The Murals In Orgosolo

Yesterday we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours in Orgosolo, a small town which is about twenty minutes drive from Nuoro. Orgosolo is famous for its wall murals, which are in every corner of the town, and I was very taken by their quality and diversity. Many are accompanied by script in Italian or Sardo, often political in nature and illustrating issues which affect the entire world, not just Sardinia.

 

 

Ieri abbiamo passato due ore molto divertenti a Orgosolo, una cittadina che si trova a circa venti minuti in macchina da Nuoro. Orgosolo è famosa per i murales che sono dappertutto in paese e mi piacevano la loro qualità e diversità. Su molti murales è possibile leggere la scrittura in Italiano e in Sardo. Molti sono politici e illustrano i problemi di tutto il mondo, non soltanto della Sardegna.

Parades and Jazz come to Nuoro

The last fortnight or so has been quite lively in Nuoro. Firstly, the weekend before last, Nuoro was invaded by a large number of people from the small towns and villages from other parts of Sardinia for the two parades which took place through the centre of the town. On the evening of Saturday August 21st there was la sfilata delle maschere (the parade of the masks), a very lively and entertaining affair in which the representatives of various towns and villages dress up in costume and sometimes wear very sinister looking masks (which actually scared some of the small children present) while taking part in the parade. However, the masks are supposed to be symbols of good fortune which drive out evil spirits.

However, the most fun was saved until near the end when the best known of the groups parading, the issocadores from Mamoiada, experts with a lasso, showed how adept they were by lassoing some of the young ladies watching from the side of the street (they came to no harm and were freed straightaway).
On the afternoon of Sunday August 22nd la sfilata dei costumi (the parade of the costumes) took place where representatives of what seemed like every small town in every part of Sardinia paraded through the centre of Nuoro wearing their own particular traditional costume. The costumes were incredibly beautiful but the parade went on for so long that after being rooted to the same spot for two hours I was longing to sit down and drink a coffee well before the parade finished!

Then, from August 25th until it finishes on September 4th an International Jazz Festival has come to town. We were fortunate in being able to go to two excellent concerts. We saw the Filomena Campus Quartet on Friday 27th August in the garden of the house of Grazia Deledda and were treated to some excellent music and Filomena's well known use of theatrics as she sang songs in Italian, Sardo, English and Portuguese. Then, on the evening of August 30th, at the Teatro Eliseo we saw world renowned Sardinian jazz musician Paolo Fresu with members of his quintet and special guests, well known jazz musicians Dave Douglas and Enrico Rava. The musicianship was breathtakingly brilliant and the audience was hugely appreciative of a great concert which was some distance from the mainstream of music.

(Italian text to follow at later date)

  














 

BBC Radio3 Programme on the Music of Sardinia and Corsica

Yesterday evening, quite by chance, I came across this radio programme Andy Kershaw explores the music of Sardinia and Corsica from 2005, still available to listen to online and divided into chapters to make it easier for the online listener.

Ieri sera, per caso, ho trovato questo programma alla radio Andy Kershaw esplora la musica della Sardegna e Corsica del 2005, disponibile ancora da ascoltare online. Il programma è diviso in capitoli per facilitare l'ascoltatore.

Nuoro - poem about the City of Nuoro (in English)

Over the last 10 days or so I have been trying to write a poem about Nuoro and how my eight months here have informed my impressions of the city (I think an Italian translation is beyond me at the moment!). Here it is:-

