Contemporary Art Exhibition "Insito" (Inherent)

Schio (VI) is an Italian town with an important industrial history linked to the wool-mills. The contemporary site-specific art event "Insito" was organised at an old wool mill in Schio from 22 Nov. to 22 Dec. 2024, which was inspired from its industrial history.

Image below shows the story board of an installation by Anne Grebby from this exhibition (you can click on images for a bigger view).

Insito exhibition brought together 5 artists - 4 British (Emma Critchley, Anne Grebby, Kara Lyons & Maryanne Royale) and an Italian (Marta Martino).

The exhibition was curated by Monica Pirani, with whom I had a long and interesting conversation about the contributions of all these 5 artists and this event. For this post, I must thank her for taking the time to accompany me through the whole exhibition and explain at length the different facets of the artists' works.

I am planning to write two posts about this exhibition. This first post is about the four British artists, while the second post will focus on the Italian artist and the work of the curator.

Let me start this post with some information about the exhibition site, The Conte Wool Mills building, which provided the background to this exhibition.

The Conte Wool Mills Building

This mill building is located next to the old city centre and its main water-canal, Roggia Maestra, which passes through it. The mill first started operating around 1757. Its buildings were renovated in 1886 and its roof still carries the bell which used to mark the work-shifts of the mill workers. It was one of the first buildings in Italy to use electric light. The building is now used for holding cultural events. Insito was organised in the mezzanine floor of the old mill.

Now lets talk about the works of the 4 British artists.

Kara Lyons

Kara had two art-works in the exhibition. The first was a temporary sculpture  called Arteria created near the window underneath which the main water-canal, the Roggia Maestra, passes, which was used to power the Conte Wool mill. When the exhibition was being inaugurated, Kara looked at the water rushing below, and reflected its movements with her feet on a wet-clay surface, walking for about 2 hours, leaving her imprints on it. As the exhibition came to an end, that wet-surface slowly dried, creating fractures and breaking down into pieces.

Kara explained, "Arteria is performative sculpture, a durational installation made in situ at the Lanificio Conte. The window exposes the water below, revealing the force of its flow, serving as a testament to its essential importance in the development of the textile industry around which it was founded." 

The second work by Kara was a long rectangular artwork, 10 metres long and one-and-half metre wide, over which she walked for days, her feet wet with graphite and clay, looking at the the water passing below the factory in Manchester, which is very similar to the canal passing underneath the factory in Schio, reflecting its movements in her walk and creating a map of her foot-prints.

She had presented a similar work at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2023.

Kara Lyons & Maryanne Royale

Maryanne, a sound artist, drew inspiration from old historical ties between Schio & Manchester to develop a sound installation in collaboration with Kara Lyons. She collected recordings from Kara's interactions with wet-clay in Manchester. By changing the speed and tones of the sound recordings, she created a soundscape, which formed the background of the exhibition.

Maryanne Royale

The artist was also present in this exhibition with a video installation titled “The Tension That Holds” which was previously commissioned for an exhibition at Leeds Industrial Museum. It was made at an old abandoned industrial building in Manchester, very similar to the Conte Wool Mills building in Schio.

While making this video, she interviewed some of its old retired workers and recorded their voices.

Personally, I feel that sound-installations are a tricky area. Most of the time, we are hardly aware of the background sounds including music (unless we like a specific piece of work, when we may become aware of it). Soundscapes are also background noise-music, they can't be too intrusive. This means that we might not even notice them. I also wonder if among us, there may be some who are attuned t sounds and perhaps sound-installations make more sense to them? 

Emma Critchley

Emma Critchley is an artist who uses a combination of photography, film, sound and installation to explore the human relationship with the underwater environment. Her work Sirens was a triptych of 3 short films in which a dancer performed in front of a screen showing videos of ocean-creatures. The videos of the sea-creatures were from an American research centre and seemed to be bi-chromatic. For example, the video in the image below was in blue and white.

About this installation, Emma said, "Sirens is a triptych of short films where we witness an encounter between a dancer and three creatures of the deep sea. The music and performer's movements offer the audience a portal for connection."

