L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano I n o n e o f h i s masterpieces, Oceano Mare (Ocean Sea), Italian novelist Ale- s s a n d r o B a r i c c o d e s c r i b e s a n a r t i s t w h o p a i n t e d t h e s e a w i t h s e a water. I remember thinking, after reading the book for the first time, that there couldn't be anything more poetic. Little did I know that, by l o o k i n g i n t o m y o w n c o u n t r y ' s l o n g - l a s t i n g traditions, I was to encounter something as magical, that didn't come, however, from t h e i n s p i r e d p e n o f a c o n t e m p o r a r y a r t i s t , b u t from the ancient ingenuity of o u r a n c e s t o r s . T h e a r t o f "painting" images with flower petals has been popular in I t a l y f o r a l m o s t f o u r c e n t u r i e s . W e c a l l i t infiorate, and the name itself has beauty to it, because "infiorare" means "to cover with flowers," something that speaks of colors and silk, of s c e n t s , v e l v e t s a n d a b u n d a n c e . I n f i o r a t e a r e traditional events, common especially in the South and the Center of Italy, with some notable examples also along the coast of Liguria, in the N o r t h - W e s t p a r t o f t h e country: talented infioratori, artists filled with inspiration and skills, create delicate p a n e l s r e p r o d u c i n g h o l y images, geometric patterns and, sometimes, even famous paintings. Often associated w i t h r e l i g i o u s f e s t i v a l s , infiorate were born as a sign of devotion and Faith, their soft, colorful appearance a b r e a t h t a k i n g f r a m e t o p r o c e s s i o n s a n d a c t s o f worship. Indeed, the first reference to the art of "painting with flowers" comes from a place k n o w n f o r i t s c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e D i v i n e , t h e Vatican. In his De Florum C u l t u r a ( " a b o u t t h e c u l t i v a t i o n o f f l o w e r s , " p u b l i s h e d i n 1 6 3 3 a n d i n 1 6 3 8 ) , J e s u i t G i o v a n Battista Ferrari gives a detailed account of the first i n f i o r a t a , o r g a n i z e d i n occasion of the Feast of Peter and Paul: it was 1625 and f l o w e r s , " t h i n n e d a n d shredded (...)," were used to " i m i t a t e t h e c o l o r s a n d a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e m o s t b e a u t i f u l p a i n t i n g s . " T h e event was so successful it was repeated, year after year, craft? Maybe, but anyone w h o s a w a n i n f i o r a t a c a n testify its beauty could have well risen the interest of the greatest creative minds of those times. We said Genzano. Why do we mention it, you may ask? Simple: the oldest and largest infiorata still running to this day takes place there. Every y e a r , s o m e h a l f a m i l l i o n b e a u t i f u l f l o w e r s - - t h a t m a k e s a b o u t 5 0 t o n s o f petals! -- are used to create 15 panels covering the streets around the Church of Santa Maria. The first record of an infiorata in Genzano dates back to 1778, but that doesn't m e a n t h e r e w e r e n ' t a n y before, as local historians do believe the tradition came from that famous Vatican City infiorata of 100 years earlier: perhaps, the theory about great Roman artists making it popular around the country is not that out line, then. Every year, more than 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e v i s i t Genzano during the infiorata, attracted by its theme, which changes annually, and, of course, by the colors and beauty of the event. A few years back, famous Italian d e s i g n e r s l i k e F e n d i a n d Versace created the panels, while the last edition, which took place in 2019 (of course, the pandemic put a halt to it, too), was dedicated to the Via della Bellezza, that is, the way Beauty shows itself in the world. G e n z a n o i s n ' t t h e o n l y place in Italy where you can s e e a n i n f i o r a t a . O t h e r famous ones are organized every year in Noto, Sicily, and Spello, Umbria. Noto, k n o w n f o r i t s b a r o q u e architecture, is part of the U N E S C O W o r l d H e r i t a g e Patrimony and has had an infiorata since 1980. While relatively recent, especially when compared to that in Genzano, it's probably one of the most famous: 16 different p a n e l s a r e l a i d o n e a f t e r another to carpet Via Corrado N i c o l a c i e n t i r e l y . W e ' r e talking about 7,000 square feet of flower art, made with until Ferrari wrote his book. Carnations were used to render the delicate hues of human skin, while hyacinths, i n a l l t h e i r s h a d e s " f r o m turquoise to black," were chosen for the eyes, for dark hair and to create chiaro- scuros. Broom flowers made blonde hair, while poppies, more hyacinths and roses made clothes colorful and precious. The mind behind these first infiorate in the V a t i c a n w a s B e n e d e t t o Drei; in those years, he came into contact with many other artists working at the Pope's c o u r t w h o , p e r h a p s , a r e responsible for the diffusion of infiorate in other parts of Italy. Indeed, some believe that known figures such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini and b a r o q u e p a i n t e r C a r l o Maratta may be responsible f o r t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f infiorate in Genzano, one of the 13 beautiful towns in the Alban Hills commonly known as Castelli Romani. Just a r o m a n t i c s t o r y t o g i v e " o f f i c i a l a r t " c r e d t o t h e some 400,000 blossoms -- daisies, in particular. Just like in Genzano, every year there is a different theme: we had myths and legends of the world in 2016, China in 2018 and the victory of beauty over fear last year, in an edition t h a t t o o k p l a c e e n t i r e l y online. Spello, a quaint medieval village in Umbria, is home to yet another famous infiorata that develops along a mile of its streets and alleys. Here, flowers, herbs and leaves are used to reproduce famous paintings, including works by B o t t i c e l l i a n d G i o t t o , religious images and local landscapes. Spello' infiorata is almost 100 years old, as it was first celebrated in the 1930s; in town, you can also v i s i t a m u s e u m f u l l y d e d i c a t e d t o t h e a r t o f "painting with flowers." Infiorate are quite popular across the country: other famous ones are held yearly i n B o l s e n a ( L a z i o ) , Castelbuono (Liguria) and Diano Marina (Liguria). LUCA SIGNORINI Noto, in Sicily, holds a famous infiorata (Photo: Michele Ponzio/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE The art of painting with flowers: Italy's infiorate

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