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 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. 

*****

Art from the Fascism Era

The art and architecture are influenced by the dominating ideologies of their times. The rise of fascist ideologies in Italy during 1920s and 30s, had influenced the art and architecture from that period.

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit an exhibition on this theme at MART museum in Rovereto (Italy). The image below shows the sculpture of a man at the exhibition entrance.

In this post, I want to share about some exhibits from this exhibition. There were hundreds of art-works including paintings, sculptures, posters, photographs and models in this exhibition. For convenience, I have sub-divided a few examples of those in 3 groups - influence of fascism on the arts, representations of Mussolini and the end of fascism.

You can click on the images of this post for a bigger view.

Art from the Fascist Era or the Fascist Art?

Some artists believe in the ideology and thus, their creative expressions are aligned with the ideals of that era. Other artists may not believe in the ideology but can be forced to follow the dominant dictates of that ideology.

In the second group, sometimes, artists' dissent against the dominant ideology may be expressed in hidden symbols or clever subversions of ideas. The image below shows posters about fascism from 1920s & 30s.

Fascist Ideology & Its Artistic Influences

Fascism means glorification of masculine virtues - tall, broad, strong, powerful and patriotic alpha males with square jaws, leading their families, communities and the country, to compete against, fight and dominate the men from other communities and countries, for the glory of their fatherland.

Women play a supporting role in this process, they are supposed to reproduce children, look after their families and communities, and admire their handsome men. (The image below has a sculpture of the war veteran and fascist leader Carlo Delacroix by the sculptor Antonio G. Santagata in 1928)

I had no idea about the impact of fascist ideology on the arts and thus, I was very curious to visit this exhibition. My friend Giorgio loves art and when he proposed that we go to Rovereto to see it, I immediately agreed.

The term "Fascism" comes from Fascia or Fascio, a covering or a band. For example, fascias can be the cords tying together bundles of grain-stalks. For this reason, often paintings from that era show bundles of grain-stalks tied together by the fascia. This term expressed the strength of being united.  Image below has a painting from this exhibition, showing bundles of grain-stalks.

Evolution of Fascism in Italy

The ideas of "Revolutionary Fascism" were launched after the end of second world war by the 34 years old Benito Mussolini around 1917. Five years later, in 1922, the king of Italy appointed the 39 years old Mussolini as the prime minister.

In 1925, Giovanni Gentile, the philosopher and the ideologue of fascism, launched the Manifesto of Revolutionary Fascism at Palazzo Fava in Bologna (that building today hosts a medieval museum).

Initially, the fascist ideology developed as secular, but over the 1930s, Mussolini developed closer links with the Catholic church. During 1930s, Mussolini also became closer to Hitler and Nazism, and the racial segregation laws targeting the Jews were enacted in 1938.

In 1943, the arrival of British-American allied forces in south Italy led to German occupation of remaining Italy and the conclusion of the fascism. Partisans killed Giovanni Gentile in 1944 and Mussolini was lynched in April 1945.

With this introduction, now let me come to some examples of the exhibits.

Artworks in the Exhibition: Influence of Fascism on Art During 1920s and 1930s

Fascist ideals of women and children were expressed through creation of specific movements with their black costumes, songs and parades. For example, the children were organised in the Ballila groups for physical and moral education. Ceramic statues from 1930s from the ceramic factories of Nove-Bassano and the statues by Elena Konig, shown below, represent these.

Designs made by the artist Achille Funi during 1930s for making frescoes in official buildings also show the influence of fascism (image below). Funi is credited with the Novecento art movement during 1920s and for bringing back fresco mural-paintings into vogue.

Mario Sironi was another artist, part of the Novecento movement, who worked on fresco mural-paintings. The image below, shows his works "the horse-rider" from 1934, illustrating men and horses, another favourite theme of fascism.

Italian futurism art movement had started in early 20th century, before the first world war. During late 1920s and 1930s, a second futurism-art movement came around, which was heavily influenced by fascism. The two images below show some examples of this phase of futurism-art.

