every day. 

János Géczi as an Artist in Schio

As an artist, János is known for his Décollage work. "Dècollage" is created by tearing-off or removing a piece or a part of a paper or canvas. In that sense, it is opposite of a "Collage", in which we bring together different pieces to create an art.

He works with old public-posters in cities. Those posters are usually pasted one on the top of another, till they become too many and then someone tears all of them off, cleans the space and puts up new posters.

János goes around to collect different layers of posters and then removes parts of each layer so that bits and pieces of the underneath layers can be seen. This mimics what happens in real-life as sometimes posters can tear off and show older posters below, creating shapes, juxtapositions of words, pictures, colours and shapes, as a kind of memento-mori about passage of time and the role of memories.

During his stay in Schio, János has collected many old posters from the public spaces in the city. He said that he liked the pale pinks and and blues that he finds at the back of these posters and his décollage works created in Schio, focus mainly on the different layers seen from the back of the posters.

The room where he was working, had rolled sheets of old posters he had collected from the city, some of them wet because it had been raining in Schio. It also had big containers of glue, which he used to create additional layers of the posters. Once the layers are placed, then he can tear-off some of them, creating the shapes and colours of his artistic geographies.

Compared to some of his works which showed the more vibrant colours and words from the front of the posters, I personally loved his more abstract creations made from the back of the posters, with their pale colours.

Roberto Nassi has asked Janos to also write a poem linked with his artwork for the Biennale, so that both his artistic and literary dimensions are presented together.

In the End

For me, meeting János and Zsolt was also an opportunity to reconnect with Valeria Bertesina, who has been curating the DiCarta Paper-Art Biennials in Schio.

János is of my age and I was trying to imagine his years of growing up in Hungary when it was a part of Soviet influence and to compare them with my growing up in India.

In a way, I find a reflection of my life in his, as like him, I also have my professional doctor-researcher life and a creative life. I was sorry that I could not speak and understand Hungarian, because it would have been much more interesting and enriching to talk and exchange notes about our similarities and differences.

Staying in a small town like Schio, and meeting and talking to interesting creative persons like János, is a wonderful combination, and I feel very lucky to have such opportunities.

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Early Humans in Schio

Last week I went on a small trek to visit the underground caves of Bocca Lorenza near Schio. In early 20th century, objects from late neolithic period were found in those caves.

This post is a result of that visit and relates to archaeological objects found in 3 areas close to Schio - Bocca Lorenza underground caves, Monte Magre and the summit of Monte Summano.

After the end of the last ice-age and the beginning of Holocene some 10-12 thousand years ago, slowly humans must have arrived in the northern mountainous areas of Italy. 

Guido Cibin's Archaeological Collection

In early 20th century, an amateur archaeologist from Schio, Guido Cibin (1860-1947) was responsible for finding and safe-guarding most of those archaeological objects in this area. The map below shows the different locations around Schio, from where Cibin collected archaeological materials. 

Guido Cibin  was instrumental in setting up the first archaeological museum in Schio in the newly built Technical school on the Castello hill in 1912. There are around 4 thousand archaeological objects of the the Cibin-Gori collection, including Roman coins and Greek vases. Some of these will hopefully, soon be displayed at the new city museum being created in Palazzo Fogazzaro in Schio.

Let me start with the archaeological finds from Bocca Lorenzo underground caves.

1. Bocca Lorenza Caves in Santorso

In late 1908, Guido Cebin together with Don Rizieri Zanocco from Piovene, they explored these caves located on the southern flank of Summano mountain. Among the objects they found were hundreds of neolithic tools made from flint-stones, and many prehistoric decorative bones. The materials collected cover a 7000 years period, starting from late Neolithic period (around 6000 years ago) till about a 1000 years ago.

The flint-stones found here are not local and this means that persons living here were in contact with other groups and they had some kind of commercial exchange system. Image below shows some objects from neolithic period found in Bocca Lorenza.

