Tag: fiorella squillante

Fabulous San Giovanni a Carbonara

Posted on by alice

Fiorella: Apart from pizza and pastries, Naples is famous for archaeology and lots of Baroque…one of the many interesting contrasts of this city. And if you look hard enough, you can find gems of the Renaissance in this fabulous città d’arte.

Alice: I love the Baroque in Naples but it is so great to find those rare places that are examples of other styles. Do you have some favorite spots?

Fiorella: The church of Sant Anna dei Lombardi, the sepulcher for Cardinal Brancaccio by Donatello and Michelozzo in the church of Sant’Angelo al Nilo, the Succorpo in the Duomo and the marble arch of Castel Nuovo are some of the best but I think one of the most notable examples of the local Renaissance is the church of San Giovanni a Carbonara.

Only a few minutes walking from the Duomo and the MADRE museum, in via San Giovanni a Carbonara you find this amazing site where I lead tours to visitors who want to stay away from the typical tourists routes.

Alice: Sometimes off-the-beaten path is the best! I want to know more about Napoli Renaissance. Can we walk there together for a short guided tour? We should also specify that Carbonara has nothing to do with the famous Italian pasta dish that I love so much. However, let’s promise our readers that after the visit they can have a break at the close-by Rescigno bakery, a gluten (and not only) paradise.

Fiorella: Exactly! Carbonarius, indeed, was a place outside the city walls where refuse was collected and burned…not inviting at all.

Alice: By refuse, do you mean trash? But San Giovanni is so pretty!

Fiorella: The complex of San Giovanni was built in the 1340s in this restyled area and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. During the reign of King Ladislao di Durazzo it became the Royal cemetery. Damaged during the earthquake of 1688, it was restructured in the 18th c. by Ferdinando Sanfelice, our beloved Neapolitan architect famous for its spectacular double flight staircases.  Remember our post about the 5 Fabulous Things of Naples?

Climbing the stairs, half way up, we see the Chapel of Saint Monica with its 15 entrances. Continue up the steps-

Alice: Wait, how many steps exactly?

Fiorella: Do not complain-a fabulous surprise is waiting for you. Plus, you are a pro at stairs, I know you live on the fifth floor with no elevator! Anyway, after a little bit of a walk upstairs, you will finally reach the church of San Giovanni. So worth it. And remember we are going to Rescigno afterwards for some of the most delicious snacks ever!

The courtyard is also the entrance to the Cappella Seripando, called the chapel of Crucifix after Giorgio Vasari painted the Crucified Christ (1545) now in the presbytery of the church of San Giovanni.

Suppressed as religious order, the complex was used by military and then bombed in WWII. It was later restored and returned to its origin. The XV century portal, once a side entrance, leads into the church.

Alice: This place is fascinating. Another example of the layers of history around every corner of this city.

Fiorella: The first monument we see is the Miroballo Altar (second half of the15th c.) that reminds us of the arch of Castel Nuovo.

 

Alice: That arch is another one of my favorites as well…anyway, go on!

Fiorella: The Sepulchre of Giovanni Miroballo is a round arch, decorated with statues of saints ending with a tympanum on which St. Michael stands. The central niche, in the arch shows St. John the Evangelist by Giovanni da Nola, and the virtues: Temperance, Strength, Prudence and Justice.

In the tympanum you see the founders of the chapel with the Virgin Mary, Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. The chapel, is considered to be the work of Lombard artists. Probability Jacopo della Pila, Tommaso Malvito, G.T.Malvito and may be Pietro da Milano, in Naples to work for King Alfonso of Aragon at the Arch of Castel Nuovo which is the triumphal arch celebrating his accession to the throne.

Walking towards the altar, amongst sculptures and paintings, you reach the 15th c. Chapel of Caracciolo di Vico (to the left of the presbytery) with a concentric square marble floor and a white cupola which repeats the same geometric motif. The chapel shows the work of the most important sculptors working in Naples between the 15th and 17th c. Giovanni da Nola, Girolamo D’Auria and Annibale Caccavello amongst the others.