Anne Grebby

Anne's work in the exhibition is titled Fluid Body and is a complex opera composed of different parts. It included an art performance lasting 3 days creating a word-map on the floor.

For this performance she first created a story-board (first image at the top above). She started by marking and creating a circular space around herself. Standing at the centre, she designed a circle exploring the limits with words written with a chalk, and the words expressed her ideas about concepts like culture, emotions, intuitions, and psychology. 

During the performance, she kept writing those words with a chalk fixed on a stick, new words over old words, again and again, creating a kind of web of knowledge and beliefs, that represent our inner worlds.

About this installation, Anne explained, "I write the words on the ground till I lose awareness of my own presence. I write towards the centre of the circle, defined by my own extended body, and then I turn and trace my path towards the outside."

In the exhibition, she also had an installation of archive photos showing 2 of her old projects and performances (image above). One was a work done in Germany where she had used red-clay to cover room surfaces, which would dry and fall down and then the next day she had to reapply it. Another, was a work realised in Oregon, USA, which ended in a fire destroying everything she had created.

Finally, she had prints of her designs and images from her ebook on a transparent paper, which were placed on the window-panes in the exhibition hall, where the water from the canal running behind, was being reflected and creating patterns.

Conclusions

Insito was composed of different multi-sensorial installations. It was an opportunity to see the works of these four very different British artists and to experience a special soundscape.

Such exhibitions, introduce you to a different idea of art - art as an immersion in different sensations and sensory experiences, helping to focus your mind in the present and now. As we increasingly spend more time in virtual cyber-worlds and AI, such art experiences can reconnect us to our deeper physical and emotional cores.

I think that these are developing forms of concept art, which are more about the inner worlds, thoughts and emotions of individual artists. Creating a connection with them and finding meanings which make sense to the audience is very subjective.

*****

Check part 2 of this post about the works of Marta Martino and the exhibition curator, Monica Pirani

M.F.Husain Exhibition, DAG, India

Recently, while in India for a brief visit, I was able to visit the amazing exhibition of Maqbool Fida Husain's artworks organised at the DAG art gallery in Delhi.

Husain saheb was associated with the socialist party of India and as a child, I had met him a few times, as my father's friend. While walking with him one evening in Connaught Place in Delhi, I had once asked my father, "Why does he walk bare-feet, can't he buy some chappals?" I don't remember if my father had answered my question.  I have already written about him earlier on this blog. I love his art.

In this post I want to share the 10 artworks of Husain saheb which I liked in the DAG exhibition. (You can click on the pictures to enlarge them)

 1. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru: I think that like Lohia and other socialists, Husain saheb was a little critical of Pandit Nehru, the first prime minister of Independent India in 1947. The painting above shows, Mahatma Gandhi turning his back and going away, while Pandit Nehru arrives triumphant like a bridegroom on a horse. This refers to the eve of India's independence, when Gandhi ji had gone to Noakhali to try to stop the riots caused by India's partition, while Nehru gave his famous speech in India's parliament, "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge ..."

2. Indian Flag and Mahatma Gandhi: This is another painting that shows Gandhi ji (below). It has a background of the Indian flag painted over a background of mountains and soldiers with rifles. Gandhi ji is shown sitting closer to the bottom of the central white part, partly hidden by a mountain. The blue Ashoka chakra of the flag can also be seen as a symbol of his spinning wheel (charkha).

At the same time, that blue chakra seems like a spider-web, perhaps to show that Indian republic had chosen to ignore Gandhi ji?

or perhaps, it is not Gandhi ji, but a representation of the China-India war? What do you think?

3. Durga: The third political painting among the works I have chosen, represents Indira Gandhi after the India-Pakistan war in 1971 and the formation of Bangladesh (below). Husain saheb had expressed his admiration for the firm role played by India to host millions of refugees coming from Bangladesh and the help given by Indian army in its liberation, by a series of paintings where India's PM Mrs Indira Gandhi was shown as the goddess Durga, represented by the tiger.

