L'Italo-Americano

T he town of Cor- reggio is like a w o m a n t h a t w r a p s y o u around her sen- suous waist. She is soft and jovial, filled with feverish d r e a m s . B u t s h e i s s o c h a n g e a b l e . H e r m o o d embodies the chiaroscuro of a R e n a i s s a n c e c a n v a s a s light and dark permeate her history and chronicles. A bit mysterious, elegant by nature yet rural, this lady of a town is only nine miles away from Reggio Emilia and 15 miles off the "Motor Valley," an area running b e t w e e n M o d e n a , Maranello, and Bologna that e n c o m p a s s e s f a c t o r i e s , showrooms, and museums of the supercar manufactur- e r s F e r r a r i , M a s e r a t i , L a m b o r g h i n i , a n d P a g a n i . T h e a r i s t o c r a t i c city of Parma is a 30-mile drive. The Correggesi, or inhabi- t a n t s o f C o r r e g g i o , k n o w how to savor life in this cor- n e r o f E m i l i a - R o m a g n a w h e r e s u p e r f o o d s , f i n e wines, and art are offered. Around 1489, the town g a v e b i r t h t o A n t o n i o Allegri da Correggio, a High Renaissance painter known simply as Correggio. An art master of the Parma school, he spent his entire l i f e i n I t a l y ' s n o r t h e r n plains, but he achieved a w i d e a u d i e n c e e a r l y o n b e c a u s e h i s w o r k s w e r e a p p r e c i a t e d a t t h e g r e a t courts of Europe. His sensu- al art amazes; it prefigured the Baroque art of the 17th c e n t u r y a n d t h e R o c o c o movement of the 18th centu- ry through his dramatic illu- sionistic style, a mix of light and shadow woven together on his figures. "Jupiter and Io" is a C o r r e g g i o p a i n t i n g t h a t h a n g s i n t h e Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It depicts a beau- tiful woman embraced by a cloud. Her soft naked body shimmers in the light and by contrast, a thick, dark cloud reveals the magnetic face of Zeus who fell in love with her. The god disguised as cloud envelops her, his neb- ular hand around her waist. W h a t w o r d s o f l o v e i s h e whispering in her ear? The town of Correggio is classic Italy without crowds. " I t ' s a q u i e t l o c a l e . Moreover, it is a medieval j e w e l f r o z e n i n t i m e t h a t reached its splendor during the Renaissance and had its court," explains Francesca Manzini, head of the local tourist office. C o r r e g g i o d e r i v e s i t s n a m e f r o m t h e L a t i n word corrigia, which trans- lates as belt or leather strip. Legend has it that in a battle the founder of the fiefdom w a s s e r i o u s l y i n j u r e d a r o u n d t h e w a i s t b u t t h e M a d o n n a i n t e r v e n e d a n d spared his life for a reason. H e h a d t o s t a r t t h e D a C o r r e g g i o d y n a s t y , a princely family that ruled the tiny city-state until 1635. The Da Correggio had exten- sive relationships with the Gonzaga court in Mantua but was rival to the E s t e family in Ferrara and the Visconti family in Milan. F o r a s h o r t p e r i o d i n t h e 14th century, some mem- bers of the noble family were lords of the city of Parma, including condottiere Azzo Correggio, a friend of the poet Petrarch. T h e i r P a l a z z o d e i P r i n c i p i i s a m u s t - s e e b u i l d i n g a l o n g C o r s o Cavour, the heart of the old c i t y . T h e e l e g a n t p a l a c e h o u s e s t h e M u s e o I l Correggio and the central library. "The Museum holds three artworks from master painter Correggio who for the local convent church of St. Francis painted the altar- piece the Madonna of St. F r a n c i s , n o w h e l d i n Dresden, and the painting The Rest on the Flight to E g y p t w i t h S a i n t F r a n c i s now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence," says Francesca Manzini. The museum's collections tell the story of the town f r o m R o m a n t i m e s a s i t developed as a medieval and R e n a i s s a n c e t o w n . A n archaeology collection pro- vides evidence of the early R o m a n p e r i o d , w h i l e t h e painting collection is partic- ularly strong in reflecting the art history from the 15th to the 19th centuries. "The m u s e u m a l s o d i s p l a y s a n e x q u i s i t e c o l l e c t i o n o f F l e m i s h t a p e s t r i e s , " s a y s Francesca. "But its master- p i e c e i s C h r i s t t h e Redeemer, a 1393 tempera on canvas painting by the R e n a i s s a n c e m a s t e r Andrea Mantegna," she p o i n t s o u t . I t ' s a v e r y intense, intimate portrait of Christ wearing a red tunic and looking out from a red frame where a Latin inscrip- tion reads: "It's me, do not be afraid." Christ is staring a t y o u . H i s f a c e i s s a d , reflecting a melancholy state of humanity expecting salva- tion. T h e n e x t s t o p i n t o w n should be Corso Mazzini, a boulevard punctuated with arcades, cafes, and osterie t h a t o f f e r a r e a l s l i c e o f Correggio life. If you stop for lunch, do not miss a glass of L a m b r u s c o w i n e a n d t h e local specialty scarpasot – a s a l t y f r i e d t a r t m a d e o f chards, pork lard, parmesan cheese, and eggs. Then be reminded that you are in Emilia-Romagna where the pig is king. There is plenty of cured meat: mortadella, salami della casa and pro- s c i u t t i . P o r k p r o c e s s i n g plants are everywhere. One of them is Veroni Salumi, a family-owned producer of c u r e d h a m , s a l a m i , a n d other sliced meats. Founded in 1925 by five siblings, in 2015 Veroni branched out to the US market by establish- MARIELLA RADAELLI LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Corso Mazzini in Correggio (Photo: ©COMUNEDICORREGGIO) The light and shadows of Correggio Continued to page 34 THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano

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