Bartolomé Ordóñez and Diego de Siloe are the two foreign artists who realized the altar in around 1516. Active also in Rome, they were familiar with classical sculpture and Raphael’s work. More decisive and dynamic is Ordóñez style, fluid and softer de Siloe’s. The Epiphany in the center, indeed, is attributed to Ordóñez. Here the draperies and the features of the Magi and the other characters are well defined. While Saint George who kills the dragon and the other figures dressed in light fluid drapes would seem to be by de Siloe as well as the flat sculpted Christ on the frontal altar.

Leaving this exquisite space we reach the apse where the impressive Sepulcher of King Ladislao di Durazzo dominates the scene. It was commissioned by his sister who inherited the throne as Giovanna II and it is dated 1428. On the first level of the gigantic monument are the frescoes by Leonardo da Besozzo and statues representing the Virtues with their iconographic elements: Temperance, who pours water into wine; Strength with the column of Samson; Prudence with the snake; Magnanimity who holds a shell with a cherub.

On the second level we see Ladislao and Giovanna II on the throne. At the side of them we can see Military Virtue with the globe and Hope with cupped hands and Charity with a horn of plenty and two maidens and Faith with a goblet.

There is also Giovanna the Queen who descends from a valorous brother and royalty continues on top of the arch where Ladislao’s parents, Carlo III and Margherita di Durazzo are found. Can you see the bishop blessing the king, the Madonna and child together with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Augustine, protecting him?

An opening between the statues of the Virtues leads onto the Chapel of the Caracciolo del Sole family, commissioned by Sergianni Caracciolo, lover of Queen Giovanna II.

 

Alice: Wait, a lover? Scandalous! I guess that is nothing new.

 

 

Fiorella: Yes, he was not a very faithful lover however. Appointed by the Queen as Great Seneschal, he was an ambitious man, ready to do anything in order to obtain office and riches, he betrayed even Giovanna and this eventually led to his murder in 1432.

The chapel is circular and completely frescoed (15th c.) with Stories of the Virgin’s life. Look at the scene in which St. Anna gave birth to Mary: there is a woman looking out of the window with washing hung up outside; another, on the ground floor, is cleaning a chicken.

Alice: Not much has changed in Naples in terms of the washing hanging outside although I don’t think I have ever seen anyone cleaning a chicken! Yet.

 

 

Fiorella: The fabulous floor of this chapel dates back to early 15th c. Local craftsmen created these zoomorphic motifs, vegetable elements and portraits. In some tiles, you see a sun, symbol of the Caracciolo del Sole (Caracciolo of the Sun) family.

Sergianni’s sepulcher was commissioned by his son about ten years after his assassination to celebrate the power of the Seneschal.

 

Alice: There is so much here to take in. A perfect place to wander, explore and take in art and architecture without the hustle and bustle of throngs of tourists. I am getting hungry, though…

Fiorella: Ok, ok, I know just the place to take you. But before you leave the church, take in what remains of the 15th c. fresco of the Annunciation and if it’s sunny don’t miss the little balconies next to the church with washing and a Naples-style panaro (basket) hung up outside.

 

 

Are you ready for a coffee and a Naples-style snack? You know we are not  yogurt-and-an-apple type snackers and the near-by Rescigno bakery offers a wide selection of savory and sweet treats to commit an understandable sin!

 

Alice: I mean, didn’t we earn it? All those stairs! I will take two taralli, please!

Fiorella: Just two taralli? They are so delicious but there are so many choices of wonderful things to go for. You can taste a frittatina di maccheroni (pasta and béchamel which is breaded and fried), a focaccia with so many perfect toppings to choose from. But have you tried their primi piatti?