It is a coincidence that today (16 December) is an anniversary of the surrender of Pakistani army to India during this war. The painting also has the famous yellow-blue combination used by Husain in many of his works.

4. Mother Teresa: The fourth work that I have chosen is titled 'Mother Teresa'. Husain saheb had painted Mother Teresa many times. I like this painting, where she is shown through her blue-bordered sari while the persons she cared-for, is represented by a dying man (below).

At the same time, the painting is symbolic of India and its flag with parts in saffron and green, so that the white sari and its blue border can be seen as the white stripe and the blue chakra of the flag.

It is a diptych (two paintings joined together to compose a whole). The grey background seems to express the despair of the poor in the years following India's independence.

5. The Two Maqbools: For me, this was one of his most intriguing works in this exhibition. It was a part of a series of paintings on different religions where he had tried to represent each religion by its key messages and ideas.

There are two Husain sahebs depicted in this painting. The one on the left, has a dark shadow and something written in Urdu below it. I think that the shadow and the words express the physical persona of Husain saheb and his Muslim identity. The second figure, slightly behind and to the right, has his paintings behind him and perhaps represents the artist Husain saheb. The two figures are joined at the heart by a chakra.

The black-ink design is partly overlaid by a block of saffron-yellow square, I am not sure about its significance.

I am very curious to hear about the meaning of the words written in Urdu. If someone can read them (click on the picture to enlarge it), do write to me in the comments below.

6. Self-Portrait of the Artist: This is a more joyful self-portrait, where Husain saheb is surrounded by his favourite themes, which he had painted repeatedly during his life - Mother Teresa, the horses, Ganapati, the poor ...

I wonder why did he choose to depict himself in a military uniform with medals pinned to his chest in this painting? May be he saw himself as a soldier-artist on a quest to depict the soul of India? You can also see his bare feet in all his self-portraits.

7. Artist and the family portrait: This is another of his self-portrait as an artist where he shows himself painting the portrait of a family. Behind the family sitting on a sofa, some paintings of Husain saheb including an elephant and some horses can be seen. Is it his own family, where a child version of him is sitting on the ground in front? (Though the family looks more modern in setting and clothes).

Or perhaps, it is the family of his son and the boy with the yellow shirt is his grandson? What do you think? May be, it depicts his exile to Qatar in his final years?

 8. The autobiography: This is a pictorial autobiography of Husain saheb, which has a comic-book kind of quality (below).

On the top left, it has "A for Abdul" from Pandharpur in Maharashtra (where Husain was born), who sold and repaired oil lamps. Along the oil lamps, he has designed 2 hands raised in prayer. Perhaps Abdul was a childhood friend? or perhaps his father?

Then he has "F for Fida", the time-keeper in a textile mill in Indore. Was that an uncle or a beloved relative with whom he had stayed for some time?

"Z is for Zainab", his mother, her head covered, shown with an open book in front, denoting traditional family values of piety. Finally, he himself is there as "M for Maqbool", the painter as a young man, already bare-feet.

Apart from the horses, denoted as "H for Husain" (probably representing the importance of his art for him), the lower-half of the canvas also has the figure of his step-mother Shireen, who is shown younger, her head uncovered, sitting down relaxed with a hand-fan, that has a crescent moon on it. She seems to be the opposite of his mother's image. I don't know if the crescent moon means that she had left for Pakistan after partition?

I also wonder why he has avoided showing or his father or not specifying his father in this painting?

9. The Arrival: This painting was part of a group titled the Nudes and I chose this one to represent the wonderful use of blues and bright yellows in many of his paintings, which I love and which always make me think of Van Gogh.

This painting has 3 female figures, one front-facing and two seen from the back. The upper half of the main figure is nude and her face is partially covered by a couple of masks or moons. It was titled Arrival.

 10. Horses on a red background: The last painting of Husain saheb for this post is his favourite subject, "H for Husain and H for horses". I have seen some of his other horses-related artworks which I liked more, but in this exhibition, there were few horses. The blood-red background and the frightened-desperate expressions of the animals, make me feel a little uneasy, therefore I won't put this painting in my house.

However, I have included it in my list because it was his most loved theme.