Nuoro

So here I am in Nuoro,
this untidy mess of a town
which is nonetheless endearing.
"Il comune non fa niente!"*
is what I keep on hearing.
Sun scorched scruffy weeds
and dirt and litter adorn
the uneven pavement
while some have sought
to see to feline needs
with a plate or two of fish-heads
left out for the strays;
the buildings blighted by graffiti,
beautiful and ugly in equal measure
and cars parked curiously
at strange angles from the kerb.
And then the gems, the treasure:
the stunning vista of the mountains
from Via Aspromonte
and the valley between Mt Ortobene
and the edge of town;
how Via Corso Garibaldi
comes to life on summer evenings,
the bars packed and thriving,
the Nuorese of every generation
walking up and down
with youth, beautiful and tanned,
showing its propensity
for elegance and style;
the museums displaying
the cultural heritage of a town
that gave us Nobel Prize winning writer
Grazia Deledda and poet Sebastiano Satta
and artists and sculptors
whose charming works beguile.
Nuoro is like a woman
whose potential beauty sometimes delights,
occasionally astounds and also frustrates
wrapped up in the frumpy clothing
of habit and convenience
that draw attention to
the lines upon her face
but seldom have I known
people of such warmth and generosity
inhabit any other place.

Geoff Davis © 2010

* The council do nothing!

View from Via Aspromonte

skip to main | skip to sidebar

  

 

First Visits to the Nuorese Football Stadium

I've been in Nuoro for seven months now but it's only recently that I've paid my first visits to the Nuorese football stadium, which perhaps is rather surprising since the stadium is only about twenty minutes walk away from where we live and because I've always been a football enthusiast. The first time I went was when Maria Rita and I went to see a concert that was held there on Saturday evening, May 15th to celebrate la festa di Voci di Maggio. It was surprisingly cold and I could have been forgiven for thinking that I was back in England! However, the entertainment was of excellent quality although we had to wait until the end of the evening before the better known acts appeared. As far as I'm aware nearly all the acts were from Sardinia and there was an interesting variety, ranging from some beautiful choral singing of traditional Sardinian songs in Sardo to modern pop and rock music sung mostly in Italian. One performer not Sardinian was the beautiful young Sicilian singer Dulcenera; famous in Italy, she has a wonderfully powerful voice with perfect pitch and was a real joy to listen to. The headline act was Istentales, a rock band from Nuoro who have huge support in Sardinia and who regularly perform on the Italian mainland. The sheer energy of their unique brand of music, fusing rock with the influence of their Sardinian roots, was so impressive and very refreshing. Their charismatic frontman Gigi Sanna was largely responsible for organising the festa.

My next visit to the stadium was on Friday May 21st when we went to watch the annual charity football match taking place between Nuorese and Cagliari, the only team in Serie A from Sardinia. Footballing legend Gianfranco Zola comes from Oliena, a town very close to Nuoro, and signed his first professional contract for Nuorese when they were in C2, the Italian equivalent of League 2. Italian football has since been re-organised and Nuorese now languish a few leagues below league status. Zola also finished his playing career at Cagliari after leaving Chelsea.

The weather was much warmer than the previous Saturday so we were able to sit in the evening sun and enjoy the football which for me, an Englishman, was very interesting to watch. However, unsurprisingly, it wasn't a very competitive or physical game. Cossu and Marchetti, Cagliari's two players in Italy's World Cup Squad didn't play but several players well-known in Italian football did - Matri, Jeda, Conti and Agostini. I thought Cagliari might win quite comfortably but although they went 3-0 up, two goals from Nuorese in the last five minutes made the final score 3-2. I was surpised how good the Nuorese players were technically, far better than English teams in a comparable league in England but, on this evidence, not as physical. Nevertheless, I certainly hope to watch Nuorese again next season. 