Alice: Yes, of course! You know I love my carbs and this place has so many choices. One of my favorites first dishes at Rescigno is sartù di riso which takes a while to make but only minutes to devour. Sartù is the Neapolitan elaboration of the French word sur tout (above all). Sartù comes from when chefs created this fusion dish to please the Bourbon nobility. It is a perfect blend of ragù meat sauce, rice, and tiny meatballs (sometimes salami) and then baked with breadcrumbs to perfection. I think I will take one tarallo for the road and enjoy this amazing dish.

 

 

p.s. Thanks to Raffaele Lello Mastroianni for the photo of the Crucifix by Vasari

 

 

 

A Night At The Museum

Posted on by alice

Alice: Hey, Fiorella! What did you do yesterday?

Fiorella: Well, Alice, I was in Pompeii and Herculaneum. I think Vesuvius might have been cooler than at the Villa Dei Misteri in 98 degree heat. And you?

Alice: I also spent some time among antiquity…singing at the Archaeological Museum of Naples for their fabulous weekly summer concert series. https://www.museoarcheologiconapoli.it/it/2018/07/una-sera-al-museo-giovedi-destate-al-mann/

It was  a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to perform with Sergio Esposito in the courtyard surrounded by masterpieces of ancient art.

Fiorella: I can understand …how fabulous it must have been to have had important spectators in the crowd like the Zeus from Cuma, the Doriforo from Pompei, Afrodite from Capua and Nonio Balbo from Herculaneum….

Alice: And let’s not forget singing the blues into the eyes of the giant frog next to the the Star Wars spaceship. Ah…fabulous Naples!

Fiorella: Do you want to know something about some of the spectators from your concert?

Alice: Please! They were such a great audience!

ZEUS

The bust was found in the Forum of Cuma and dates from the 2nd c. AD. It depicts a colossal Zeus with long hair and a curly beard.
It was discovered in the Capitolium of Cuma together with the statues of Juno and Minerva.
Being an acrolith, it has no arms as the originals would have been in wood or another perishable material.

NONIO BALBO

The imposing equestrian statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus was donated by the inhabitants of Herculaneum to honour this illustrious man, who was also a benefactor and patron of the Vesuvian town. M. Nonius Balbus was praetor and proconsul of the provinces of Crete and Cyrene, tribune of the plebes in 32 BC and partisan of Ottaviano (Augustus). The head is an early-19th century work.

DORYPHOROS

During my tours at the museum, I introduce the Doryphoros to my nicest clients as my boyfriend…
This Doryphoros, possibly dating from the 1st century BC, is considered to be the best copy of the Greek bronze original by Polykleitos. It was found in Pompeii in the so-called Palestra Sannitica (Samnite Gymnasium). It most likely reminded young aristocrats of the importance of Greek culture and it represents a naked spear-bearer although the spear held by his left hand has been lost. His harmonious body follows the Greek letter X, chi, and the chiastic scheme (literary tecnique) that Polykleitos represents is noted in the body whose parts are in reciprocal opposition. Observe this symmetric body and you’ll see the X: the right arm is tensed and corresponds to the left leg which is bent, while the left bent arm corresponds to the tensed right leg.

Alice: Fabulous! I knew there was something special about him. He caught my eye as I was singing. Definitely the most handsome guy in the audience.

Fiorella: But did you notice Aphrodite?

APHRODITE

The sculpture of this graceful woman was found in Capua where it used to decorate the summa cavea (top seats) of the amphitheater which is the second largest amphitheater after the Colosseum, dating back to the beginning of the 2nd century AD. The fabulous Venus is half-naked, and her left foot stands on Ares’ helmet.
The arms are perhaps raised  to hold Ares’ shield to use it as a mirror. This beautiful lady was restored by Augusto Brunelli in 1820.

 

 

Singing The Beatles to a beautiful crowd interspersed with antiquities was nothing less than…fabulous!