Conclusions

I love Husain saheb's art. While preparing this post, by chance I came across a book by the socialist party leader Dr Ram Manohar Lohia for which Husain saheb had designed the book cover (below). When I saw it, I thought that it was a sign from him that he likes this post (or so I would like to believe!) I hope that you will enjoy reading it, as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

*****

#mfhusain #maqboolfidahusain #dag #artexhibition

Watercolours of Moreno dalla Vecchia

I love admiring paintings and sculptures. Among the different styles of paintings, my favourite is watercolours. This post is about a watercolour artist from Schio (VI), Moreno dalla Vecchia, who is also the president of the Schio's association of artists.

Recently I talked to Moreno during an exhibition of local artists held at Toaldi-Capra palace in the city centre.

Moreno's Artistic Evolution

Moreno loved art ever since he can remember. Seeing his artistic skills, his teachers suggested that he should study art. Thus, after completing middle school, in late 1960s he decided to join the art school in Padova. He studied there for five years.

He followed it for another 2-years' course for teaching art. However he decided to not to work as a teacher, instead he chose to work in public administration. Moreno retired four years ago from his public administration job. During his working life, being an artist was a parallel life for him. He feels that having a separate job allowed him to be more independent in his artistic evolution because he didn't need to earn from his art.

He has continued to learn and practice art ever since. For example, after completing art school, for about 10 years, he joined an art group in Vicenza called La Soffitta, created by Otello de Maria. Here, artists can meet, talk, and learn from each other. In this period, he experimented with oils, design and water-colours. He said, "Initially I was afraid of water-colours, I can't explain why but I was hesitant to try it. However, once I started to work with water-colours, I never stopped, I have continued to work with this medium." 

Moreno had started with oil paintings, and experimented with other techniques including acrylic, tempera, graffite and frescoes, before coming to water-colours. He has even taught oil painting and likes oil paintings.

Regarding his approach to water-colour painting, he said, "Now I am trying to get away from using photographs, to a slightly more real depiction of my subjects. I am thinking of this new approach but it is not yet very clear. Usually, when we paint we follow our mental images and not the reality of things as they are."

Artists' Association of Schio

Scledense Artists' group is about 50 years old. It did not even have a room and used to
meet in a bar. It is a space for meeting, talking and supporting each other. In June each year, the city and Scledense artists traditionally organise an open-air art exhibition called Sareo Art Festival. At the same time, they organise a thematic art competition for the primary and middle schools of Schio.

About the activities of their association, Moreno explained, "With time, other initiatives were added to Sareo festival, such as organisation of exhibitions in different city-spaces such as the Toaldi-Capra Palace. When Schio had the orchids and flowers exhibition, we also participated by having an exhibition on art about flowers. For example, the present exhibition has 5 artists from the city. Then, we have another initiative planned for Christmas and the end of year, which will focus on still-life."

There was a time when this group had 80 members, but now they are much less, around 30 persons and Moreno dalla Vecchia is its president. For him, it was important to be a part of this group since it kept alive his interest in art by getting new ideas, learning from others. He said, "We organised initiatives, we displayed our art, I also took part in some art competitions."

Art Courses in Schio

After completing his studies, Moreno came back to Schio, and he joined the Artists' group. One of his first initiative was to organise art courses. Together with another artist, Moreno organised an evening course for design and painting.

He said, "Around 15 persons came to the first course, sometimes they had no idea about art. The course lasted five evenings. Later on, I became the president of our association and started organising solo courses on water-colours. Some of my students have grown to become good artists. For example, Mari Baldissarotto, who is also a part of this exhibition, was one of my students, who has become a wonderful artist."

In Conclusion

Every time I meet persons like Moreno, who have cultivated a passion for all their lives alongside a 9-to-5 daily job, I feel a great admiration for them. There are so many others who say that they did not get time to do what they really wanted in their lives, because they had a full-time job.

I am sure that persons like Moreno, need to make sacrifices for keeping alive their passion. At the same time, their dedication to their passion means that their families get lesser time and attention. It would have been an interesting theme to discuss with him, however, I did not talk about it to Moreno. 

