Day 15- Caserta for Dessert-a!

Stairway up to the first floor of the Reggia

Woke up in my mini-stateroom  at the Tropicana B&B, brand new and totally anonymous, and went down to the coffee place to pay the bill and leave my bags while I went to see the Reggia. The Reggia Caserta was the royal palace built for the Bourbon king Charles VII (aka Carlos III of Spain) who was a descendent of the Farnese family. It was the largest palace of the time and is still the largest palace by volume in all of Europe, larger than Versailles. The tour of the interior that I took was a half of one of the floors, (of which there are 4) and it was 60 highly decorated state rooms. There are over 1,200 rooms in the Palace, though not all of them are decorated. The palace has never been abandoned, passing from the Bourbons to the Savoy family, and was used in WWII as the Italian Air Force Academy, later the Allied command HQ in Italy, and eventually served as the location where  Germany officially gave up on its control of the country. Today it still houses the Air Force, another school, and the museum

Ground level hallways at the Palace are absolutely enormous!

On entering, you come into these immense passages which served as carriage routes under the building. The scale is stunning- it's a bit like being under a modern bridge or a freeway. After a few passageways you come to the main staircase leading up to the piano noblile- the main floor- which is only one flight up, but what a flight! The stairs are set at a very regal pitch; somewhere around a 6" height with at least twice that in depth- a very relaxed climb so that you wouldn't break a sweat in your layers of crinoline and velvet. This was the stairway they used as a palace for Queen Amidala in Star Wars Episode One, and it is surreal- I'd say it's the biggest stairs I've ever been on- at least for one floor! Of course it's lined with marble carved with all sorts of ornamental trophies and statues.

Main staircase coming from the ground up to the First floor- cue Natalie Portman!

At the top of the stairs is a gigantic rotunda with triangular piers, followed by the entry to the first room of the tour: the Royal Chapel. Again lined with marble, it seems to be afflicted with some type of corrosive problem, with large chunks fallen out for inexplicable reasons. Then into the first of the decorated rooms, one of five reception rooms leading to the throne room, where one might hope for an audience with the powers that be. You can pretty easily imagine the bewigged and dressed up aristocrats making their way through these rooms along with the occasional bedazzled regular Giuseppe gawking (just like me) at the spectacular show of wealth and power. The whole palace is in the neoclassical style of ornament, with plaster, gilt, stone, murals, and unusual painted terra cotta floors that are in remarkable shape for their age. Although it is pretty consistent in style, it's actually decorated over a fairly long time frame- maybe 60 years or so, from the late 1700's to the middle of the 1800's. The rooms still contain quite a bit of furniture from the time, which adds to the time capsule effect.

Egyptian Neo-Classical clock and table, with chairs covered in needlepoint

There were some great models of the rooms that were done by architect Luigi Vanvitelli to show the King how the palace would look, and there are also models of what would be their equivalent of amusement park rides- some that would not look at all out of place in a modern park, other then being constructed out of wood! There was also an elevator, built in 1845, and a couple of drop-dead beautiful baby rockers that were tours de force of wood carving and inlay. As you round the sixth corner you catch sight of the full run of one side of the building, which seems to disappear into haze after about the 10th or 15th room. They must have needed livery just to get from one end of the house to another!

Model for an amusement park style ride with boats and towers that would probably have been built for a one-time spectacle and then dismantled. 

 There are 3 rooms of library in sequence, and I was drooling at the giant elephant portfolios of 19th century prints of Pompeii and elsewhere, all of them beautifully bound in leather and languishing unadored by me! Poor things! After taking as many pics of the place as I could (832, to be precise) I got some lunch in the very decent basement cafe, then headed out the back door to explore the gardens. Modeled on the Palace at Versailles, the gardens are on the same scale as the palace- i.e., absolutely immense! A series of very long fountains stretches along a central axis up to the nearby hills, terminating in an artificial cascade.

View from the top of the cascade looking back at the Reggia Caserta, way off in the haze. 

It was pretty hot out in the afternoon sun down the middle of the garden, so I quickly veered off to one side, where dense woods were penetrated by paths and clearings, with a few small fountains and some really lovely meadows of uncut hay that gave way onto long cross-cutting vistas that ended with a cypress tree or other feature. I paused for a bit to watch swallows swooping through the field, and I was the only person it that area. It was transcendent. I rejoined the main alleè at an English style fountain surrounded by roses, then walked up the first of several terraces that climb the hill, each one terminated by a variety of large fountains. There were sea gods, gods of wind, Venus and her coterie, and finally, two groups of statues portraying poor Acteon and the vengeful Diana, who, enraged at being spied (accidentally) at her bath, turned the hunter Acteon into a stag, whereupon he was ripped apart by his own hounds. Very sad!

Diana and her maidens prepare to destroy poor old Acteon just for spotting her in the bath!

