The Art
Architecture
and
Gardens of
Italy
created by
Cynthia
Venables
for the use of
TAL K-W
members only
NOT TO BE
COPIED
The Art Architecture and Gardens of Italy created by Cynthia Venables
The Art Architecture and Gardens of Italy
TODAY ~ The Integration of the Natural World in
Pre-Historic and Neolithic Art and Etruscan Tombs
100,000 BCE - 200 BCE
Cloister, Church of Saint Frances, Ravello
2004
This eight week chronological
look at
Italian
gardens, architecture
and art
!
~a unified whole ~
!
reflect historic situations,
religious/philosophical
views, social mores,
political and economic
pressures
Chiostro, Chiesa di San Francesco,
Ravello 2015
The garden
- the dance with nature ~
“ gardens address
some
fundemental ties
between
human action
and
the material,
natural world
so they have
important tales to tell
about human
societies.”
To see a world in
a grain of sand
and heaven in a
wild flower
Hold infinity in
the palms of
your hand and
eternity in
anhour.
William Blake
!
Open my heart and you
will see
Grav’d inside of it, “Italy.”
!
from De Gustibus
Robert Browning
(1812–89)
Italian Art, Architecture and Garden Traditions have influenced
many other nations world wide
Italy
The Pre-Historic Past
~ What Remains? What is lost? ~
Stone vs Wood, post holes
Refuse - Bone
Metals - Pottery ( fired clay)
Dishonoured & Destroyed or Revered, Preserved and Copied
The Many Layers
Pre-Historic Age
Prehistory refers to the period of human
existence before the availability of those
written records with which recorded history
begins.
100,000 BCE Palaeolithic Era is a prehistoric period of human
history distinguished by the development of the most primitive
stone tools discovered It extends from the earliest known use
of stone tools, probably by hominins such as
australopithecines, 2.6 million years ago, to the end of the
Pleistocene around 10,000 BCE
The Venus el Rombo, green steatite
63 mm X 24 mm X 17mm
/2.48”
from 24000 - 19 000 BCE
Ventimiglia
Art & History
scavangers/fishermen/gatherers / early human society
The Sea Coast
The earths people have been in a life and death dance with the
forces of nature ever since, A dance that is recorded in our art.
Influence of the Natural World on Pre-Historic Lives and Art ~ Survival ~
Amalfi Coast
Scavenging, hunting, fishing and gathering was humanity's first and most
successful adaptation, occupying at least 90 percent of human history,
and until 12,000 years ago, all humans lived this way,"
Influence of the Natural World on Pre-Historic Lives
and Art in the Italian Penninsula
Changing coastline with changing climate
50,000 years ago the maximum
landmass of the 4th Ice Age
The last glacial period was
approximately 22,000 year
The Blue Grotto Capri
Coastal Sea Travel
representations of
drawings from cave
walls of early wood
and skin boats
“We move, are
moved or we die.”
J. Fernandez,
“On the Notion of
Religious
Movement,”
Art & The Power of the Natural World
Etna, Sicily
from earliest times it is thought that the natural world holds divine power whose forces are awesome and
need to be recognized, explained and controlled by man. This is the role of art.
human representation
Grotta dell’Addaura 11,000 BCE Palermo, Sicily
**
ritual and the regeneration of natural world
The Cave ~ Protection and Symbolic Ritual
for physical and spiritual survival
*
The Cave ~ Protection and Ritual Symbol
Pre-Historic Hunter - Gatherer
Dwellings
As early as 380,000 BC, humans were
constructing temporary wood huts
Grotti di Balzi Rossi,
Ventimeglia
20,000 BCE
47 000 to 41 000 years old
from 24000 - 19 000 BCE
The Venus of Menton is a figurine in
yellow steatite (soapstone)
47 mm/1.85in long
Mother Earth ?
transportable
The Ritual of
Human
representation
and the
regeneration of
natural world
for physical and
spiritual survival
ice age art
The figurines
were made of
soapstone,
serpentine and
ivory, possibly
from the tusks
of woolly
mammoths.
Mothers of Time
1995
!
Seven Palaeolithic Figurines
from the Louis Alexandre Jullien
Collection
!
Approximately 25,000 years on from their birth date and almost
4,000 kilometres distant from their place of origin, these seven Balzi
Rossi figurines shed new light on the origins and meaning of an art
that is still our own.
Figurines of Balzi Rossi, the Grimaldi Caves
migratory people
Venuses
small portable
15 ice age figurines
objects
The Mothers of Time
The Armless Lady
Ochre Lady
ivory (probably from a mammoth)
67.6mm = 2.66142 in.
approx.radiocarbon dated to 25 000 years old
No one knows if the carvers of these symbolic females were
women or men.
The Couple - Double Venus
Carved on a fragment of greenish-yellow
serpentine and highly polished, the piece is
approximately 47 millimetres high.