*****

Visiting Schio: Sacred Sites

The tiny town of Schio in the north-east of Italy, about 30 km from the provincial capital Vicenza, is full of sacred sites that bring here pilgrims from all over the world. At the same time, many of these sites are also wonderful places for nature walks and hikes.

The town is located in the foothills of Pasubio mountain, part of the Little Dolomites, and thus, be ready to go up and down the hilly paths during your walks (above: a view of Pasubio and Leogra river in Schio).

This post provides an overview and brief information about the different sites. Over the next few months, I hope to write more detailed posts about each site. Except for a pre-historic site, all the other places in this post are related to the Catholic church.

Pre-historic Prayer Sites on Mount Summano

Mount Summano towards the east of Schio is around 1300 m. high. Some believe that the its name indicates Pluto, the ancient God of the underworld; others think that it indicates the God of lightening and rain.

Ancient archaeological remains have also been found in a cave known as Bocca Lorenza, on the eastern side of Summano, which can be a great walk from the nearby Sant'Orso town.

Near the summit of Monte Summano, you can visit the church dedicated to St. Mary (above), as well as see the ancient site where prehistoric folks use to make sacred fire for worship (image below).

If you are used to mountain hikes, you can try the hike from Tretto or from Sant'Orso to the top of the mountain. It has plenty of places for panoramic views of the Schio valley below. Many years ago I tried this hike once, starting from Tretto, but it was too tough for me, I had to give it up half way (below, a view from the top).

St. Martin church in Schio

St Martin hill in Schio hosts one of the oldest churches in this area, which was built at the site of an older temple dedicated to a female deity. The first church was built here around 7th century CE. The first written document about this church is from 1185 CE.

In late 1985, a person from Schio called Renato Baron claimed to have a vision of Madonna on the hill, around 250 metres above the St Martin church. Over the following years, hundreds of his followers started collecting here for prayers. Some persons from the Catholic church, spoke against Baron and his cult.

For the pilgrims coming here from different parts of Europe, a proper walking path has been created leading to the site where Baron had his vision, and then to the top of the hill. You may or may not believe in Baron and his vision, but it is a wonderful place for a hike to the top of the hill. Come prepared with proper walking shoes, a cap and a bottle of water. You can see two views of this path here (above and below).

San Zeno Church in Magre, Schio

Magre is the part of the Schio located across the Leogra river bridge. Magre hill is located in the centre of this area, while the much higher, Magre mountain separates Leogra valley from the Agno valley on the west. Archaeological excavations on the Magre hill have shown objects from prehistoric to more recent times.

San Zeno area is located on the western slope of Raga mountain in Magre. To reach here, you need to walk till the end of Via Siberia road. It is a protected area and vehicles (including bicycles) are not allowed beyond a point. The tiny San Zeno church is from 14th century, and has been recently renovated.

It is located next to a waterfall, which looks beautiful after the rains.

The final 150-200 metres of the path require a steeper climb and some effort. So go there with proper walking shoes, a cap and a water bottle.

St. Mary Mother church in Pieve

This church goes back at least a thousand years. The legends say that it was built at the site of an older pagan temple. During medieval period, it was considered as the mother church for all the surrounding mountains areas. It was also the seat for a bishop, till the Duomo church was built in Schio in 1473.

Over the past centuries, this church (above) has been renovated many times, the last being in 1989, so it does not look so old. It still has some old frescoes and an old baptismal fountain. Next to the church, you can also see the old water canal, Roggia Maestra, from the 12th century.

This church is located in Pieve Bel Vicino, a few kilometres north of Schio. From the city centre, it takes a 45 minutes walk to reach there.

St. Francis church of Schio

This church and monastery were inaugurated in 1436. Built on the eastern edge of the medieval town on the hill of Olives, it is one of the most beautiful churches in the city. The church has a famous painting (below) by the well-known renaissance-period artist Francesco Verla (1470-1521) and a 14th century stone statue of Madonna.

The asymmetrical looking church (below) with a central nave and one sided aisle is open to public only on special occasions (at present, it is on the afternoons of the first Sundays of the month but that keeps on changing).