Above that I climbed up to the top of the cascade, which gave a great view of the whole park and the surrounding area, including some other castles and stone quarries, and then I explored the English style garden, which had an awesome nymphaeum folly and all kinds of specimen trees. By the time I got back to the exit I figure I must have walked at least 3 or 4 miles, just in the park. Then I noticed the bikes I could have rented to explore the garden a bit quicker- oops! Got back to my room, retrieved my bags, hoofed on down to the station to find I'd missed the early train I'd hoped for and that my only real option was to backtrack to Naples and take a fast train from there, for twice as much money. I was a little irritated about that, but it turned out to be quite a ride on the bullet train, hitting 300 kph several times, and the trip that took us 3 hours plus on the regular train was just over and hour and a quarter. Got down to Darius and Erica's digs in Campo di Fiori again, and ended another fine day out in Italy.

Artificial ruin of a nymphaeum in the English garden at Caserta

Classical Traditions Conference 2014

The Mormon Tabernacle, as seen from the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg

Just returning from a whirlwind visit to Salt Lake City to participate in the first Classical Traditions Conference, a gathering of architects, artists, designers and other professionals interested in the design and execution of places and spaces that are built to last and connected to the heritage of Western design that stretches back at least to the Greeks. It was associated with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, a group to which I belong, and was organized by Robert Baird, a passionate Utahan and member of a dynastic family that owns one of the finest metal casting companies in America. The event brought together numerous luminaries in the varied fields represented, including keynote speaker Quinlan Terry, an English architect who has been in the forefront of a growing resurgence of classical architecture in Britain and abroad.

Mr. Quinlan Terry in sartorial resplendence. Photo by Christine Franck

My involvement was prompted by my friend Domiane Forte, an architect and artist who graduated from the Notre Dame architecture program when it was the only place in the U.S. to study classical traditions (it has since been joined by a growing number of small programs as students have sought a more substantive design instruction.)  We were charged with creating a large (7'4" by 11', a 2x3 ratio at Dom's insistence!) charcoal drawing that would reflect the traditions of architecture and art in both Utah and outward. We were joined by Dom's friend Matt McNicholas, a Chicago architect who shares my enthusiasm lust for all things ornamental.

Matt, myself, and Domiane as we began to get the structure of our drawing filled in. Photo by Christine Franck

When we arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, I couldn't imagine how I would fill my days before the actual drawing process began on Friday. Ha! From the moment we arrived, we were taken straight to the studio of Jeff Cobabe, a local furniture maker and artist, who graciously allowed us to use his space to set up our large easel and do a test run of the drawing. It quickly was apparent that there would be very little spare time for us, as the prep and method were critical, since we would be doing this live in front of an audience of about 250 highly trained fellow practitioners. We did not want to trip up in public, thus we very carefully mapped out our image on a practice sheet of (photo drop) paper, going through the elements of the perspective view of the Utah State Capitol and the central panel of a variety of allegorical figures set in a triumphal arch.

A view of the interior of the Utah State Capitol. Photo courtesy Christine Franck

By the end of the second day, after working until about 10 pm, we felt like we had a pretty good handle on things, and I was able to opt in on the bus tour that was a part of the convention's offerings. Spent a great day, starting at Historical Arts and Casting, the Baird family's legacy, which as its name suggests, creates very fine ornamental elements in a variety of metals. I love industrial places, and this one did not disappoint, with roaring furnaces, molten streams of smoking metal, and stacks of beautiful completed pieces done with style and fine finish.

The glowing crucible at Historic Arts and Casting

We also got to tour the studio of Ed Fraughton, a sculptor who has created the largest bronze sculpture set in the world, and 1-1/4 scale pioneers' wagon train that stretches 5 blocks long in Omaha Nebraska. We got a fascinating glimpse into his creative process, with models, drawings, and full scale maquettes on display. After that we had lunch at the headquarters of Kepco+, a large stone contractor that was responsible for the exterior makeover of the State Capitol, an amazing process that we saw in a short video while we ate.

Clay model made by Ed Fraughton for his large bronze sculpture of pioneers crossing the plains.

We returned to the center of town to take a look at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, built in 1910 as the Utah Hotel, and saved from the wrecking ball in 1993 by a group of determined preservationists who became the core of the local interest in classical and traditional building arts. As the name of the building would indicate, the Church of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) have a strong influence on almost every aspect of business in Utah, and they were deeply involved in creating this event. They are poised to be a major influence also on the wave of interest in this type of building, with an ambitious program of temple construction around the world, and a growing interest within their ranks in the classical style.

Elaborate Ionic order in the lobby of the Jos Smith bldg, formerly the Utah Hotel.