The Mask
unparalleled in the annals
of Western Europe's
Palaeolithic age.
23 millimetres wide.
migratory people
!
small portable
http://www.historymuseum.ca/home
objects
!
The Two Headed
Woman,
tiny (27.5 mm)
pendant
pale green-yellow
serpentine
THE CORNO
scavangers/hunter/gatherers / early human society
The Land
land travel
Apennines Abruzzo National Park
Montepescali, Grossetto, Toscana
Pre-Historic Gatherers !
!
!
!
Women and children as gatherers generally provided
most of the food for the band due to the inconsistencies involved in hunting.
The Land ~ Mother Earth’s Garden
Paleolithic to Neolithic Times ~ from growing wild to the beginnings of “cultivation”
Colle Val d’Elsa Toscana
Umbrella Pine The Piazza Ravello Amalfi Coast
The Bounty of the Land
Then God said, "Behold, I
have given you every plant
yielding seed that is on the
surface of all the earth, and
every tree which has fruit
yielding seed;
Umbrella Pine
Pinus pinea 50 -70 high 20 -40 wide
Italian Stone Pine, Umbrella Pine has been cultivated for its nuts for over
6,000 years, and harvested from wild trees for far longer.
HERBS
Sweet Basil
Ocimum
basilicum
The history of cheese
predates recorded
history.Ruminating
mammals include cattle,
goats, sheep, giraffes,
yaks, deer, antelope
Chesnut Forest Roccamonfina Caserta Campania
Forest gardens originated in prehistoric times. Useful tree and
vine species were identified, protected and improved, while
undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually superior
species were selected and incorporated into the gardens.
castagna
Garlic
Food and Health
Truffles/Tartuffi were first recorded as food in 20th century BCE
A truffle ~ Tartuffo~ is the fruiting body of a subterranean Ascomycete
fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus Tuber
Ficus ~ the common fig~
is ancient, being at least
60 million years old and
possibly as old as 80
million years. Todays
species, however, may be
between 20 and 40
million years old.
The wild boar
Eurasian wild pig
cinghiale
The animal probably
originated in SouthEast Asia during the
end of the
Palaeolithic Period
The Hunter
In a hunter-gatherer society, the men, who hunted, often came
home empty-handed, which meant that it fell to the women, who
gathered, to provide much of the food.
carpaccio, arugula, asparagus
fresh water
providing fresh water deep in the womb of mother earth
fresh water ~ aqua dolce ~the source of all living things~
the home of the
nymph, NINFA~
divine female spirit
who protect and
celebrate primal
nature in its freest
form
Apennine
Mountains are a
mountain range
consisting of
parallel smaller
chains extending
1,200 km along the
length of
peninsular Italy
providing fresh
water deep in the
womb of mother
earth.
*
fresh water ~ aqua dolce
~ the source of all living things~
_____Ninfa, Latina
Norma
Ninfa
People have been coming to Ninfa for perhaps 100,000 years
The Gardens of Ninfa
WWF
Ninfa
“The idea that rivers are gods and springs divine nymphs is
deeply rooted in belief and ritual; the worship of these
deities is limited only by theNinfa
fact ~
that
they
are
inseparably
nymphaeum
~ awith
place
where nymphs
identified
a specific
locality dwell ~
Ninfa
nymphaeum
~ a place where nymphs dwell
Ninfa
Nymph
And the Lord God planted a
fresh
water
~
aqua
dolce
garden eastward in Eden; And out
the source
of God
all living things~
of the ground~made
the Lord
to grow every tree that is pleasant
!
to the sight, and good for food;
the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and
the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Therefore the Lord God sent
them forth from the garden of
Eden, to till the ground from
whence he was taken.
Ninfa, filled with
the trees of
knowledge
Paradise - Old Iranian
*paridayda- “walled enclosure”
Garden = Enclosure
Eden was a Neolithic Garden
The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
1425 Masaccio
Eden and our search for Paradise
The Neolith Age around 10,000 BCE
Many thousands of years ago idea of a walled, protected garden
enters into the imagination of many Mediterranean cultures at the
same time technology was changing allowing domestic crops and
animals, permanent dwellings, creating pottery vessels and the
beginning of settled dwellings within protected by walls.
Pre-Historic Age
Prehistory refers to the period of human
existence before the availability of those
written records with which recorded
history begins.
!0,000 BCE The Neolithic Era New Stone Age, was a period in the
development of human technology that allowed domestic crops and
of domesticated animals, permanent dwellings, creating pottery
vessels and the beginning of towns, and gardens protected by walls.
100,000 BCE Palaeolithic Era is a prehistoric period of human history
distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools
discovered It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools, probably
by hominins such as australopithecines, 2.6 million years ago, to the end of
the Pleistocene around 10,000 BCE
Ancient Refugees / Migrants 10,000 years ago?