Duomo of Schio

Duomo was built in the city centre in 1473. It is placed on the Gorzone hill, right in front of the castle hill. An older Longobard tower and then a church had existed here before the construction of Duomo. It is dedicated to St. Peters. With stairs on the two sides for going up to the church, it has a majestic look. The external sculptures of the four evangelists are by Valetino Zajec. It dominates the central plaza, Piazza Rossi.

One of the paintings (Gesu Maestro, 1943) in Duomo has an indirect link with my wife's family. That painting is by Alfredo Ortelli, who lived in Magre. His sister Ita, was my mother-in-law's friend and after the death of her brother in 1963, lived with my wife's family for many years (in the house where I am writing this post).

FYI, Duomo is a cathedral level church, without a bishop - it can only be called Cathedral, if it has a bishop.

St. Jakob Church

Located on the road behind Duomo is the 15th century St Jakob's church. It has some nice paintings from 19th century. The most beautiful part of this church, in my opinion, is its 16th century bell-tower, in the image below (to see it, enter the portico next door, going to the back of the church).

St. Mary Chapel in Valletta

It is charming little chapel located in the valley between the Castle hill and the hill with St Francis church. A water canal passes underneath it and an old city gate can be seen next to it. The first documents about this chapel are from early 16th century but probably the church goes back to older times.

St. Bakhita's Canossian Church

The congregation of Daughters of Charity, also known as Canossian nuns, have an old history in Schio. One of their nuns, mother Bakhita, was declared a saint in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Mother Bakhita (or St. Bakhita, if you prefer) had a very unusual story.

Born in Darfur region (Sudan) in 1869, she was taken from her village and sold as a slave when she was 7 years old. Her name Bakhita (fortunate) was given by the Arab slave-sellers. She ended up in the house of the Italian consul in Khartoum, who brought her to Venice, where she joined the nuns. She spent many years in Schio, and died here in 1947.

Pilgrims come to visit her tomb from all over the world. Her church (image above) and tomb are located in the city centre. A monument near the St Francis church (image below) remembers her and the millions of persons taken away from Africa as slaves.

In Conclusion

As you can see, even if Schio is only a tiny mountain town, it has many sacred places to visit, which are open to people of all religions. Many of these places, also provide opportunities for nature-walks along beautiful  and serene mountain paths. To conclude this post, here is a view of the city centre seen from the terrace of the Duomo of Schio.

*****

The Longilineal Women Sculptures of Arcisa Stefani

Arcisa Stefani is a sculptor and artist from Schio, who is known for her women's sculptures with thin, tall and elongated bodies. This post is about her, her art and her artistic journey.

Her sculptures make me think of the Mannerism style of art which had developed in Italy during late renaissance in 17th century. Some time ago, I had already written a post about some of the contemporary artists who show elongated bodies inspired from the Mannerism style in their art.

Let me start with a brief introduction about Mannerism, before presenting Arcisa and her sculptures.

Mannerism style of art in late renaissance period

In the 14th century, the beginning of the renaissance period in Italy saw important innovations in the works of artists. For example, the Lombard school saw a move towards realism, while in Tuscany, the artists, starting with Brunelleschi, developed the use of perspective in art. These refinements reached their peak in the works of masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo and Raphael during the 1500s.

This period was followed by an art movement known as "Mannerism", characterised by a compression of space, along with an elongated proportions of some body parts, specially necks, arms and legs. Different modern artists have been inspired by this style, especially for making tall thin women-bodies with elongated necks and limbs.

Arcisa Stefani

Arcisa had studied commerce at School and worked in sales for almost 25 years, before discovering the artist in her. She and her husband had a shop. She is retired now. 

Thirty years ago, Arcisa fell in love with the sculptures of Mario Converio, the resident sculptor of Schio. She decided that she also wanted to do something similar and became a disciple of Mario, and learned from him.

Then she joined an evening course for adults at the Schio's art school (Liceo artistico Martini). There, she worked with models and learned anatomy, postures, etc. Thus, coupled with the practical skills learned from Mario and the formal training at the art school, she started to experiment as a sculptor, while she formally continued to work in sales.