 

This was the biggest section of the exhibition.

Artworks in the Exhibition: Art About Benito Mussolini

Mussolini as the supreme leader of fascism, was often represented in paintings and sculpture. As an icon of fascism, these representations often showed him as fighter and warrior, with square jaws, frowning brows and a scowl or even injured in a fist fight. Below you can see some examples of these icons.

Artworks in the Exhibition: Art About the End of Fascism

In 1943, the arrival of allied forces in south Italy signalled the end of  fascism and artists could finally express themselves openly. For example, the 1943 painting by Mino Maccari shows the end awaiting Mussolini.

In 1945, at the end of the second world war, Benito Mussolini was lynched and angry mobs had brought down his statues and broken them. One such bust of Mussolini, which had been created by sculptor Adolf Wildt in 1923, and was broken with hammers by an angry mob in 1945, illustrates that time (image below).

India in the Exhibition

The fascism-art exhibition also had a 1942 painting by Italian artist Adalberto Libera titled "The Ataturk Monument in Ankara", shown in the image below. It has a column of fire in the middle and round walls all around with the Sanskrit words "Vande Matram" written in Roman alphabet.

Libera is known primarily as an architect. I don't think that the painting shows the Ataturk monument, rather it shows India's independence struggle against the British, which might have been seen positively by the fascist regime. I don't know if Libera had by mistake added the Sanskrit words to his Ataturk painting or if the exhibition organisers have mistaken the painting-title.

In Conclusion

This exhibition on art from the fascism era was curated by the well-known Italian art historian, critic and author Vittorio Sgarbi. He is known for his abusive and polemical TV-show persona and I don't like watching him, but I liked the way he has curated this exhibition.

At the end I am haunted by the broken statue of Mussolini. It reminded me of images of statues of Lenin and Saddam Hussein being brought down by mobs. In this sense, history keeps on repeating itself - sooner or later, the dictators and the strongmen become prisoners of their own images and are unable to confront the reality in time, to stop themselves from the final inevitable showdown.

Let me conclude this post with another image from this exhibition - a 1939 painting by Cesare Maggi titled "Listening to the Duce's radio broadcast".

I think that the above painting is about the declaration of Italy joining Germany in the war. Most persons in the painting look sombre and are dressed in black, the colour of the fascists. I am intrigued by the man in the red shirt standing in the centre, who has military medals pinned on his shirt. Was that red colour used by the artist to give a strong focal point in the painting or was it a sign towards the role played by Italian partisans in the war, who had fought against the Mussolini regime? The hill in the background seems like San Luca in Bologna, which had a large network of partisans.

May be Maggi, usually known as an artist close to the fascist regime, was actually trying to express his dissent through this painting?

Perhaps a similar argument can be made about some of the busts of Mussolini, which seem to caricature a strongman persona?

***

Power of Our Geographies

Guided by self-interest, all countries seek power, leverage and resources. In this, a country's geography is like a prison, because its limits and constraints are difficult to overcome. This is the basic premise of Tim Marshall as he looks at the geographies, histories and challenges of ten areas of the world in his 2015 book, "Prisoners of Geography - Ten Maps that tell Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics". 

I have just finished reading this book and I found its conclusions very harsh, sometimes even heart-breaking. At the same time, I found it stimulating and thought-provoking.

We live in utopian times - even with the wars and climate change and loss of bio-diversity, I somehow feel that with our new knowledge, understandings and innovations, the humanity will find a way to a better tomorrow. I dream that our future world will be guided by ideals of peace, brotherhood and mutual collaboration between countries and peoples. Marshall says that this utopian dream may remain just a dream, because countries and peoples are guided by their self-interests and they can't escape their geographies.

Geographical Areas Covered in the Book

The book looks at geographies and histories of ten areas - Russia, China, USA, Western Europe, Africa, Middle East, India & Pakistan, Korea & Japan, Latin America and the Arctic. For each of these areas, Marshall provides an overview of its geographical layout and history, especially the evolution of its relationships with its neighbours.