The Neolithic Age/New Stone Age was a time when the Earth's climate
was warmer than the climate in the Old Stone Age. No one knows for
sure why the Earth warmed; around 12,000 years ago, the Earth ended
its last great ice age. As the Earth warmed, the population of people and
animals increased.
NEOLITHIC SICILY 3500 BC
PANTALICA
CASTELLUCCIO DI
NOTO
MODICA
SCICL
I
FROM CAVES TO HOMES FOR THE
LIVING AND THE DEAD
2100 - 1400 BCE Castelluccio di Noto
BRONZE AGE SICILY
SPIRAL
SYMBOL OF
CREATION AND
THE INFINITE
Scicli
FROM CAVES TO HOMES FOR THE LIVING
Pottery from Pantalica circa 3000BCE
Neolithic Gardens
Farming and the Garden
the seed of the fruits of the fields
~ a symbol of rebirth & immortality ~
Through a process called domestication, early humans began controlling
the development of a number of plant and animal species.
Neolithic Gardens
Horticulture is the care and tending of gardens — small plots
of land yielding a variety of plant products for the use of an
extended family or tribe.
The Seasons
the power that shoots forth and withdraws into the earth
spring garden Ravello
Amalfi Coast
Broad beans were a
major food of old
Mediterranean
civilizations
maccu di fave
*
The Amalfi Coast
ancient terraced
slopes
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic materials have been found at Positano
Ancient Pathways Amalfi Coast
communication and sharing
The earliest evidence of grape vine cultivation and
winemaking dates back 7,000 years.
“ The people of the Mediterranean began to emerge from
barbarism when they learnt to cultivate the olive and the vine. ”
Thucydides 450 BCE
Art & History ~ Trade & Culture
Europes Earliest Wine Region~ Etruria
Etruscan Drinking Cup Chiusi 500 BCE
Zeffiro Ciuffoletti"Tuscany, as regards wines,
has no equal the world over, thanks to a
most felicitous nature, and to a civilization of
the grapevine and of wine that has been
decanted and refined over the centuries."
The Etruscans
and the Celebration of
the Natural
World
The Etruscans
1100, Villanovan 800 BCE? Etruscan civilization developed
out of the early Iron Age culture of central Italy. The adoption
of iron and steel coincided with other changes in society,
including differing agricultural practices, the creating of towns,
religious beliefs and artistic styles. The Etruscans were the first
people in the Italic peninsula to learn to write but historians
have no literature and no original texts of religion or
philosophy; therefore, much of what is known about this
civilization is derived from grave goods and tomb findings.
!0,000 BCE The Neolithic Era New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human
technology that allowed domestic crops and of domesticated animals, permanent dwellings,
creating pottery vessels and the beginning of towns, and gardens protected by walls.
100,000 BCE Palaeolithic Era is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the
development of the most primitive stone tools discovered It extends from the earliest known
use of stone tools, probably by hominins such as australopithecines, 2.6 million years ago, to
the end of the Pleistocene around 10,000 BCE
Italy’s earliest peoples ? Villanovan culture
mitochondrial DNA study (2013) shows that
Etruscans fall very close to a Neolithic population
from Central Europe 10,000BCE
Villanovan
culture, found at
Tarquinia / 9th
century under
Etruscan artifacts
The Etruscans arrive Italy?
D.L. Lawrence's "Etruscan Places" :
"I dont think there is any other field of
human knowledge in which there is
such a daft cleavage between what has
been scientifically ascertained and the
unshakeable beliefs of the public...."
The genetic links between Tuscany and Anatolia/Turkey date back
to at least 5,000 years ago, strongly suggesting that the Etruscan culture developed
locally, and not as an immediate consequence of more recent immigration from
the Eastern Mediterranean shores. Among ancient populations, ancient Etruscans are
found to be closest to a Neolithic population from Central Europe.
ETRUSCAN HEARTLAND
Tuscany
Lazio
Umbria
ETRUSCAN HEARTLAND
Tuscany
Lazio
Umbria
*Sovana
Farnese
Vulci
Tarquinia
Cerveteri
*
*
*
*
Civitavecchia
*
Fiumicino
Flourishing Etruscans ~ Etruria 800 -250BCE
Val d’Orcia
Rasenna Etruria
Tusci or Etrusci
Tuscany
Tyrrhenians
Tyrrhenian Sea
Distinguished by its unique language, this civilization endured from the time of
the earliest Etruscan inscriptions (c. 700 BC)E until its assimilation into
the Roman Republic in the late 4th century BCE.
The Etruscans who were responsible for teaching the
Romans the alphabet and for spreading literacy throughout
the Italian peninsula.