 

 

Limoncello Fabulous

Posted on by alice

Recently I was staying in Procida for a few days and there was a lemon tree just begging to be picked. I added those lemons to ones from Capri my student had given me and voilà! After a few weeks I had a delicious liquer that now I need to make a second batch of because it was such a success (and quite strong). This time maybe I can use lemons from Ischia as well!

You have probably heard about limoncello, the after dinner drink that leaves your palate feeling fresh and your mood a little lighter!

How about impressing your friends with your own homemade version?

Before you fill up your house with the refreshing fragrance of the lemons, remember to only use organic, locally grown lemons (best if picked right from the tree).

In the heart of the Naples historical centre, at piazza San Gaetano you can find the Limonè factory. This family run business is a well-kept secret and you can even see how it is made while you are tasting it!

Fiorella: it is a place where I always go with my clients. I love it!

Why it is so fabulous? Apart from smelling the freshly peeled lemons by the lovely Roberta, the location of this small factory is unique. It was built on the site of the Church of San Gaetano, once the 1st-century temple of the Dioscuri in the Roman forum (formerly Greek agorà). The façade of the church shows two of the six Corinthian columns, at one time on the front of the temple and the basement of the church highlights a section of an opus reticulatum wall.

A similar structure can be seen in the factory, behind boxes, corks and glass bottles while an even older Roman well is visible in a corner of the room where the limoncello with lemons from the Phlegrean Fields is made. This place is a true gem to discover.

Alice: Fiorella, do you want to share your recipe? I am dying to try another way of making my favorite local digestive.

Fiorella: I can share my friend’s Enrico and Donatella recipe as I don’t make limoncello, I only drink it!

1 litre of pure cane alcohol

1100 ml water

600 gr sugar

You will need a large glass jar.

Peel 10 still green lemons (or 7 big ones) with a potato peeler and place them into the jar.

Avoid the white pith of the lemon skin under the yellow zest as it will make your limoncello bitter.

Add the alcohol to the jar with the lemon zest.

Cover the jar with plastic wrap and store it in a cool and dark place for 10 days

After 10 days add the sugar to the water by mixing it with a wooden or steel spoon until the sugar is fully dissolved. Strain the lemon peels from the alcohol and eliminate the peels.

Mix the sugar syrup into the glass jar with the alcohol.

Before serving your masterpiece, chill it in the freezer. Drink it. And feel fabulous.

FIVE FABULOUS THINGS OF NAPLES

Posted on by alice

Alice: Are Caravaggio, Fontanelle Cemetery, Palazzo dello Spagnolo, the Gaiola beach and the terrace of the Excelsior hotel fabulous?

Fiorella: Oh yes!

Alice: So, if I have understood correctly, the following will make your time in Napoli FABULOUS:

 

5 Fabulous Things of Naples

 

PIO MONTE DELLA MISERICORDIA – CARAVAGGIO

You are feeling charged with energy as you cross via Duomo after your coffee with a heart drizzled in hazelnut of their specialty caffè schiumato at Bar Max. The scooters whiz past you but you aren’t fazed-you are about to see one of the most important works of Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio.

You walk on the cobblestone and at the end of the stretch of Via Dei Tribunali is Castel Capuano (which was converted into a tribunal in the 16th century, where it got its name) but you don’t really pay attention. You are enchanted by the guglia di San Gennaro a baroque spire built by Cosimo Fanzago after Vesuvius eruption in 1631. The colorful painting on your left catches your eye. Could that be Caravaggio himself with one leg on a supersantos football next to San Gennaro worried instead for the unemployed Neapolitans? In this work by Roxy in the Box two heroes with a very different way of dressing are now friends.

Caravaggio was running from the law after being charged with murder in Rome but the Governors of the Pio Monte di Misericordia didn’t seem to mind. They paid him a hefty sum for Our Lady of Mercy (also known as the Seven Works of Mercy) which has now become one of the most visited artworks in Naples

Alice: You can’t take your eyes of the spectacle: realism depicted in this work is nothing short of amazing.