He says that the relationships between countries are dominated by the ancient ideas of suspicion, self-interest and gaining control over resources. Countries and their governments might talk of brotherhood and collaboration but they never forget those ancient ideas and when needed, go to war over them.

For example, in the part about the geography of Russia, he writes:

"Poland represents a relatively narrow corridor into which Russia could drive its armed forces if necessary and thus prevent an enemy from advancing towards Moscow. But from this point the wedge begins to broaden; by the time you get to Russia’s borders it is over 2,000 miles wide, and is flat all the way to Moscow and beyond ... You might think that no one is intent on invading Russia, but that is not how the Russians see it, and with good reason. In the past 500 years they have been invaded several times from the west."

There are different wars in the world-history, described in Marshall's book, that I was unaware of, and thus it was very instructive to read this book. For example, I was not aware of the history of the Kurds. Here is a part about it, in the section on the Middle East (p. 256):

"Kurdistan is not a sovereign recognised state but it has many of the trappings of one, and current events in the Middle East only add to the probability that there will be a Kurdistan in name and in international law. The questions are: what shape will it be? And how will Syria, Turkey and Iran react if their Kurdish regions attempt to be part of it and try to create a contiguous Kurdistan with access to the Mediterranean?

There will be another problem: unity among the Kurds. Iraqi Kurdistan has long been divided between two rival families. Syria’s Kurds are trying to create a statelet they call Rojava ... If Kurdistan does become an internationally recognised state then the shape of Iraq will change. That assumes there will be an Iraq. There may not be."

His descriptions of the fissures in the Middle East are the most hard-hitting and pessimist part of the book. For example, he writes about Islamism and Palestinian refugees (p. 259), "Such changes to a country’s demographics can cause serious problems, and nowhere more so than in Lebanon." Another example, is in the following extract about the future of the "Arab Spring":

"In the Middle East power does indeed flow from the barrel of a gun. Some good citizens of Misrata in Libya may want to develop a liberal democratic party, some might even want to campaign for gay rights; but their choice will be limited if the local de facto power shoots liberal democrats and gays. Iraq is a case in point: a democracy in name only, far from liberal, and a place where people are routinely murdered for being homosexual.

The second phase of the Arab uprising is well into its stride. This is the complex internal struggle within societies where religious beliefs, social mores, tribal links and guns are currently far more powerful forces than ‘Western’ ideals of equality, freedom of expression and universal suffrage. The Arab countries are beset by prejudices, indeed hatreds of which the average Westerner knows so little that they tend not to believe them even if they are laid out in print before their eyes. We are aware of our own prejudices, which are legion, but often seem to turn a blind eye to those in the Middle East.

The routine expression of hatred for others is so common in the Arab world that it barely draws comment other than from the region’s often Western-educated liberal minority who have limited access to the platform of mass media."

In Conclusion

The book ends on a pessimistic note and is brutal about our prospects for a more peaceful world, at least in the immediate future:

"As the twenty-first century progresses, the geographical factors that have helped determine our history will mostly continue to determine our future: a century from now, Russia will still be looking anxiously westward across what will remain flatland. India and China will still be separated by the Himalayas. They may eventually come into conflict with each other, but if that does happen, then geography will determine the nature of the fight ... Of course geography does not dictate the course of all events. Great ideas and great leaders are part of the push and pull of history. But they must all operate within the confines of geography. The leaders of Bangladesh might dream of preventing the waters from flooding up the Bay of Bengal, but they know that 80 per cent of the country is on a flood plain and cannot be moved. It is a point the Scandinavian and English leader King Canute made to his sycophantic courtiers in the eleventh century, when ordering the waves to retreat: nature, or God, was greater than any man. In Bangladesh all that can be done is to react to the realities of nature: build more flood defences, and hope that the computer modelling of rising waters due to global warming is overstated."

This book was written in 2015 and some of its worries about possible conflicts (such as Russia - Ukraine, Israel - Palestine, north and south Sudan, D.R. of Congo) have become realities.

