L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 8 FRANCESCA BEZZONE T here isn't a period in his- tory as quintessentially I t a l i a n a s t h e Renaissance. Even though it spread throughout Europe, with the notable exception of the British islands, it is in Italy that the rebirth of culture after the "dark ages" (which in reality, were not that dark) of medieval times began. We all know some- t h i n g a b o u t t h o s e c e n t u r i e s : European languages, English i n c l u d e d , t o o k t h e i r m o d e r n form, art developed the aesthetic s t a n d a r d s w e s t i l l e m b r a c e today, and the centrality of Man and of his intellect became para- mount, creating the premises for the development of modern phi- losophy, literature and culture. T h e I t a l i a n R e n a i s s a n c e , however, was a time of surpris- ing change also in everyday life, in ways that ended up affecting the social shape of the world as w e k n o w i t t o d a y . D i d y o u k n o w , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t o u r modern obsession for beauty and personal care largely devel- oped then? And that people's passion for sports and even for gambling comes straight from t h e R e n a i s s a n c e s t r e e t s o f Florence and Rome? Indeed, the Renaissance is a time of a thou- sand surprises and curiosities. Women, work and educa- tion T a l k i n g a b o u t w o m e n ' s emancipation in the Renaissance period would be out of context and historically incorrect, yet, the very seeds for women's vin- dications of their rights some- how find their deepest roots then. W h e n i t c a m e t o e m p l o y - m e n t , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e Renaissance brought women the possibility to work outside the house or an agricultural context; mind, it wasn't allowed to all women, but only to widows, who had the right to take up and carry on their deceased hus- b a n d ' s b u s i n e s s . A l b e i t extremely limited, it was the first example of women being free to propose themselves as independent workers and lead- ers of their own income. To find something similar taking place on a regular basis, we need to go back to the good old days of glorious Sparta, when women had to administer their men's finances, properties and busi- nesses while the men served t h e i r m i l i t a r y d u t i e s i n t h e Spartan army. A n d t h e r e ' s m o r e : i n h i s e x t r e m e l y p o p u l a r I l Cortegiano, which is by many considered the first text to look beyond old misogynistic con- c e p t i o n s o f w o m a n h o o d , Baldassare Castiglione pinpoint- ed the necessary characteristics for both men and women to be considered desirable and well educated. Surprisingly enough f o r t h e t i m e s , w o m e n w e r e required to be just as knowl- edgeable and cultured as men, experts in the arts and possess o r a t o r y s k i l l s . T h e y w e r e exempted from getting military training: war was still to remain the realm of males for a few more centuries. Renais s ance w omen w ere not equal to men socially, but it is in those years that the very first seeds of "the struggle" were planted. H o b b i e s a n d h o l i d a y s , Renaissance style I mentioned how the Middle Ages were not as dark and cul- turally insignificant as popular tradition wants us to believe, yet they certainly weren't a period i n h i s t o r y w e r e p e o p l e t o o k enjoying themselves lightly. The moral and ethical constraints placed by the Church upon any sort of extra-curricular activities made medieval people wary of any form of amusement. In the Renaissance, things changed: Man became the Sun of the uni- verse, his centrality replacing that of God, characteristic of medieval times. Because of this, enjoyment lost its sinful conno- tations, and became a natural part of human life. People of the Renaissance wanted to have fun and certainly didn't feel guilty about it. Card games such as " b r i s c o l a " w e r e c r e a t e d a n d became popular in Italy; others, l i k e t h e L o t t o , w e r e t o b e e x p o r t e d a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d . These activities were enjoyed by all social classes: when it came to fun, there was little difference between the poor and the rich. Unfortunately, this passion for games brought the development of another rather modern activi- ty: gambling. Peculiar only and exclusively to the nobility was another cus- tom, a bright example of how the Renaissance is still present in our very own daily life: holi- daying. Yes, indeed, the habit of going on holiday with family and friends, in some relaxing c o u n t r y o r s e a s i d e l o c a t i o n , developed among the rich and beautiful of the 15th and 16th c e n t u r i e s w h o c o u l d n ' t g e t enough of those lazy days spent in majestic countryside villas, s o m e w h e r e o n t h e h i l l s o f Umbria or Tuscany. Last but not least: if you're a sport fan, thank the Renaissance for it. Sports, team sports in par- ticular, but also individual, were one of those decades' favorite pastimes: the calcio fiorentino – Florentine soccer - is probably the forefather of modern soccer, e v e n t h o u g h , a c c o r d i n g t o s o u r c e s , i t l o o k e d m o r e l i k e rugby than anything else. Times of vanity Of course, appearance always c o u n t e d . Y o u o n l y n e e d t o watch any token documentary on ancient Rome, or Greece or the Pharaohs to see how much beauty and elegance were trea- sured, even back then. Make up and perfumes were known and widely used in Antiquity, when hygiene standards were, actual- l y , m u c h h i g h e r t h a n i n t h e M i d d l e A g e s a n d i n t h e Renaissance. I t ' s t r u e , p e o p l e o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e d i d n ' t w a s h a s often as we do today or as the Romans did, just because that was the custom, a custom in fact supported by medical practition- ers, who didn't consider exces- sive cleansing of the body par- ticularly healthy. Using per- fumes, powders and rouge, then, became almost a necessity, to m a s k t h e u n p l e a s a n t s m e l l unwashed bodies would pro- duce. What makes Renaissance men and women innovative is not their use of essences, but rather the fact they developed p e r f u m e s a s w e k n o w t h e m today. Scientific developments, especially in the field of chem- istry, along with a wider selec- tion of natural essences made available in the country, thanks to regular and thriving com- m e r c e w i t h t h e E a s t a n d t h e Americas, made it possible to d e v e l o p l o n g l a s t i n g s c e n t s based on vanilla, cocoa, cinna- mon, benzoin, incense, which added an exotic allure to Italy's o w n r o s e , v i o l e t a n d f r a n g i - pane's delicate notes. Lords and princes had custom fragrances made expressively for them, based on their own tastes. Queen of perfume mastery was Caterina de' Medici, who brought her own personal per- fume maker, René le Florentin, along with her to Paris when she married the future king, Henry II. Hobbies, sports, perfumes and even some hints of women emancipation. Even more rea- sons than I thought to say the R e n a i s s a n c e t r u l y g a v e t h e world Modernity. Card games such as "briscola" were created and became popular in Italy How modern they were! Everyday practices the Italian Renaissance gave us LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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