L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES A lone figure is hiding in a s hack in the woods along the Po River. He carries a canvas, an easel, a bag of paints and a pained gri- mace, but he feels cocooned some way. When he looks up, his eyes bug out with madness. A rriving at the village of Gualtieri, located 15 miles from Reggio Emilia, I realize that I am surrounded by the Antonio Ligabue's Geist, ghost or spirit. The vis ionary mas ter of Naïve art was born in Zurich in 1899 from an Italian mother and unknown father, but he lived in Gualtieri since 1919. Exactly 100 years ago, he was exiled here after being expelled by Switzerland due to signs of men- tal insanity. In Gualtieri, "al Toni el matt" (Tony the madman), as he was called in the village, experienced existence between terror and ecs tas y until the moment he passed away in 1965. The products of his halluci- nated imagination are only infused into his artwork that I admire at Fondazione Museo Antonio Ligabue, in Palazzo Bentinvoglio.   The eternal objects of Anto- nio's daily life are the fog bank rolling up the legendary River, the shacks in the floodplain and the barns where he felt safe. They are the hen-houses where he talked with chickens, "trans- forming himself into them," as Cesare Zavattini recalled when working on the script of iconic TV movie Ligabue, directed in 1977 by Salvatore Nocita with the charismatic Flavio Bucci in the principal role. Italians really love that movie: it captures the contrast- ing ps ychological modes , between terror and joy, of a metamorphosis. "I found A ntonio in the woods where he lived, because he felt different and rejected and it w as not eas y to approach him," said painter Marino Maz- zacurati about their first meeting in 1929. Mazzacurati, a noted artist from La Scuola Romana helped and supported Ligabue. He gave him the tools to become a complete painter. "The F ond azione M us eo Antonio Ligabue is working on a unique exhibition on the occa- s ion of the centenary of the painter's arrival in Gualtieri," says Marcello Stecco, deputy mayor of Gualtieri and councilor for Culture and Tourism. The almost religious spell attached to the painter attracts tourists. "In the last 4 years we have welcomed 60 thousand vis- itors and it is an encouraging result," Stecco says. But another Gualtieri's big draw is the Renaissance piazza Bentinvoglio that first gave the village its fame, and for good reason.  It is so vast,  different and old, yet a symbol of rational, modern, functional planning. Gualtieri  in many respects is a meditative place, a slow travel destination off the beaten paths w here you don't have to be afraid to go out your comfort zone and challenge the explorer inside of you. The Po River flows past me. Mesmerizing, head-clearing. This charming village of 6700 inhabitants gave birth to great cos tume des igner U mberto Tirelli, whose work had a pro- found influence on the style of modern cinema. He believed that historical dramas should strive for a higher level of visual accu- racy and his costumes embodied indeed that vision. He started his theater and film costume atelier, Tirelli Costumi in Rome, in 1964 w ith tw o sewing machines, five seam- stresses, a milliner, a secretary and a driver-storeman. Tirelli called hims elf "an archaeologist of fashion." He was an avid collector of antique historical clothes, seeking them out at flea-markets , the wardrobes and attics of Rome's grandest families. In the 1960s, the Oscar win- ner costume designer Piero Tosi, who today is 91, and film direc- tor Luchino Visconti invited Tirelli to work on their master- piece Il Gattopardo (The Leop- ard), with Claudia Cardinale dis- playing a tiny w ais t in the extended ball-scene finale. Vis- conti was Tirelli's principal pro- moter later, through productions such as Death in Venice and Ludwig. Tirelli Costumi collaborated with other Italy's top directors, from De Sica and Pasolini to Fellini, Mauro Bolognini and Zeffirelli, but also with the best of American film directors. The maes tro native of Gualtieri died in 1990 but his premium atelier continues to make Oscar winning costumes. It was awarded with 17 Oscars. A mong a collection of 170,000 pieces, you can find the amazing costumes designed by Gabriella Pescucci for Martin S cors es e's  The A ge of Innocence (Oscar 1994), the costumes designed by Ann Roth for Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (Oscar 1997) and the costumes designed by Milena Canonero for Sophia Coppo- la's  M arie A ntoinette (O s car 2006). Even Mel Gibson used the Tirelli Costumi in The Pas- sion of Christ, given his absolute commitment to authenticity and realism.The current director of Tirelli Costumi, Dino Trappetti, continues to help inspire the focus, direction and application of the philosophy of the maestro Tirelli. "Mr. Trappetti loves Gualtieri as well," says Mr. Stecco.  The art donation Tirelli-Trappetti to the municipality of Gualtieri includes an important collection of paintings made by De Chirico, Balthus, Manzù, "all very close friends of Tirelli," says Stecco. "Tirelli had a special connec- tion with Gualtieri," he says. "He was a world citizen without tak- ing his heart away from his birth- place. And some of his relatives still live here." And the Gualtieresi honor his memory. Last year, marking the centennial of his birth, they com- memorated his career through a successful anthology exhibition held at Palazzo Bentinvoglio and entitled Umberto Tirelli. Ritorno a G ualtieri. "H e enjoyed to return to Gualtieri with his friend Marcello Mastroianni who lived in the Art Nouveau building at Via Pompeo Magno in Rome, historical headquarters of Tirelli Costumi. Gualtieri's Torre Civica: the town is known for its ties to naïve artist Antonio Ligabue, but also for other famous residents In Gualtieri, Antonio Ligabue was known with affection as "al Toni el Matt," Toni the madman. Photo: Studie Serre Malaspina Umberto Tirelli, costume designer for many a Hollywood production, also hails from Gualtieri MARIELLA RADAELLI Gualtieri: sediments of ar t, genius and madness on the floodplain

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