If you are interested in geopolitics and want a deeper understanding about our past, on-going and potential future conflicts and challenges, do read this book.

*****

War Cemeteries of Vicentino

The First World War was fought between the Austrian-Hungarian empire on the east and the rest of the Europe (and USA) on the west, between 1914-1918.

The tiny town of Schio in north-east part of Italy, where I live, is a part of the Vicentino area around the historical town of Vicenza, and is marked by the little Dolomite mountains of the Alps. Some of the most furious battles of that war were fought in these mountains.

There are three major war monument-cemeteries (known as Sacrario) on these mountains - on Pasubio mountain, on the Altopiano of Asiago and on the Grappa mountain. (In the image below - a view of the top of Grappa Sacrario)

Recently, our local book-readers' group decided to visit the war-sites described in a book about the first world war, that we had read. The book written by Paolo Malaguti was titled "Moro della Cima"  (Moro of the mountain top), and it told the story of a man called Moro who used to live at the top of the Grappa mountain and had played a role in the battles around that area.

This post is a result of this visit to the Grappa mountain, at around 1,800 meters, and it briefly presents the three mountain cemeteries.

The Sacrario-Cemeteries

All the towns in this part of the north-east of Italy have their first World War cemeteries, with the tombs of the local boys who had died in that war.

However, around 20 million soldiers had died in that war, thousands of bodies had been lost and many soldiers had not been identified. After the end of the war, for some of them, Sacrarios (sacred monuments) were built in which the remains of a lot of soldiers were put all together.

The Sacrario of Grappa Mountain

The Grappa mountain looms over the town of Bassano. In the battles of Grappa, around half-a-million guys had died and another half-a-million had ended with disabilities. All towns and villages around Grappa have their local monuments to remember those guys and almost every family have relatives who had taken part in that war.

The biggest cemetery is the Sacrario monument at the top of the mountain with thousands of tombs. The monument is divided into two parts - on one side are the Italians and on the other side, are the Austrian-Hungarian tombs.

At the top, connecting the two sides, there is a wide-strip of land, from where you can look down at the mountain-slopes. Underneath the monument is a few kilometers long gallery, part of which can be visited, which had a hospital, dining mess and spaces for firing artillery fire on the enemy soldiers.

In the Austrian-Hungarian part of the cemetery, there is a tomb of a young boy, which has become a pilgrimage site and is often cited during the calls for peace and against the wars. It is called the tomb of Peter Pan. The blond angelic looking boy's body was found in September 1918 and the Italian soldiers who found him gave him the name, Peter Pan. Later his real identify was discovered, he was from a Hungarian village, which is now part of Romania. People place flowers, sea-shells and stones on his tomb.

Sacrario of Asiago

Asiago is a part of seven municipalities spread over the high-plains of Vicentino region. German-speaking Cimbrian people from the Bavarian region of Germany had settled here. It is a well-known tourist place known for its beautiful mountains, lakes and skiing slopes.

The Sacrario monument of Asiago is a huge construction in the form of an arch at the top of a hill.

Sacrario of Pasubio

Pasubio mountain (2,232 meters) looms above Schio, where I live. The mountain pass called Pian delle Fugazze at 1,163 meters, beneath the Pasubio mountain, holds another Sacrario, which I can see from our back-terrace.

The Sacrario looks down from a panoramic point at the Leogra valley and its towns - Sant'Antonio, Valli del Pasubio and Schio.

A short distance below the sacrario, around the edge of the mountains is an old fort (Forte Maso), which was also a site of a furious battle. Walking around Pasubio, one can see smaller monuments remembering specific battles and their soldiers.

Other First World War Buildings

Scattered across these mountains, there are numerous ruins of old buildings, artillery sites, tunnels and caves which were used during the different battles.

One of my favourite such sites is located at a place near Tonezza del Cimone, not far from Schio, with the ruins of bunkers of the Austrian soldiers on a mountain-side. (In the image below)

It is such a beautiful place with wonderful views of the surrounding valleys. To think of the war, bombs and people dying in that place, makes me feel very sad, and I cam imagine the lives of those soldiers.