Sono a Nuoro da sette mesi ora ma le mie prime visite allo stadio della Nuorese calcio erano molto recenti. Forse questo fatto è sorprendente perchè lo stadio è soltanto venti minuti a piedi da casa nostra e anche perchè sono stato sempre un appassionato di calcio. La prima volta che siamo andati allo stadio io e Maria Rita siamo andati a vedere un concerto sabato sera 15 Maggio per celebrare la festa di Voci di Maggio. Ero sorpreso perchè faceva freddo e pensavo di essere tornato in Inghilterra! Però il concerto era di ottima qualità anche se abbiamo dovuto aspettare fino a sera prima che gli artisti più conosciuti si esibissero. Pensavo che quasi tutti gli artisti fossero sardi e c'era una varietà interessante di bellissime canzoni tradizionali sarde, cantate in lingua sarda, musica rock e pop italiano. La cantante Dolcenera è siciliana ed è famosa in tutta Italia. Lei ha una voce formidabile e potente e mi è piaciuto molto ascoltarla. E finalmente arrivano gli Istentales, un gruppo di Nuoro che ha molti fans in Sardegna ed è popolare in tutta Italia. L'energia e la forza della loro musica, un misto di rock e musica tradizionale sarda, era tanto impressionante e molto vivace. Il cantante carismatico Gigi Sanna è stato il maggiore responsabile della organizzazione della festa.

La mia visita successiva allo stadio è stata il venerdi 21 Maggio per guardare la partita di calcio in beneficenza tra Nuorese e Cagliari, la sola squadra in Sardegna in Serie A. Un mito del calcio è Gianfranco Zola di Oliena, una cittadina molto vicina a Nuoro, lui ha firmato il suo primo contratto professionale per la Nuorese quando la squadra era in C2, l'equivalente di Lega 2 in Inghilterra. Da allora il calcio italiano è cambiato e adesso la Nuorese gioca in qualche campionato indietro. In seguito Zola ha finito la sua carriera come giocatore a Cagliari dopo avere lasciato il Chelsea.

Il tempo era molto più caldo del sabato prima e potevamo sederci a prendere il sole mentre seguivamo la partita. Per me, inglese, la partita era molto interessante da guardare. Però, non era una sorpresa che il gioco non era molto competitivo o fisico. Non giocavano Cossu e Marchetti, i due giocatori convocati in Nazionale ma giocavano altri giocatori famosi in Italia - Matri, Jeda, Conti e Agostini. Pensavo che il Cagliari vincesse abbastanza facilmente e prima era in vantaggio 3-0, poi la Nuorese ha segnato due gol negli ultimi cinque minuti e il risultato finale è stato 3-2. Ero sorpreso quanto bravi erano i giocatori della Nuorese tecnicamente, molto meglio delle squadre del campionato equivalente in Inghilterra ma forse meno aggressivi. Certamente spero di guardare di nuovo la Nuorese la stagione prossima.

Nuorese-Bristolese Dictionary or Dizionario

A few days ago Maria Rita and I were walking through the 'centro storico' (historic part) of Nuoro when we saw an Italiano-Nuorese pocket dictionary (Nuorese being the dialect of Sardo spoken by the inhabitants of Nuoro) in a shop window. We immediately went in and bought it. After looking through the dictionary I thought it would be fun to compile a very brief Nuorese-Bristolese dictionary. It must be stressed, however, that Sardo is an officially recognised language whereas Bristolese is a mixture of dialect words and the way Bristolians with a very strong Bristol accent pronounce certain words in English! So here it is, with the standard Italian in brackets after the Nuorese words and standard English in brackets after the Bristolese words.

Pochi giorni fa io e Maria Rita facevamo una passeggiata in centro storico di Nuoro. In vetrina abbiamo visto un dizionario "Italiano-Nuorese" (Nuorese è il dialetto Sardo che gli abitanti di Nuoro parlano). Siamo entrati subito in negozio ed abbiamo comprato il piccolo libro. Dopo avere guardato il dizionario ho pensato che sarebbe stato divertente creare un dizionario molto breve "Nuorese-Bristolese". Pero, devo dire che il Sardo è una lingua ufficiale mentre il Bristolese è un misto di parole in dialetto con le parole inglesi dei Bristoliani pronunciate con un accento di Bristol molto forte. Comunque, eccolo, con le parole in italiano standard in parentesi dopo le parole in Nuorese e le parole in inglese standard in parentesi dopo le parole in Bristolese.

