L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano MARIELLA RADAELLI I f you want to know a secret nook of beauty in northern Italy, go to Grazie, a hamlet of Curtatone about four miles southwest of Mantua. The welcoming destination is home to one of the most intact devotional building in Lom- bardy. Acting in concert, the hamlet and church symbols together give sacred meaning to the life of the local community, which becomes international during the annual street painting festival called Incontro Nazionale dei Madonnari. O n the occas ion of the Madonna Assunta in Cielo, the street artists known as madon- nari use chalk to paint the road surface at the Piazza del Santu- ario, creating large works of art as viewers watch the creative process. Grazie is an exuberant dis- play of forms, light, perspectives and tonalities. Inventor of 3D street art Kurt Wenner shares a special relation- ship with the village: "Grazie is very much my own spiritual home and still central to the life of my family," he says. The internationally acclaimed American artist won the madon- nari competition for a number of years, starting in 1982. "I lived for several years in the piazza in the 1980s and later moved near- by to a 12th century fortress in Montanara. I spent a total of 18 years in the two places," says the master. In 1991 he des igned and directed a large composition on the theme of The Last Judgment to welcome Pope John Paul II's visit to Mantua. Wojtyla blessed and signed Wenner's work, offi- cially recognizing street painting as a form of Sacred Art. "About a year ago we rented a small house in the Piazza del Santuario in order to return to Italy, hopefully definitely. Curta- tone helped me to get Italian res- idency during an amnesty in the 1980s," he says. "My son grew up in the zone. We still have some of our best friends there." On an international level, Kurt brought the concept of fes- tival to the US and helped start many pavement art events . "These in turn have inspired hundreds of artists to attend the competition at Grazie," he says. Taking a boat from Mantua is the best way to get to Grazie. Your slow trip begins. From March, the barcaioli take you through the wetlands, a timeless landscape of ecological signifi- cance. You sail along the river in the marshy, minimalist, cloud- wrapped beauty of the Valli del Mincio. In w inter the thick fog plunges inhabitants into near blindnes s and the M incio is swollen to its limits. But in springtime nature fills the eyes and the senses. Sunrays dance on the mud-green river, peeping through a veil of linger- ing mist. The river explodes in color: water lilies bloom in May, water chestnuts sprout anew in June and in July lotus flowers offer a spectacular vision in all shades of pink. The stop at the little harbor of G razie brings joy: the mos t incredible element in the village is near. Within a short walk you find yourself at the piazza where the Santuario della Beata Vergine delle G razie s tands in its majesty. "Grazie's shrine was built in 1499 over the remains of what had previously been the local medieval church," says Paola Artoni, art historian and profes- sor of diagnostic techniques for artworks at the University of Verona. "Francesco Gonzaga wanted to build this holy institution as a votive offering after the great plague that wiped out the Manto- vani," she says. The large Lombard gothic- style church is awe-inspiring in its interiors. H ighlights include G iulio Romano's mausoleum for the humanist Baldassare Castiglione, universally known as the author of The Book of the Courtier. "There is also an astonishing altarpiece designed by Giulio Romano. A s w ell, there are works made by some disciples of Mantegna mentioned by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects," Artoni says. As you enter the door church, just look up. You will be amazed at what you see. A stuffed croco- dile in chains is hanging from the ceiling. "Scientific analysis of the crocodile conducted 10 years ago revealed that the specimen dates back to the late 1400s and was stuffed with Posidonia seagrass," explains Artoni. And while that didn't conclusively solve the mystery, it strongly suggests that the Grazie's crocodile came from the Nile River, through the Adri- atic Sea and via Venice. "Analy- sis debunked popular myths that considered it part of the Gonza- ga's menagerie, their collection of captive animals, frequently exotic," she says. At the time, the Santuario was run by the Franciscan friars who wanted the crocodile hung there. "They w ere the G onzaga's favorite religious order and the alchemis ts at the G onzaga court," she says. "That crocodile in chains is a symbol of evil. While Our Lady frees from evil," says Artoni. The Virgin looks down from her central niche while multi- material s tatues adorn the church's interior. They depict the pope, the emperor, knights, car- dinals, friars, warriors and peo- ple sentenced to death. Everyone is in attitude of reverence and prayer. "The Virgin establishes a dia- logue with all of them without distinction. They are the people of God, representing the human condition saved by mercy," says Artoni. "This theatrical scenog- raphy was designed and directed by the Franciscans themselves." Traditional food of Grazie: the cotechino delle Grazie. Photo: Archivio del Comu- ne di Curtatone The mythical crocodile, hanging from the ceiling of Grazie di Curtatone's San- tuario della Beata Vergine delle Grazie. Photo: Archivio del Comune di Curtatone Every year, "madonnari" artists come to Grazie di Curtatone to exhibit their skills and art Photo: Archivio del Comune di Curtatone ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES Grazie di Curtatone, the modern madonnari and the crocodile church Madonnari at work in Grazie. Photo: Archivio del Comune di Curtatone

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