Once she started sculpting, she has never stopped. She loves working with clay. She prefers using her hands, though sometimes she can need instruments, to sharpen the edges or to give specific effects. About her work as an artist, she pointed to a sculpture and said, "For example, I had used a small rake like instrument to make those lines on the shawl."

The clay sculptures need to be heated at high temperatures (around 1,100 C). She gets it done at an industrial furnace on the way to Vicenza. The temperature needs to rise gradually over a period of few days to reach the maximum and then come down equally gradually. Thus, the sculptures need to stay at the furnace for about a week.

She uses few colours in her work. About the use of colours, she said, "Sometimes I add a little colour after baking the sculpture in the furnace. At home I have a few with colours, but I prefer the natural look. Once, I tried to experiment by adding coloured glass pieces, which I had collected at a beach, it came out very beautiful. However, in the furnace, one of the glass pieces popped out and got into another sculpture, at the arm of the figure. I gave some colour around it and it looked like a bracelet on that sculpture."

Her sculptures mostly have women with elongated and tall bodies, a few are couples or children. She also likes to make sculptures of hands and feet, which were taught to her by a professor who use to teach art-history.

Regarding her process of giving form to her sculptures, she said, "With time and experience, I have changed and evolved as an artist. Earlier, I was inspired more by looking at the works of other artists. Now I use my own imagination. When I am sculpting, I am in my own world, I forget the world, and can spend hours without realising how many hours have passed. Sometimes, I start with an idea but while working, I change and modify the initial idea."

The artists who have inspired her include Bruno Lucchi, based in Levico Terme. She said, "I had seen his exhibition in Vicenza and had met him. He works a lot with horizontal lines and I have copied it from him. However, I also use a lot of vertical lines, which he does not.

In Conclusion

I think that Arcisa's story of discovering her passion for sculpting after visiting an art exhibition, is very inspiring to all those persons who discover their passions later in life.

I love the sculptures of Arcisa. In a recent exhibition held at Toaldi-Capra palace in the city centre of Schio, I saw some of her works showing couples and children, which I had not seen before. The elongated bodies of her sculptures express fragility and strength at the same time.

*****

The Library & Airship of Amerigo da Schio

Recently, an old noble family of Schio opened their private library with antique books for public viewing. The family's name is "da Schio" (literally "from Schio") and they have a big villa in the city centre, in front of the Duomo church.

Count Amerigo da Schio, from this family had made the first airship in Italy and its maiden flight had taken place in Schio in 1905. This was just two years after the the Wright brothers had made their maiden flight in 1903.

This post is about the "da Schio" family's private library and the story of the first Italian airship made by Amerigo da Schio.

Civic Library of Schio

These days, our Civic library in Schio is having a mini-exhibition about antique books and handwritten manuscripts. This exhibition will be on till the end of Dec. 2024.

The tiny town of Torre Belvicino, a few kilometres north from Schio, was one of the first places in Italy where the printing press was started, soon after Johannes Gutenberg had discovered the moveable type for printing in Germany in 1440 CE. The first printed books in Torre Belvicino came out around 1460.

At the same time, the St Francis church had some antique handwritten manuscripts with some exquisitely made illustrations from 13th century. Thus, our library has an eclectic collection of antique old books. I will write a separate post about our library, its history and its old books.

For the inauguration of this exhibition of old books in the civic library, the "da Schio" family also opened the doors of their private library for the public, to show off their collection of old books.

Da Schio family in Schio

The records show that the "da Schio" family house has been there for more than a thousand years. The old pictures from 19th century show 4 houses built together. Around 1875, the building was renovated and a new façade was built, giving it a more dignified appearance, so that the four houses appear as one.

The "da Schio" family had a number of famous personalities in the past. These personalities included Manelino da Schio, mayor of Belluno in 13th century while his son Frà Giovanni da Vicenza was a well-known Catholic Dominican inquisitor (his portrait can be seen in the stained-glass windows of Santa Corona church in Vicenza). The descendents also included a bishop in the 16th century. The title of Count was given to the family in 1530 by emperor Charles V.

