Off-path Italy: Sauris

Sauris (435 inhabitants) is one of the small jewels of Carnia in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, the most north-eastern region of Italy. It is at the end of a very secluded yet beatiful alpine valley and even today it is not so easy to reach it.

Between 1500 and 1800 it was a main pilgrimage destination for people from the Repubblica Veneta because of the relics of St. Oswald , King of Northumbria, which was credited of thaumaturgical properties.

Why to visit Sauris today:

• great walks in a breathtaking nature;
• skiing during winter;
• tasting of artisanal cheese and ricotta directly in the "Malghe", the shepherd's small buildings amidst the mountain pastures;
• great craftsmen (carpentry and weavery);
• warm hospitality in hotels, farms, B&B and mountain shelters;
• a nice artisanal beer
• and above it all the unique smoked ham you can find at Prosciuttificio Wolf. It is a very particular ham that you can find only in Sauris.

Links:

• http://www.sauris.com/english/default.asp - A lot of informations
• http://www.wolfsauris.it/ - The smoked ham of Sauris
• http://www.zahrebeer.com/ - The local beer (only in Italian)
• http://www.legnostileplozzer.com/ - Carpentry (only in Italian)

Going to Canossa

In Italy "Andare a Canossa" ("Going to Canossa") is used to describe a humiliating and total capitulation to your worst enemy. It dates back to an XI century episode when Emperor Henry IV humiliated himself doing penance in front of the Castle of Canossa to obtain the cancelation of his excommunication from Pope Gregory VII. Being forgiven by the Pope was the only hope for Enrico IV to keep his throne. You can read the whole story on Wikipedia.

It is interesting to note that appearance wins over substance all the time in news. This episode is remembered as a spectacular win by the Pope so much that it became a proverb in Italy. But when you look at it from an historical viewpoint, the winner was the Emperor. Gregory VII was obliged to remove his excommunication and he was not happy at all about it. In fact, that episode reversed the tide. Since that moment the power of the Emperor started to raise again and that of the Pope to decline. Very few years later Henry IV had a strong grasp on his throne again and he invaded Rome. Pope Gregorio VII had to call Robert the Guiscard from France to be saved and he died as his "guest" in Salerno, after that Robert's troops sacked Rome in 1084.

The paleolithic mother of bellydance of Addaura Caves

I discovered about Addaura Caves by chance. Their graffiti dates back to Paleolithic and are most fascinating.

They are told to be the first historical representation of a "bellydance":

Belly dancing may have originated as a fertility ritual. 17,000 year-old rock engravings found in the caves of Addaura, near Palermo in Sicily, depict what appears to be a ritual fertility dance.

[From http://www.bellydancebysasha.com/the_belly_dance.html]

But there is much more:

The Addaura's caves (called anciently Allaura) are the most ancient human presence in the gulf of Mondello. The Graffiti discovered in the caves were traced 14.000 years ago by artists who for the first time in the world showed us their tribal activities. The caves, of marine origin, are situated on the north side of Mount Pellegrino under a rocky part of the mountain where there is the sound of birds and a beautiful view.

The caves are divided into 2 parts: the first one is on the west side where there is a small cavity and two caves called "first" and "second"; in the second part there is another small cave, and the "third" cave also called Caprara. This last one, which is the biggest cave, is formed by a particular cavern of stalactite, never inhabited by man, and by a huge cave which has been used as a stable, now empty of its archaeological remains, where there are some traces of fossils also of Elephas melitensis.

On the oriental wall of the "second" cave there are the famous graffiti composed by thirty figures, seventeen humans and thirteen animals. The animals, almost all equines, are designed in naturalistic style, some with realistic vivacity and others with a schematic design. The most beautiful one is a horse without a head, instead the most complete one is represented by a mare. The Addaura's fauna is also represented by deers. As the style, also the incision technique of the graffiti changes: all of the figures' incisions are thin except the deer designed with a deeper incision, similar to the human figures. It is difficult to understand the meaning of these designs which probably represent something ritual. The graffiti are divided in three pictures different one from another. In the biggest one there are two young naked humans performing acrobatic dances, surrounded by other seven figures. All the characters have long hair and masks of birds. Some studious think that this design symbolizes rites of puberty or of prison.

The second picture represents a deer with a naked hunter with long hair and a strange mask. The third picture has three figures: a female one with a big object on the shoulder and two male ones.

The Addaura's graffiti represent Palaeolithic art and are the most interesting of the world.

[From http://www.addaura.it/engl/cultura.html]

The Italian-American Feastman

Some times ago I published a twit about the awesome work of Paul Porcelli, a New Jersey's gentleman I was lucky enough to be introduced to by mutual friends. He has traveled the United States on an endeavor to capture and preserve all of the remaining Saint celebrations of Italian communities. They were about 3,000 one century ago and they are a little more than 300 now. He filmed 314 of them already. That means hudreds of hours of professional footage. And a few vintage clips. And about 3,600 photos.

Paul is working at a DVD and a book. I think he knows just everything about those feasts. At least this is the impression that I received listening at his comment during a private preview of his "When the Saints Come Marching Out", a 75-minute demo movie, which shows the astonishing variety of Italian-American feasts.

He said he is available for presentation, so, with his authorization, here it is his e-mail address: IAFeastman@yahoo.com. Contact him!

Last week's tweets

The tasty Colonnata Lard became famous because of Michelangelo. He learned about it from workers of marble quarries for his masterpieces.

9:12 AM Apr 27th from TweetDeck

How old promissory notes are? Baldo degli Ubaldi (Perugia 1327- Pavia 1400) wrote the first historically known legal advice about them.

9:48 AM Apr 28th from TweetDeck

Hippies did not invent Free Love: in 1346 Meco del Sacco's followers fled to Furore (Amalfi Coast) because accused of such heresy

9:04 AM Apr 29th from TweetDeck

The small town of Barolo is famous not only for its wine. Look at this wonderful picture of its hot hair balloons meeting http://tr.im/k4Wf

9:31 AM Apr 30th from TweetDeck

If you wish to understand italian reality right after WW2, you have to read the humorous novels of Giovannino Guareschi http://tr.im/kbwA

10:49 AM May 1st from TweetDeck

Do you love Italian design, architecture, art and culture? Ultrafragola is your web-tv: http://tr.im/kgXs Many interviews are in English.

8:55 AM May 2nd from TweetDeck