Pyrgi tablets, ca. 500 BC. Etruscan and Phonecian
The first "superpower" of the Western Mediterranean who,
alongside the Greeks, developed the earliest true cities in Europe.
Etruria and
Etruscan Expansion
ETRUSCAN BRONZE NUDE WARRIOR
HOLDING A SACRIFICIAL HARE.
4th Century BCE. H. 5 7/8 in. (15 cm.)
The mining and commerce of
metal, especially copper and iron,
led to an enrichment of the
Etruscans and to the expansion of
their influence in the Italian
peninsula and the western
Mediterranean sea.
Mitochondrial DNA study (2013) shows that Etruscans fall very
close to a Neolithic population from Central Europe 10,000BCE
By 600 BCE Etruscan Culture was influenced by Hellenic, Magna
Graecian, and Phoenician contacts.
local Villanovan/
Etruscan from
800 BCE
Greeks from
700 BCE
Carthaginian
from 800 BCE
Greek and Etruscan Relationship and Influence on the Romans
mi aviles katacinas, “I am of Avile Katacina”
The Celts were among the first to develop bronze working,
using copper and tin to form a stronger alloy metal
Mars of Todi
Etruscan bronze statue of a
warrior
nearly life-size
5th C BCE
Rasenna
12 City States
Etruscan League
Etruscan Hill Towns- Layers of History
Civita di Bagnoregio Lazio atop a plateau of volcanic tuff
overlooking the Tiber river valley
Etruscan Hill Towns- Layers of History
Orvieto Umbria
situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff
volcanic tuff/ tufa
The Romans learned the
Volterra
Toscana
Perugia
Umbria
The Cloaca Maxima ROME
arch and
barrel vault from
the Etruscans
Etruscan Hill Towns- Layers of History
Pitigliano Tuscana in the Area del Tufo
most Etruscan cities are still inhabited, they hide their Etruscan
art and architecture under
Roman, Medieval and Renaissance layers
Pitigliano
Engineering knowledge was inextricably entwined with the
disciplina etrusca and the core of Etruscan religion.
Vie Cave
Etruscan Farm
Art is the
of a fertile
civilization
anfruit
important
core would
farm for the entire population
!
Volterra Museum of Etruscan Art
Etruscans crops~ grapes ,olives, barley, millet, broad beans,
lentils, chickpeas, spelt, peas, garlic and onions,
figs, melons, apples and berries.
Nature & Manifestation
of Divine Power
Born from the fertility of
the land
Tages/Tagets
founding prophet of
Etruscan religion
~the wise and worshipped
prophet-child ~giver of
divine laws -Disciplina
Etrusca
Tarquinia
"tular"stone, or:
border
stone
Tarquinia
first half of
the 3rd
century
B.C.E
cipi
A divine right to
protected
borders and
order
"Ploughman of Arezzo,"
an example of Etruscan
Bronze found in Cerveteri
Lago di Chiusi
Vegoia ~nymph and sibyl
A power presiding over land
property and land property
rights, laws and contracts
~Predicted what would happen
to law breakers of
Disciplina Etrusca
Vegoia ~nymph and sibyl
prophecies,
boundries,finding of
water, knowledge of
irrigation
Lituus -divining/dowsing
rod and symbol of
priestly authority
Roman
Coin circa
200 CE
Divination and the Ritus Etrusca was passed
down in Roman society by the Etruscans.
Roman king
Numa Pompilius
97 BCE
Pontius Pilate- a small Procurator of Judea (AD 26–36)-
The augur
The Etruscans believed in intimate contact
with divinity.They did nothing without proper
consultation with the gods and signs from
them. The augur/priest was the interpreter
of these signs.
Disciplina Etrusca
For the Etruscans every bird and every berry as a potential
source of knowledge of the gods
They had developed an elaborate lore and rituals for using
this knowledge
Birds in flight, Tomb of Hunting & Fishing, Tarquinia, ~510 B.C
Tomb of Hunting
and Fishing in
Tarquinia, 6th
Century B.C.
The basic outlines of the city, from which the planning began,
were established according to the directions of the augures,
who had studied the flight of the birds regarding this matter.
Etruscus Ritus imposing geometric order on the natural world
Marzabotto near Bologna.
Foretelling The Future
haruspicy
Etruscan liver model for instruction in divination "Liver of Piacenza", dating to around 100 BCE
The Etruscan Farm & Garden
For the Etruscans every bird and every berry as a
potential source of knowledge of the gods
Disciplina Etrusca
sage ~ Salvia officinalis
Etruscan Herbal Practices - religious and medicinal -
integration of body and soul
Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosemary
arum
Cinerery Urn of an Etruscan House
Urban Etruscan home and garden
imposing
geometric
order on the
natural world
garden
__________________impluvium
shops
Etruscan Temples
sacred grove from earliest times
Etruscans marked the borders of their temples with trees