For the rest of the tour, we re-boarded the bus and saw a number of residential and commercial landmarks, including the ZCMI, claimed to be the world's first department store, which featured a cast iron facade, the restoration of which was the genesis of Historical Arts. We returned to the site of the convention, a five diamond hotel called the Grand America, where everyone except us (no comment!) was staying. It lived up to its moniker, with luxurious marbles and furniture throughout, and some of the best convention food I've ever eaten! Made us feel like the low rent cousins with our (actually perfectly acceptable) Hampton Inn lodgings.

Detail of the cast iron facade of the ZCMI building, recently restored

Dom was sweating bullets that evening as the set up of our stage began, getting a late start, and, as usually happens at these things, a seeming lack of co-ordination between the hotel, the helpers, and the hosts. As I predicted, the next morning everything was in order and ready to go, though our own process was delayed while Mr Terry began his presentation on the current state of classicism in architecture, something about which he knows a great deal! Finally we were able to take the stage and begin our drawing.

The tabula rasa waiting for our loving lines!

As we were laying out our initial perspective lines and a few verticals, most people were simply mystified, having not been told anything about what we were going to create. After about an hour of working the framework of it began to emerge, and we heard from many that it was a (nice) distraction from the presentations that were going on simultaneously just to our right. By lunchtime much of our linear work was completed, so as the crowd reassembled we began to shade it, using block charcoal to map out shadows and give the composition depth and glow. We heard later that several people gasped when we began that stage, as it looked like we were wiping out the drawing, but we maintained the linear aspect as we went along.

Domiane and Matt at about the halfway point, with linear work still showing between the shaded sides

From our vantage, it was also very distracting having the presentations going on there, not because they were annoying, but because we wanted to better see what they were showing as they spoke. It took all my effort not to lay down my pencils and go see the slides from Marc Appleton, John Canning, and especially Alexander Stoddart, whose droll Scottish delivery kept us in stitches even if we couldn't see his images. As someone said there, "Sandy could read out the telephone book listings and keep us entertained."

Sandy explicates William Holman Hunts "Scapegoat" (1854) in his imitable way

As the first day came to a close, we felt good enough about our progress to break off and go to the reception held at the McCune mansion, a hillside house completed in 1901. Every aspect of this house is a finely crafted masterpiece, from the brickwork niches and spectacular quarter sawn oak panels in the entry, to the top floor ballroom dense with scagliola columns, ceiling murals, and copious ornamental details in every corner. Illuminating to compare this gem of craftsmanship and siting with many of the ponderous and shoddily built contemporary homes that one sees commonly around our urban centers.

Very fine cast bronze details at the McCune Mansion.

Besides the slide show presentations that were in the main rooms, there were also displays by practitioners and schools from around the country, such as the Beaux-Arts Academy in NYC (where I
went last January for their "Winterim" intensive) and the American College of the Building Arts, where my good friend Patrick Webb now teaches. It heartening to see students from all the schools represented here have the opportunity to meet and chat.

Display of student work from the Beaux-Arts Academy in New York

The next morning we huddled and mapped out an approach to finishing off our project as we listened again to the speakers and attempted to keep our eyes on the drawing in front of us. By lunchtime we were getting close to done, and we began to take short breaks to look at it from the back of the room to find areas that might need a bit more attention, making our finishing touches in between the final speakers. Our own Matt McNicholas was one of the last speakers to go on, giving a rousing sprint through the importance of ornament in architecture, and its "fractal" aspect, i.e. the power it has to focus our attention as we get closer and closer, giving both direction and meaning to surface and space.

As was noted by more than one person, the number of people watching the presentations at the end was just as many as has started, indicating the level of interest of both the speakers and those attending. Former ICAA president Richard Cameron capped off the event with his plan to push for the re-creation of New York's Penn Station, an ambitious project which, if realized, would create a momentous return of neo-classical architecture to the mainstream of America.

Richard Cameron, photo by Christine Franck

As an exciting climax to the event, it was decided (after numerous whispered offers) to auction our drawing off to the highest bidder, the proceeds of which would go to furthering classical artistic education. Now I had suggested $1,000 as an opening bid, but it was opened at $5,000, and very quickly shot up through the teens and into the 20's! Bidding slowed as it reached the upper 30's, and when the dust had settled, a whopping 43,000 dollars had taken it, donated by Richard Driehaus, a long time supporter of the ICAA.  The response to our demonstration drawing was so strong in fact, that we have decided to repeat the feat. More on this exciting development very soon.

Matt, Dom and I in front of our completed drawing.

We felt a bit like rock stars as the presenters and ourselves mounted the stage to receive beautiful bronze commemoratives created by Historic Arts for the occasion. The biggest reward however was to have had the opportunity to meet with the other artists in this field and share our enthusiasm for the hard work and study involved in reviving this far from dormant approach to art and architecture. It very much felt like being at the birth of a new (old) movement, and the excitement of this event will resonate for many years I'm sure.