Cibin also found many vases from late iron age 4th century BCE, as well as a bronze axe-piece. These vases are hand-modelled and they have different decorations such as fish-spine, triangles, zig-zag lines and lines of dots. The area is full of animal bones, including deer, wild goats and pigs, rabbits, and buffaloes, which means that they had enough wild animals to hunt in this area. Some vases from Bocca Lorenza are shown in the image below.

In late neolithic period the caves were used as shelter by shepherds. During the copper age (3300-2300 BCE), they were also used for some burials. During the bronze age (2300-900 BCE), groups of persons were living here. During the second iron age, around 4-5th centuries BCE, shepherds again started using it, while some feel that it was also used for religious and ritual use. Only a few Roman period objects have been found here.

The structure is composed of a vestibule and a series of deeper underground caves, as shown in the image below from the publication, "Grotte d'Italia" (click on the image for a bigger view).

Monte Magre in Schio

In 1912, a person called Giovanni Piccoli was excavating limestone on Monte Magre near the ruins of an old castle. He found some archaeological objects including pieces of deer-antlers marked with incision-signs. He informed the authorities and thus, Monte Magre also became an area of archaeological interest.

The archaeological objects found in Monte Magre start from the bronze age (2300 - 900 BCE) and go on till medieval period. Most interesting findings are from late iron age, 4th to 2nd century BCE, when there was an important shrine in this area. Parts of a stone building where the shrine was located can still be seen. Here some animal bones, a stone axe, and some bronze and ceramic objects were found.

The most interesting finds from Monte Magre are pieces of deer-antlers with incisions in southern Rhaetic (retico) alphabet. This language was used in alpine and pre-alpine areas in north Italy during the second iron age (around 4th century BCE). It has been given the name of Magrè alphabet.

These bones have a hole at one end and were perhaps used to hang them from trees. It could have been a shrine dedicated to Diana or Artemide, as it was located in a forest and may be, used by hunters. Some say that the incisions refer to a Venetian divinity called Reitia. It is thought that Magrè was the border area between the Veneto speaking persons and Reti speaking persons living to the north, who controlled the Alps and its mineral wealth.

Among the archaeological objects found at Monte Magre, the antler-pieces with Reti incisions are in the museum of Este. Some other objects can be seen in the archaeological museum in Vicenza.

The Shrine at the Summit of Monte Summano

The Summano mountain (around 1300 metres) dominates Schio and the surrounding towns and countryside. People say that its name comes from the antique cult of god Summanus. Its name reminds me of the ancient Indian myth of Manu (som+manus), at the time of universal floods (Noah in Christian mythology).

There are folk-legends about sacrificing black rams on the summit of Summano. Bone-ash deposits and old medals and coins have been found here. In 2007 a silver statue of Mars was found in the area. Thus, during 2008-10, some preliminary archaeological tests were conducted here, during which a second silver statue of a mother-goddess or Salus was also found. Archaeological objects found here can be seen at the Alto Vicentino Museum in Vicenza.

Near the mountain summit there are areas with traces of regular fires dating back to the second iron age (4th century BCE), indicating that there may have been a shrine or a sacred place here (shown in the image below). There are also traces of Roman period buildings near the summit.

Conclusions

Most of the information for this post came from an exhibition on the Cibin-Gori collection held at Fogazzaro Palace in Schio in 2023.

I loved the visit to Bocca Lorenza, even if I didn't try to explore any of the caves as I was alone and did not want to risk it. I am hoping to write specific posts on how to visit Bocca Lorenza and Monte Magre.

I have already written about the visit to the summit of Summano mountain in my post on Sacred Sites to visit in Schio. 

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Day of Remembering: Annamaria's Story

Our history books are full of stories of massacres and of persons forced to leave their homes and become refugees. Such stories have a special resonance for me because my mother's family was forced to leave their homes and lands in 1947, when that part of India became a new country called Pakistan.