Fiorella: In his canvas, Caravaggio had to depict the inspirational principles of the Pio Monte and he did this by combining them in a single scene full of real characters creating the impression of a typical Neapolitan back street. The protagonists are worldly beings, highlighted by a strong light and foreshortened by shadow. The work of the Institute is narrated by figures from classical and Biblical sources together with the common people Caravaggio chose as models.

Fiorella: I want to show you something else fabulous to the painting gallery upstairs where from the little choir we can admire the Seven works of Mercy and from the window the guglia di San Gennaro

Alice: Walking out of the Pio Monte you are dazed as if you had just seen one of the best theatrical performances.

(Fiorella: Weren’t you in a live performance of this painting at the Gino Ramaglia art shop a few years back?

Alice: Yes, but I won’t tell you which character I represented! But, it was…FABULOUS.)

 

The street brings you back to life with the smells of pizza being cooked in a nearby brick oven. You are hungry but you stay with the dream but you are an adventurer and you have other things to uncover.

 

 

CIMITERO DELLE FONTANELLE

 

One thing you know to be FABULOUS is the experience of being in places which aren’t so easily explained. The electricity of the Caravaggio has left you seeking the unexpected. You’ve eaten a Fiocco di Neve at Poppella whose light, airy ricotta cream has prepared you for the excursion to a cemetery. This is no ordinary cemetery; the place, cool all year with ceilings looming with spectacle. You think to yourself “how macabre, how dark” but you want to know more. Stepping into the cave which has acted as a cemetery vault for three hundred and fifty years, you feel like you are entering another dimension. Although the bones and shallow graves are of unknown people, there is nothing anonymous about this place. Candles are lit as if family members are showing devotion to the remains of their beloveds long before passed. Devotion: a word that can be used to describe Neapolitans in their love for their football team, the sea, pizza and Totò. Devotion can also be used to describe the practice of “adopting” bones of unknown human remains in this ossuary made of tuff. Although abolished in 1969, the seemingly maintained alters to skulls with no names might indicate otherwise. And was that a Barbie doll laying prettily in front of one of the piles of bones? You pause to think of all that has come before, of the reasons behind this practice. You pause again because your stomach has started to rumble, almost audible among all the people murmuring about the spectacle. Though you might feel a little strange about the timing, being that you are surrounded by bones, dolls, bus tickets and coins to pay the trip to the afterworld, all you can think about is pizza. On the way to this marvelous haven of Neapolitan folklore, you passed Concettina ai Tre Santi and can’t get the delicious smell of warm fior di latte and bubbling tomatoes sauce out of your head. And, hey, this is FABULOUS Naples, the city of light and dark. This contrast between life and death, old Barbies and pizza, is what makes this city unforgettable.

 

Alice: I heard there is a fabulous palace around here that has been a set for many TV shows and films.

Fiorella: Nothing fabulous ever escapes you! Oh yes, you have to see the staircase of Palazzo dello Spagnolo! Let’s go.

 

PALAZZO DELLO SPAGNOLO

 

You are looking for something decadent and elegant after the mystery of Cimitero delle Fontanelle and find it in this late-Baroque-style private residence known for its double ramp staircase. The Palace was started by architect Fedinando Sanflice in 1738 for the Marchese Nicola Moscati. The interior is a soft, stuccoed, eclectic, complex and fabulous scenography. Why is it called the Spaniard (lo Spagnolo)? Because part of it was sold to the nobleman Tommaso Atienza who called it Lo Spagnolo. Even if in the 19th century it was bought by the Costa family, it has maintained its name. You try to pronounce it and revel in your tenacity of pronouncing such a beautiful name. You love those Italian vowels!

