L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano I n t h e o u t s k i r t s o f C a p a n n o r i , a quaint village in the Tuscan countryside not far from Lucca, in the beautiful park sur- r o u n d i n g V i l l a C a r r a r a , there is a 600 years old oak, so famous and so distincti- ve that it is officially reco- gnized as a national land- m a r k b y t h e I t a l i a n G o v e r n m e n t a n d i t e v e n appears as a reference on NATO maps. T h i s a n c i e n t , m a j e s t i c exemplar of quercus robur, or common oak, is legenda- rily known as the Quercia d e l l e S t r e g h e : t h e W i t c h e s ' O a k . W i t h i t s almost 50 feet in height, a t r u n k o f a b o u t 1 3 f e e t i n diameter and, most astoni- s h i n g l y , a c r o w n o f m o r e than 130 feet, this incredi- ble tree is the second in size i n t h e w h o l e o f T u s c a n y . The fact its branches deve- loped in width rather than in height is at the origins of its name: indeed, old tales say that the peculiar shape of the tree is due to how, in the old days, witches used to dance atop its branches, causing them to squat and develop horizontally rather than vertically. T h e W i t c h e s ' O a k i s famous in the literary world for one very special reason: it's believed to have inspi- red — and to be part of — one of Italy's most famous n o v e l s , P i n o c c h i o , b y C a r l o C o l l o d i . Legends s a y t h a t C o l l o d i h a d t h e h a b i t , w h i l e w r i t i n g h i s masterpiece, to sit under it and seek inspiration, and that he payed tribute to the t r e e b y m a k i n g i t p a r t o f s o m e o f t h e n o v e l ' s m o s t f a m o u s s c e n e s , n a m e l y , when Pinocchio meets the Cat and the Fox and, then, when he gets into troubles with a couple of evil assas- sins. The oak is also at the center of one of the Bl ue F a i r y ' s m o s t s p e c t a c u l a r i n t e r v e n t i o n s , w h e n s h e saves poor Pinocchio from an untimely death by han- ging from the old oak's very branches. For all these rea- sons, the tree is also known as the Quercia di Pinocchio, or "Pinocchio's oak." There are also some geo- graphical hints to show the o a k i n P i n o c c h i o i s t h e Witches' Oak. The tree is on the way joining Collodi — t h e b i r t h p l a c e o f C a r l o ' s m o t h e r — a n d L u c c a , b y m a n y b e l i e v e d t o b e t h e inspiration for the famous p a e s e d e i b a l o c c h i ( o r Candy Land) of the novel. More precisely, Collodi (the w r i t e r ) m a y h a v e h a d i n mind the famous Settembre Lucchese, when the city is animated by food fairs and events, a well established tradition, popular already in his times. In the novel, it is quite clear that Pinocchio " m e e t s " t h e o a k w h e n o n h i s w a y t o t h e P a e s e d e i Balocchi, or, if we follow the theory above mentio- ned, to Lucca, thus reinfor- cing the idea that the old tree in the novel is, indeed, the witches' tree. B u t t h e Q u e r c i a d e l l e Streghe hasn't only got an interesting literary history, its day to day real life has b e e n q u i t e e v e n t f u l , t o o . Nowadays, the multi-cen- t e n n i a l t r e e i s i n g o o d health, but it's gone throu- gh some vicissitudes. In the early 20th century, some of his branches were broken by a gang of hooligans who had decided to sit on them. Later on, during World War Two, the Nazis wanted to use it as firewood, a project stopped thanks to the cou- rage and will power of the inhabitants of the small vil- l a g e o f S a n M a r t i n o i n Colle. In the 1960s, the tree was hit by thunder and suffered l a r g e - s c a l e h a r m a n d , i n even more recent years, the m a n y t o u r i s t s w a l k i n g around it have caused seve- re damage to its majestic but fragile roots. There' s even been an insect infesta- tion inside its trunk. Yet, the Witches' Oak remains strong and magic. T h e o a k , s y m b o l o f power, resilience and of the a n c e s t r a l t i e s b e t w e e n Humankind and Nature, is an alluring and legendary tree, one that is respected a n d o f t e n a s s o c i a t e d , a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d , w i t h w i s d o m . C a p a n n o r i ' s Witches' Oak went a step f u r t h e r a n d b e c a m e a l s o s y n o n y m w i t h o n e o f t h e m o s t f a m o u s p i e c e s o f Italian and children litera- ture in the world. Geppetto c o u l d n ' t u s e i t s w o o d t o m a k e P i n o c c h i o , t h o u g h : the log Mastro Ciliegia gave h i m — f r o m w h i c h o l d Geppetto created his pup- pet-child — came, in fact, from a cherry tree. I talians often use the word mannaggia ( m a h n - n a d j - d j a ) i n s t e a d o f o t h e r s t h e y t h i n k m o r e offensive. It usually expres- ses annoyance or spite and c a n s o m e t i m e s c o m e i n association with other words to create colorful sayings, such as mannaggia la mise- r i a ! , w h i c h w e r e n d e r i n English with "for goodness' sake" or, quite simply, with " d a m n . " V e r y c o m m o n i s also the slightly less accepta- b l e m a n n a g g i a a t e , o r "damn you," which Italians tend to use only during the most heated diatribes. Italy's most respected lan- guage and linguistics' insti- t u t i o n , t h e A c c a d e m i a della Crusca, acknowled- ges there are a number of d i f f e r e n t i d e a s a b o u t t h e expression's origins. Some c o n s i d e r i t t h e f u s i o n o f three distinct words, mal(e) n ( e ) a g g i a ( " a g g i a " i s a southern way to say abbia, t h e s u b j u n c t i v e o f " t o have"); others, on the other hand, believe it comes from t h e w o r d m a l a n n a g g i a , another term popular in the S o u t h , t h a t m e a n s " b a d year." Whichever way you go, it's quite clear that man- naggia is a wor d bor n in I t a l y ' s M e r i d i o n e , w h i c h then became common across t h e c o u n t r y . T h e s u f f i x - aggia was already used in poetry, from North to South, in the 13th century. That is t o s a y t h a t I t a l i a n s h a v e been using mannaggia for quite a while now, regard- less to its origins! T h e r e a r e a l s o o u t s i d e voices, though, in this ety- mological discussion. The late Sardinian linguist and historian Massimo Pittau believed that mannaggia came from the Italian word mannaia (cleaver), which in m a n y s o u t h e r n d i a l e c t s , i n c l u d i n g C a l a b r i a n a n d Sicilian, is spelled mannaja ( p r o n o u n c e d m a h n - n a h - dja). That was the weapon u s e d b y e x e c u t i o n e r s t o decapitate those sentenced to death, hence the use of the word as an exclamation of dissatisfaction, stress and annoyance. — M a n n a g g i a , q u e s t a non ci voleva! — Damn, we really didn't need this! — Mannaggia al giorno in cui ho cambia to lavoro! — Damned the day I've changed job! — M a n n a g g i a a q u e l l i che mi hanno rubato il por- tafoglio! — May those who stole my wallet be damned! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day - Mannaggia: it seems innocuous, but careful when you use it! Italian curiosities: Pinocchio, its oak and Tuscan witches Pinocchio, after having said a lie! (Photo: Freeprod/Dreamstime) Photo: Lenanet/Dreamstime

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