Recently, I met Annamaria Marussi who told me her story of massacres and becoming a refugee from Istria, a peninsula at the north-eastern border of Italy, which is now a part of Slovenia & Croatia. Annamaria was born in a tiny town called Isola (Izola) in Istria.

This post tells her story. The image below has Annamaria with her son and grand-daughter.

Let me start by briefly explaining the location and history of Istria.

Istria - The Land and Its History

Istria (Istra in Slovenia and Croatia) is a peninsula, a thumb like stub of land jutting out into Adriatic sea close to the border between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. This land is part of Karst region, a geographical area characterised by a plateau with steep cliffs overlooking the sea, extending from north-eastern Italy to Croatia. The area is full of caves and deep sink-holes (foibe).

This part of Europe, today marks the meeting place of 4 countries - Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy and this explains its chequered history. 

By 5th century AD, it was part of the Roman empire, which gave it the name Histria. Then for around 400 years, it passed under different rulers, from Byzantines, to Longobards and Slavs. Around 900 AD, for about 800 years, till around the end of 18th century, Isria/Istra was under the Venetian republic and therefore, the winged lion symbol of Venice became a common sight in this area.

Around 1820 AD, this area came under the Austrian-Hungarian empire till the first world war, and then it became part of Italy. After the second world war, the area was occupied by the partisans of Tito and became a part of Yugoslavia. Finally, after the end of Soviet Union, Yugoslavia broke in different parts and now it is divided between Slovenia and Croatia.

The map below (from Wikipedia) shows how Istria is divided between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia today. The purple arrow near the top left part of the image shows the location of Isola (Izola) where Annamaria lived as a child.

The Foibe Massacres & The Ideologies

In 1945, as the German forces retreated, the partisans of Marshal Tito occupied Istria. As a lot of its inhabitants were Italians, the Slav origin partisans wanted to send them away and the fastest and least costly way to kill them to push them down the foibes, or the sink-holes, some of which were as deep as 300 metres. These killings were justified by the partisans as a just reprisal of the Slav deaths caused by the fascist German-Italian regimes. Many persons deny that civilians were killed and justify it as political vendetta.

Apart from the persons killed in the foibe, between 1947 and 1954, around 350,000 persons of Italian origin left their homes as Istrian refugees to escape the communist regime of Tito.

How many persons were killed in the foibe-massacres? There are contested claims from the two sides, varying from a few thousands to 10-20 thousand. Istrian refugees say that a lot of innocent persons were killed and present names and stories of some of them to prove their point. Yugoslavians downplayed the killings, saying that only the fascists and their collaborators were killed. 

Every year, 10 February is the Day of Remembrance In Italy for the Istrian refugees and the persons killed in the foibe-massacres. 

Personally, I believe that extreme left (radical communists) are the mirror images of extreme right groups like fascists. Examples from Soviet Union, China, Vietnam and Cambodia, show that communist violence was no less brutal then the fascists', though communists sometimes ignore those while fighting the different fascisms.

Story of Annamaria Marussi

Annamaria was six years old when her family was forced to leave their home in the tiny seaside town of Isola on the Istrian coast. According to her, out of the 32,000 persons living in that town, 28,000 had left as refugees. She talked about that experience with the following words:

"I come from the town of Isola in Istria but my father was from Fiume (Rijeka in Croatia). He had come to work in Isola. My mother's family, all her relatives, were from Isola.

I was born in the house of Domenico Lovisato (NdR: a well-known geologist and palaeontologist, born in 1842 in Isola in Istria) and then our family had shifted to another house. In those days, Isola had only 2 main roads and our house was on one of those. We lived on the first floor and as you came down the stairs, there was a atrium and the main door. At the top of the door was a crescent-shaped window with glass in different colours. After many years, when finally we had our house, I asked to have the crescent-shaped window over the door, with glass in different colours, to remember that house in Isola.