The family's royal symbol is a mermaid with double tail, which can be seen at the top of the house and in the family seal placed in the books (image below).

The present Count Giovanni da Schio, was born in the room above the library but today lives in their villa in Castel Gomberto. One of the Counts' son, Tommaso Amerigo, is a trained archivist. Both Giovanni and Tommaso were present during our visit to explain the history of the house and the library (first image at the top).

The remaining parts of the "da Schio" building have been made into offices and apartments. However the family still maintains the library. 

Library of the "da Schio" House 

This library has about 4000 volumes including 2 incunabulum books (the first printed books in 15th century).

The library was (and is still) not organised for subjects or authors, but rather for aesthetic reasons, putting together books of the same sizes and colours in the same shelves. Each cupboard (all are open cupboards), covering the whole length of the wall, has an alphabetical identification and the shelves are numbered. Thus, to find a specific book, one must consult a card-catalogue. There are 10 boxes of card-catalogues (shown in the first image at the top).

However, the family has started a process of digitising the book-archives.

The library room has a few pictures of Amerigo da Schio, who is considered as a famous Italian and world personality. The place of honour, in the centre of the room, is for a model of the the famous Amerigo airship hanging from the roof.

The Airship of Amerigo da Schio

Amerigo was born in Schio in 1836. Though he trained as a lawyer, he had eclectic interests including astronomy. During that period, different persons were discussing how to fly. While the Wright brothers were trying with their aeroplane, it was too heavy to be able to carry passengers.

On the other hand, others were thinking of an airship carried by a big balloon - these were also known as Blimp or Dirigible Balloon. Amerigo was among one of them, though he thought that with time, lighter metals will be found and future will belong to aeroplanes.

Hot air balloon was invented in France in 1783. Two years later, Blanchard and Jeffries crossed the English channel in a hydrogen balloon. In 1852, Giffard flew a steam-powered airship filled with hydrogen, while the Zepplin airship was invented in 1895, which were also used to bomb Britain during the first world war.

Amerigo's airship in Schio, was the first Italian airship. Making it was not easy because the parts had to be built and brought to Schio. For example, its motor was made at the Fiat factory in Turin, while the black plastic sheet fixed at the bottom to allow elastic expansion of the balloon, was made by Pirelli. It was filled with a gas made from burning some metals and other things. Underneath the balloon, a frame made from aluminium tubes was built to carry passengers. The first flight on 17 June 1905, in the area where the old hospital of Schio is located, was successful. After that it was flown a few times.

A book published to commemorate 70 years of Amerigo's airship by Arrigo Usigli, had some information about the challenges in making the airship: "Its total weight should have been around 1000 kg but the initial endothermal motors were too heavy for it. However technical progress helped by reducing this weight and a motor produced by the French Buchet was chosen, which weighed only 80 kg and provided 12 HP." (p. 25)

At one level, we can say that the invention of the airship was not very useful, because over the next few years, aeroplanes were developed and became the principle mode of flying for humans. However, Amerigo's airship innovation led to better industrial capacity in many areas in Italy, including in the Fiat and Pirelli factories.

To Conclude

If Homo Sapiens species arrived some 300,000 years ago. The writing was discovered around 3000 years ago. Till about 500 years ago, books were only handwritten and were thus called Manuscript (from Latin, Manus means hand and Script means writing). The society that reads books, arrived only some hundred-two hundred years ago. Initially, many persons, not used to the easy availability of books for general public felt that books were a bad invention, that they would have destroyed the human capacity for memorising and thinking.

While, today we can only laugh at those fears, already the world is changing. With technologies such as easy video-making with mobile phones and internet, perhaps we are moving towards a post-writing and post-book world. As has happened so many times in the past, new technology does not mean that the old things disappear. Hopefully, books will be with us for a very long time, even if they change form and become electronic or video-story tellings.

The beautiful library of the "da Schio" family is one of the treasures of humanity and hopefully, it can be preserved for future generations. 

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