In Conclusion

Let me conclude this post with a picture of some of our book-readers' group-members from the Sacrario of Grappa mountain.

It was a beautiful visit to the top of Grappa mountains. Being together with our book-loving friends was great. Thinking of the world war history and the book we had read, made that history and those events come alive.

These cemeteries have tombs of soldiers from all over Europe, including from UK and USA. The well-known American writer Ernest Hemingway had been an ambulance driver in Schio during that war in 1918. Thus, these sites are pilgrimage places for the families of those soldiers from different countries.

A big thank you to Michela, our readers'-group coordinator, and to Mirko, who was our guide for this visit.

***

#grappa #warcemeteries #firstworldwar #northeastitaly #bookreaders #schiocultura

A Forgotten Palladio Villa

When our Book-Reading group proposed a guided tour of the recently rennovated Villa Forni-Cerato, I was immediately interested because it is one of the Palladio-buildings. Andrea Palladio was one of the best-known medieval Italian architects who had spear-headed the Italian architectural rennaisance in the 16th century. His buildings have inspired architects across the world (for example, the White House in USA was inspired by his Villa Rotonda in Vicenza).

In 1996, UNESCO recognised the Palladio villas as World Heritage sites. There are 24 villas designed by Palladio and the Veneto region in the north-east of Italy, where I live, hosts 16 of them. Villa Forni-Cerati is one of those 16 villas. The city of Vicenza has some of the famous Palladio buildings including the Basilica and the amazing Olympic theatre.

On saturday 6th April 2024, we visited this villa, which is located in Montecchio Precalcino, a 25 minutes drive from Schio (VI) in north-east of Italy. This post is about this beautiful building, its history and architecture.

Why Was Villa Forni Cerato Built?

Villa Forni-Cerato was built in 1565 in Montecchio Precalcino for Girolamo Forni, a timber merchant, originally from Valdastico. It is a mostly rural area, about 20 kms from Vicenza.

Forni was working with Andrea Palladio, supplying the timber for his constructions. Wood-logs from places like Tonezza e Alto Piano of Asiago were used for many of the Palladio buildings including the scaffoldings of the Basilica in Vicenza.

The timber was brought down along the Astico river, which was prone to flooding and thus different dams were built along its course to control the water-flow. Dams became collection-points for the wood-logs brought down by the river. One of the dams was in Montecchio Precalcino where Forni lived and where he had his timber-yard. Thus, from supplying all the timber to Palladio, Girolamo Forni became rich and then he asked Palladio to design a simple villa for him, which was built next to his old house.

Design of Villa Forni-Cerato (VFC)

VFC is a simple villa without flashy adornments and yet, it is like a little jewel for its symmetrical and proportionate design. It was been designed as a cube containing 27 square modules, each side of which is 57.8 cm long, and the whole building can be visualised as a Rubik's cube.

 

The stairs (not the original ones) lead to a loggia on the middle floor of the Villa, with open windows on the two sides, which leads to a central hall with two rooms on the sides and one narrower space between the two, which has the stairs.

Built on three levels, the ground floor had the servants' quarters and the kitchen; the middle floor (the noble floor) was the living areas of the Forni family; and, above, the attic held the granary and stores. The rooms are in 9 modules and each has walls 5.20 metres high, creating huge airy spaces.

Golden Ratio Used in VFC  

When VFC was built, the "Vicentine-foot" measurement (35.7 cm) was used as the measuring tool. Multiplying 35.7 by the Golden-ratio number (1.6180) leads to 57.8 cm, which is the size of cube-sides used for designing and constructing the villa. This might explain why the proportions of this building are so eye-pleasing.