I remember the times when we would go for vendemiare (grape-collection for making wine). The family of my maternal grandmother had vineyards. They had some containers which were hung on the mules and donkeys and they would put small children in those containers. So I would go to the countryside sitting inside a container hanging on the side of a mule.

I also remember when it was time to collect almonds, or when I went with my father in a small boat because he loved the sea and fishing. Sometimes in the evening he took me with him for fishing. Later, after the exodus, when we were living in that rundown house in Trieste, some evenings I went with him to the Audace wharf for fishing, and I was supposed to not make noise because otherwise the fish didn't come near.

Our family, I, my parents and my brother, we all had to leave our home. My father had left earlier, while the remaining three, we left in 1947, when the Paris Peace plan offered us the possibility of leaving. We were allowed to take only our furniture, we put them in trucks which took them to store-houses as the refugees didn't have homes or spaces in refugee camps to keep them. We took the boat which was going too and fro to take the refugees to Trieste in Italy.

We were more fortunate than other refugees because my father had already found a place for us in the old town of Trieste. It was bare, small and poor but at least we had a home and we could all stay together. Trieste had an enormous refugee camp, created in the silos, an old store-house building near the railway station. It was divided into small boxes, each hosting a family. There were around 2000 persons living that building.

Over the years, the Istrian refugees have created some associations, which promote the organisation of the Day of Remembrance, so that we don't forget the Istrians. Out of the 350,000 refugees, around 70,000 left Italy to emigrate to north and south Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. They can be found in every part of Italy.

I remember when we had put our stuff in the truck and said goodbye to our relatives. My grandparents were still there when we left in 1947. One of my traumatic memory is from 1945, when the German soldiers, while retreating had blown up a dam and we heard this terrible sound of the bomb.

I went back to see my old house in Isola and it was such an alienating sensation. It has changed a lot. To see that house which was my house and to see other persons living there, to think of the memories of that place of how it was, it was traumatic.

After so many years, the impact of that exodus, of leaving that home is still strong, I have nostalgia for those days. It is a wound, because it was not just leaving our old home, but it was that life in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, all that lost. For example, the sister of my father, they emigrated to USA. My paternal grandmother used to live with their family, she could not go with them to USA because they said that she was too old, and she suffered from this separation. Other relatives were sent to Sanremo. My husband's family some were sent to Perugia, we were all thrown apart in different directions, so many lacerations in our hearts."

Conclusions

Talking to Annamaria brought back my childhood memories of talking to my maternal grandmother and her lingering sorrow about the land and persons, as well as the trauma of partition of India and Pakistan. In those days we were living in the house of a Muslim trader who had gone as a refugee to Pakistan and I remember wondering if he knew that we were living in his house.

The real issue about becoming a refugee, as in Annamaria's story, is that of facing forced eviction and violence, as well as, loss of property, dignity and family relationships. That is the pain we carry in our hearts for ever.

The image below has Annamaria Marussi and Gianni Bevilacqua, two persons who were forced to leave their homes in Istria and become refugees, at the Day of Remembering exhibition on 10th February 2025 in Schio (VI), Italy.

I also remembered an encounter with a Pakistani girl in Washington DC, after watching a play, "A Tryst with Destiny" written and directed by my sister, which was about the India-Pakistan partition. She had said, "I understand the trauma of my elders about leaving their homes and becoming refugees and having nostalgia for the past. But I was born in Pakistan and that is my homeland."

I can imagine the lives of the persons now living in the house in Isola where Annamaria lived as a child. For them also that house, the community of Isola and the Istria region, is now their homeland. If and when, they will leave that house to go and live somewhere else, they would also miss it.

I think that is the story of all refugees. The first generations miss what they have lost and carry that hurt all their lives. But the second and third generations, hopefully, they can stop being a refugee, they can make new memories about their new homelands, and the old stories lose their power of hurting us and keeping us as a prisoner of the pain. 

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