|
The old artistic tradition of Versilia regarding in particular visual arts is strongly connected to the resources of the territory and it has created a unique artistic style which reveals at best their expression.
If on one hand the extraction of metals, in constant demand since prehistory, forgiato such craftsmanship as to bring to Versilia great sculptors such as Igor Mitoraj, Jean Michel Folon or Fernando Botero, the workmanship of marble has experienced many ups and downs because of economic factors
Marble culture was already deep-rooted in the area owing to the skill of local artists and starting from 1500 it was greatly boosted by Pope Leone X who encouraged Florentine rule over Pietrasanta. Economic growth followed and attracted celebrities such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Niccolo Pericoli, a Florentine architect and engineer, then Ammannati, late Mannerist sculptor, scholar of Sansovino who worked in Rome, and Giambologna who also fostered local artisans such as the sculptor Stagio Stagi.
From the 1500 the spread of marble trade, influenced the whole territory creating new economic and social conditions wich influenced architecture, until then solely dedicated to religious and military buildings
While in the Middle Ages numerous parish churches full of sculptures and valuable frescoes flourished, around 1500 the construction of many villas began, among which the Medici Palace in Seravezza, with its apex in the first two decades of 1900. It was then that a consistant part of farmland was turned into aristocratic mansions surrounded by huge parks. Examples of this are the 'Villa Borbone delle Pianore', whose central body was originally a mill and the villa 'Versiliana', commissioned by Marianna Ginori Lisci Digerini Nuti in 1886.
from this period on the Versilia went through a new artistic movement encomnpassing the fields of literature, music, theater and architecture. These flourished in the Twenties with the construction of villas and buildings with a new architectural concept Liberty this period was inspired by the combination between different artistic techniques often having fascinating outcomes as shown by the architectural lines of the 'Stoes Duilio 48', or the evocative art deco style of the Gran Caffè Margherita or even of Villa Gori.
It's a period of great artistic turmoil not only for figurative arts and architecture but also for poetry and music. Giosuè Carducci, one of the main Italian poets, was born in Versilia in 1835 and Puccini, while living in his villa in Torre del Lago composed his 'Madama Butterfly' in 1904 as well as other great operas.Madam Butterfly, Thomas Mann used to spend his holidays in Forte dei Marmi , while D'annunzio, who fell in love with the area, wrote the 'Alcyone'contributing in making Versilia a place of artistic imagery and cultural location. The ceramics of the Manufacture Chini, the sculptor Lorenzo Viani, the painters Plinio Nomellini and Max Klinger as well as the photographer Mario Nunes Vais, outline the characters of the new lifestyle in Versilia
Today, if on one hand the old artistic traditions have renewed themselves in the handicraft workshops in Pietrasanta, contemporary art of Versilia continues its great expansion. Renowned artists such as Botero, Moore, Pomodoro or Cascella are closely connected with the resources of the territory. At the same time, the tradition of the great festivals is still alive, such as the 'Festival Pucciniano' in Torre del Lago and the ' Versiliana Festival ' at Marina di Pietrasanta.
|
Architecture and Art in Versilia