Presentation of the awards, photo courtesy Christine Franck.

Museo Correr photo set up on Flickr

Just posted a big old hunk of photos of the Museo Correr in Venice today. 137 High Res shots of mostly the interiors. Had to be sneaky or there would have been a lot more!

Ornamental detail from the Coffee Shop area.

Day 20 - Orvieto!

Day 20! - Orvieto

Loads of great surprises today. From our palatial little condo we headed out to check out the Orvieto Underground tour first thing. First thing being around noon today! The underground tour was fascinating- led by a young German musician who had a passion for his subject that someone who grew up here might not. There are over 1200 caves under Orvieto, which is on a built on a a big plug of fairly soft volcanic tufa that's easy to carve out. Some of them go back to Etruscan times (before 500 BC). They were used for all kinds of things, except actually living in them- they're too cold and damp.

These were dove nests dug into the tufa under the  city. In hard times they could eat both the eggs and the birds. Cheaper than chickens since they go get their own food. The stairs went up to the owners quarters.

We then got into more Etruscan stuff in a whole variety of little museums near the Duomo. In the Archeological Museum, we were having fun looking at various artifacts that had been dug up in the Necropolis that's just outside the walls of the town, when a curator beckoned us to come with her and flipped the lights on in two rooms of original Etruscan frescoes that had been moved there from another site. WOW- I just wish I'd been able to take some photos. They were far beyond anything I thought of as Etruscan in their sophistication. Elegant figures and scenes of a feast in a triclinium (Roman era dining room). Very cool!

Lots of Etruscan terra cotta artifacts in the museums- including several gorgon heads like this. This would have been on the peak of the roof to ward off evil spirits. About 500 BC

Hopped upstairs to another museum (these were all pretty empty- seems the tourists only know about the Duomo and the gelateria) and saw some great bits that had been removed from the church over the years and replaced with copies. Cool to see these up close and personal, also a great black and white room by Luca Signorelli (?). 

Little fun poked at the choir director? 

Went through the sottopassagio (underpass) of the rear of the cathedral, which is full of the antique tools used for repairs and some bits and pieces of things to be worked on, including a pair of 40 foot high doors (amazing when you see these lying on their sides!) Finally entered the main cathedral from the side aisle, and, just as we do in all of these monstrous spaces, we gasped. 

Organ in the Duomo. Half expect to see ghosts emerging from the pipes as they are played!

This one is very similar to the Siena Duomo in the use of alternating bands of dark green and white stone, plus it has two amazing alae (side wings). One side is painted in the 1350's, the other side was begun by Fra Angelico in 1447, and later finished by Luca Signorelli starting in 1499. I had forgotten that this exquisite work is here- it's one of my favorite pieces of ornamental art (and the murals aren't bad either!) 

Awesome grottesca work by Luca Signorelli in the Orvieto Duomo

At this point Marianne was about to pass out (I don't know how she keeps up with me- I am truly obsessive about this stuff in a way that no human should be) so we headed back to our luxicon for some snacks. Decided to head out again around 5 so we went to the other Archeological museum (gotta love a town of 6,000 residents that has more than one archeological museum!) Man was I glad we did!! Besides having an outstanding collection of more Etruscan pottery and artifacts, it was also set in a killer neo-classical painted palazzo directly across from the Duomo. Totally unexpected treat!

The Faina museum has great Etruscan art set in a gorgeous neo-classical palazzo

We stayed there til it closed, then moseyed over (most everything in this town is within about a 2 block radius) to the Torre del Moro, a clocktower in the middle of town. Climbed up and got a great view of the town and the surrounding countryside, aided by the fact that Orvieto is on a very high plateau so you really see a long way. It was getting later (6 pm to be precise- which I know because the bell went off right next to us- practically jumped over the parapet it was so loud!) We thought about how many different costumes you might have seen looking down from that tower over the years since it was built in the 13th century.

on top of the Torre del Moro

Wow- this post is getting really long, but you said you liked it! 

Ok- here's the frosting on the cake, and then I'll shut up. After the tower, we walked down the main street to check out the opera theater, which we had seen signs for. The lobby looked really promising, with ornament that looked a lot like the stuff at the neo-classical palazzo we'd been in earlier. Paid the two euro to visit and the disinterested barmaid sort of said- "it's over there, help yourselves" (of course she said it in Italian, so it sounded much more romantic, but bored nonetheless.) We had the place totally to ourselves and discovered not only a great main ceiling and stage curtain, but also 3 or 4 banquet rooms that were spectacularly painted with all kinds of fabulous ornament. Yet another unexpected dazzler.

Spectacular interior of the Teatro Mancinelli

440 new pics today, that should be enough. See ya! 

PS- in case you can't get enough of this stuff (you must be really bored at work!) I'll probably post another one just about the art over on art+works.