L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 L'Italo-Americano L o c a t e d o n t h e w e s t e r n - m o s t c o r n e r o f t h e c o u n t r y , t h e r e g i o n o f P i e d m o n t i s m o s t l y known for its wines and f o o d . M o t h e r l a n d t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y k n o w n Barolo, Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo, and of some of Italy's most delicious cheeses -- especially if you like sheep and goat cheese -- we often forget it's also a place of immense natural b e a u t y ( h e l l o , A l p s a n d L a n g h e h i l l s ! ) , g r e a t artistic interest (there isn't quite anything in Italy as e l e g a n t a s T u r i n c i t y centre, to be honest) and h i s t o r y ( t h i s i s w h e r e u n i f i e d I t a l y w a s conceived, let's not forget). T h e p r o v i n c e o f Cuneo, known locally as la Granda, "the large one," because of its extension, is the home of white truffles a n d o f f e r s s o m e o f t h e most picturesque views on the Alps you can imagine. T h o s e i d y l l i c , t i m e l e s s photos of villages perched on top of rolling hills, with snow-capped mountains embracing the horizon are usually taken here. Forgive me, if I sound biased when I speak about Piedmont and la Granda, but this is where I was born and where I happily came back, after half a life spent w o r k i n g a b r o a d a n d traveling around the world: i t m a y b e r u r a l a n d w e Cuneesi, with our sense of discretion, old fashioned manners, and surliness, are a far cry from our friendly, s u n n y s i b l i n g s f r o m t h e South, but we're not that bad, believe me. We are just a bunch of benevolent curmudgeons. When thinking about my region, as I was saying, a lot of things come to mind, but marble quarries are certainly not among them: t h a t ' s o n l y i n T u s c a n y , r i g h t ? W r o n g , b e c a u s e m a r b l e a n d s t o n e extraction has been a huge activity in the province of Cuneo since Roman times: let's face it, where there's a m o u n t a i n , t h e r e ' s s o m e good stone to build with and carve. In particular, it is the Monregalese area, the s o u t h - w e s t p a r t o f t h e province, to be known for the quality and beauty of its marble, which has been u s e d f o r c e n t u r i e s i n architecture not only in I t a l y , b u t a l s o a r o u n d Europe and the world. W h o w o u l d h a v e guessed? Archaeological findings demonstrate that extraction and use of local m a r b l e w a s a l r e a d y common in Roman times. The colored ones -- black, r e d , p u r p l e , y e l l o w - - b e c a m e v e r y p o p u l a r e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g t h e baroque period, starting in t h e l a t e r d e c a d e s o f t h e 16th century and all the way to the 17th and 18th. Vico stone (or pietra di Vico) was widely utilised b y a r c h i t e c t A s c a n i o Vitozzi starting around 1590, when he selected it to renovate the citadel in Mondovì, the largest town in the Monregalese area a n d , t h e n , i n 1 5 9 7 f o r building and decorating t h e S a n t u a r i o d i Vicoforte, dedicated to the Monte Regalis Virgin, a breathtaking example of early Piedmontese baroque architecture that boast the largest elliptical cupola in t h e w o r l d a n d a m a z i n g trompe l'oeil frescoes. During the 17th century, Monregalese marbles made their first appearance in the regional capital -- and h o m e t o t h e S a v o i a s , T u r i n . Y e l l o w m a r b l e from Frabosa was used in t h e c h u r c h e s o f S a n t a M a r i a a l M o n t e , S a n t a Teresa, San Lorenzo and , later in the 18th century, i n t h e S a n t ' U m b e r t o Chapel at Venaria Reale Castle, one of the Savoias' r e s i d e n c e s p a r t o f U N E S C O ' s w o r l d heritage. And it is, indeed, the 18th century to mark the apex of Monregalese marble popularity in art and architecture, especially of its colored variety, such as the persichino of Val Casotto and Val Corsaglia, w h i c h s e m i n a l b a r o q u e architect Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736) used largely in Piedmont -- his are, among o t h e r s , t h e b a s i l i c a o f Superga, just above Turin, Palazzo Madama in Turin, S t u p i n i g i p a l a c e - - a n d a b r o a d , n a m e l y f o r t h e Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, some 50 miles north of Madrid. In t h e s a m e p e r i o d , o t h e r precious marbles from the province of Cuneo, albeit n o t s t r i c t l y f r o m t h e Monregalese area, became famous, including Busca's alabaster and Valdieri's bardiglio. However, the most common remained Monregalese Frabosa's bigio ubiquitously used a c r o s s t h e r e g i o n o f Piedmont. By the 19th century, the f a m e o f M o n r e g a l e s e m a r b l e s w a s w e l l established, to the point that one of the most iconic -- and to some, mysterious -- buildings in Turin, the G r a n M a d r e d i D i o church, was fully built with them. Slowly, but steadily, we m a d e i t t o t h e 2 0 t h century, when Monregalese marbles, more specifically t h e C i p o l l i n o d o r a t o (golden Cipollino) quarried in the Maritime Alps in the Valdieri area, crossed the borders of Italy to make n o t a b l e a p p e a r a n c e s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d , i n L o n d o n ( C o u n t y H a l l C o u n c i l C h a m b e r a n d Westminster Cathedral), Sofia (Bulgaria, Military Academy palace), Tripoli ( L y b i a , S i d i H a m u d a m o s q u e ) , B a n g k o k (Thailand, Royal Palace), Buenos Aires (Argentina, Leloir Palace) and Avana ( C u b a , G o v e r n m e n t Palace). Today, 219 businesses operate in the marble and stone sector in the Cuneo province, which include all types of activities, from quarrying and mining to c a r v i n g a n d s c u l p t i n g . These are present across the territory, but especially in the Barge-Bagnolo and A l b a a r e a s , k n o w n respectively for luserna and Langa stone. A lesser known business activity for the region, but one deeply c o n n e c t e d w i t h i t s t e r r i t o r y , h i s t o r y a n d certainly noteworthy. The Gran Madre di Dio Church, in Turin, built in Monregalese marbles (Photo: Marco Ciannarella/Dreamstime) The little known life of Piedmont's marble and artistic stone FRANCESCA BEZZONE HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS

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