Golden ratio, also known as Divine Proportion (Fibonacci sequence), is very common in nature such as in "human face, flower petals, shells, and the geometrical form of galaxies". It is supposed to produce "a sense of beauty, one of the four human intangibles besides purpose, happiness, and love". (1)

A tile has also been found in the house with an image of "Flower of Life", made from 7 overlapping circles. Both these factors might indicate links of Palladio and/or Forni with groups such as Freemasons or Illuminati during the enlightenment era. (2,3)

Present History

Girolomo Forni didn't have children and after his death, the building went to his sister's Cerato family. Since then the house changed through many owners and was occupied till 1971. The last family living here was Grendene with 10 children. They lived on the ground floor while the middle floor was partially used as a barn to stock hay (the middle floor with high walls and no central heating, would have been too cold for living, especially in winter). Since then the building was abandoned. Finally the building was put up for auction in 2017.

After the first 2 auctions went without a buyer, it was bought by a local entrepreneur from Vicenza, Mr Ivo Boscardin. Ivo explained that he saw an annoucement in the newspaper about the villa-auction and read that no one wanted to buy it, while as a Palladio villa it merited greater recognition. He felt that it represented an important cultural icon for their local history and wanted to safeguard it. Initially, he was hoping to buy it with other partners but in the end, everyone else backed out and so he became its sole owner.

He has created a foundation (Villa Forni-Cerati Foundation) to rennovate and look after this building as he feels that it has an important cultural value for the society and should be properly looked after. 

The Villa Forni-Cerato Foundation needs support and you can make donations for its rennovation by making a bank transfer to the Foundation bank-account (account IBAN code: IT 27D02008 60530 000105470617 - for more details check their website).

Rennovation of Villa Forni-Cerato

During our visit, architect Ms. Francesca Grandi took us around and explained with great passion about the rennovation work and the plans of the building. While the whole building can be visited, so far the upper two floors have been rennovated and the work is on-going. Their aim is to maintain the building as it was, without making any structural changes (such as bringing piped water or electric current or central heating inside the main building).

Another aim is to preserve, as much as possible, the old historical layers, histories, materials and structures of the building. Listening to Francesca talk about conservation of the different layers, highlighted the complex nature of this work and the continuos decisions it requires. For example, if a window in the original Palladio design was subsequently closed with bricks, they need to decide if they should preserve the walled window or restore the original layout?

Over the past few decades, new technologies such as archaeological studies for dating the wood (dendrography) and thermo-luminiscence studies can help in identifying the building materials used for construction in different epochs, including the wood-beams used during Palladio's time. All these technologies are also being used during the rennovation to help understand what changed and when.

Along the centuries and especially during its period of abandonment, some of the old busts and sculptures (for example, the stucco-sculptures and works by Alessandro Vittoria) used in this building were sold or lost. The VFC team has been fortunate to find a bust of Girolamo Forni which had been safe-guarded for 50 years by the neighbours.

Girolamo Forni as an Artist

While Girolamo Forni was a timber merchant, he also loved art and the ideas of humanism. He was also a painter, not for selling his art, but for his passion. Some of his paintings are scattered across the world including in the MET in NY and Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza. The room, he had used as his studio in VFC, has copies of some of his paintings (in the image below).

One of the sculputures in the Olympic Theatre of Vicenza also carries the name of Girolamo Forni - it shows a bearded man pushing a trunk of wood on the river.

Conclusions

The visit to Villa Forni-Cerati in Montecchio Montalcini was immensely satisfying mainly because of the passionate explainations of our guide, architect Francesca Grandi. The visit was supposed to last one and half hour, it lasted almost 3 hours and still, our group had so many questions to her about the history and rennovation of the building.

I think that Mr Boscardin has been wonderful in investing his money and passion in saving this beautiful building and creating the foundation to ensure its future. I hope that people will contribute to the Villa Forni-Cerato Foundation so that this work can be continued and completed.

References

1. Emund Stefan, Soul and the Golden Proportion, (https://inspirationandenlightenment.com/the-soul-and-the-golden-proportion/ )

2. The Designs of Andrea Palladio for Villa Forni Cerato (https://www.villafornicerato.it/quaderni-di-ricerca/)

3. A study of the harmony of the modules of Villa Forni Cerato (https://www.villafornicerato.it/quaderni-di-ricerca/)