You remember that building with a similar staircase we saw on the way to Lo Spagnolo, looking spookily similar to Palazzo dello Spagnolo. Ten years before Sanfelice started on this marvel, he had already built his own palazzo in the same area. His peculiar courtyard and staircase are rundown and it’s quite sad to read above the entrance: Ferdinando Sanfelice patrizio napoletano, per la straordinaria salubrità del luogo, costrui questa casa dalle fondamenta. Fu lui il progettista, curatore e proprietario dell’opera. Anno del Salvatore 1728.(Ferdinando Sanfelice Patrician of Naples, for the extraordinary healthiness of the place, built this house from the ground up. He was the designer, curator and owner of the work. Year of the Saviour 1728) After all of this history, you decide to grab a glass of wine at one of the great vinerias down below before heading to get a pizza at one of the best places in town. They let the dough rise for over a day and the fresh mozzarella and basil, some of the signature tastes of this city, are a perfect way to get to know this neighborhood full of life and excitement.

Alice: Fiorella, I know you know somewhere incredible to see the natural landscape of this enchanting place. Any ideas?

Fiorella: Yes! Naples can also be the place for a swim or simply a walk on the cliffs. Let’s go to FABULOUS Posillipo!

Alice: How to get there?

Fiorella: Taxi! Worth it for a ride to this “respite from worry” corner of paradise (Pausilypon in Greek is rest from pain)

 

GAIOLA

 

You are ready for some sea air, crystal waters and cliffs of Tuff. This is such an incredible change from being in the bustle of heart of the Sanita’. You find The Archaeological Park of Gaiola to be an unique combination of nature and archaeology in this busy city! Even though it is best to go early in the morning, you are so happy to be here in the afternoon. Because it is Summer you brought your ID as only 100 people are allowed to swim in this corner of Paradise. Here with a simple mask you see several species of fish, seaweed and the remains of opus reticolatum walls belonging to the villa of Publius Vedius Pollio. How incredible to see the nature of the sea and ancient history together? Where else can you do something like this? Born in the 1st century BC Vedius Pollio attained authority in Asia on behalf of Emperor Augustus and built his amazing estate called Pausilypon here. Known for his cruelty, he died in 15 BC and left his villa to Augustus. The Seiano cave, the Odeon and the theatre are only some of the ruins of this fabulous estate surrounded by tuff cliffs and vegetation. You look out to the water and wonder about the rest of it lying underwater. The unpredictable bradyseism has changed the sea level so we can only dream about the rest of the magic below. With Capri in front of you, embraced by Vesuvius and Capo Posillipo, you are not surprised that the Dutch painter Anton Sminck Pitloo started the School of Posillipo here . Pitloo and the other artists anticipated the French Impressionism in painting outdoors with natural lighting the marine shore and landscapes from this area. You had no idea this rich history of art existed in this ancient, breathtaking place. Oh how you love breathing in this adventure.

You have felt like you have had such a great day exploring the city and are ready to end your day with something… fabulous. It’s time to go to the Terrazza.

Fiorella: Alice, you really know how to live elegantly!

Alice: Would you expect anything else? I mean, this city knows how to wine and dine any kind of tourist but the Excelsior is one of the best places I know for a drink.

 

 

HOTEL EXCELSIOR-TERRAZZA BAR

 

 

This place got its name from its incredible terrace, which has views that stretch from Vesuvius to Posillipo. You feel like you are going back in time after walking onto the terrace. White, ornate furniture is placed among the jasmine flowers on the terrace which overlooks Castel dell’Ovo. The sun is beginning to set and the waiters are so kind and easy going that you decide to take a look around the bigger part of the terrace lined with flowers and plants. You could take a picture or rather one hundred but you prefer to take in the view of the pinks and oranges of the sky as you hear the sound of the seagulls over the water. People bustle below you as you sip your perfectly chilled glass of Falanghina as you reflect on your adventure. Here in this paradise overlooking this ancient bay, you can step away from all of the excitement to take in the beauty, the pure exquisiteness of this city that has left you forever enchanted.