Nuorese (Italiano)         Bristolese (English)

abba            (acqua)  =  wau'err         (water)

abilidade      (abilità)  =  abili'ee          (ability)

cuntentu   (contento)  =  appee           (happy)

diàulu         (diavolo)  =  devawl         (devil)

frebbe         (febbre)  =  feevurr         (fever)

furare          (rubare)  =  to still           (to steal)

furone           (ladro)  =  feef              (thief)
idea                (idea)  =  ideawl         (idea)

mannu         (adulto)  =  adawt          (adult)

mannu        (grande)  =  macky          (big)       

mascru     (maschio)  =  mell              (male)

meda           (molto)  =  gurt              (very) or   mennee    (many)

muccore       (muffa)  =  mawd          (mould)        

nerbosu    (nervoso)  =  nurvuss        (nervous)

pretzisu       (esatto)  =  zackley        (exactly)

pro                  (per)  =  furr              (for)

risurtau      (risultato)  =  rizawt           (result) 

sèmpritze  (semplice)  =  simpawl        (simple)

zenerosu  (generoso)  =  jenruss          (generous) 

zero                (zero)  =  zero              (zero)

Elias Portolu by Grazia Deledda

On my first visit to Nuoro in early November 2008, two days after my arrival, Maria Rita took me to 'Museo Deleddiano - Casa natale di Grazia Deledda' located at the old home of Nuoro's most celebrated writer who was only the second woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature when she won it in 1926. The museum, as far as it is possible, recreates the house much as it was lived in when Grazia Deledda was alive. I remember being especially struck by the study and the kitchen, both of which gave a fascinating insight into how life in Nuoro must have been lived in the late nineteenth century.

About a week ago we found and bought an English translation of Grazia Deledda's novel Elias Portolu in the nearest bookshop to home. In fact, it was about the only English language book in the entire shop. On Sunday I started reading it and I finished reading it yesterday evening. I was very taken by the poetry of her prose, breathtaking at times as it evoked in such picturesque detail the Nuoro of just over one hundred years ago and the surrounding area, much more rustic and simple than today and yet the timeless battles of the human psyche were obviously as much in evidence then as they are now and as they are always. There are still echoes of that world today. In fact, there is something almost eccentric about how in Nuoro nowadays you can walk past several blocks of high rise flats and then look out over a field towards the mountains and hear the clanging sound of the bells around the sheeps' or goats' necks just a few yards away; likewise, the sight of the few elderly women who still wear the traditional black as they walk along the street talking on their mobile phones. The physical description of the men in Nuoro - short and stocky, with ruddy to bronze complexions - was one I recognised as still being fairly predominant today too.

Sad tale though it is, Elias Portolu is an absolute joy to read. The title takes its name from the central character whose passion evoked memories of my reading of Sons And Lovers by D H Lawrence and its central charcter Paul Morel; and the Catholic guilt that torments Elias Portolu throughout, although a little less extreme, reminded me of Stephen Dedalus' struggle in James Joyce's Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man. Despite her reputation as major writer in Italy the work of Grazia Deledda isn't very well known in the English language world with only a few of her titles having been translated. Shame. Elias Portolu works very well in its English translation version.

Easter Weekend in Sardinia

Easter in England in recent years has been a relatively quiet time for me. Indeed, with four days off from work I often used to feel at a bit of a loose end. This year was a complete contrast as I spent my first Easter in Sardinia and we headed down to Lotzorai on Easter Saturday to join other assembled member of the extended Selenu family in the holiday home that they share there. In all, there were fifteen of us although we all did our own thing much of the time, except at meal times which are always a time for sharing.

I didn't know quite where we were going on the morning of Easter Sunday when Maria Rita took me out for a short walk but we ended up at the local church, Sant'Elena Imperatrice where a traditional Easter procession through the town was about to begin. Maria Rita's brother Raimondo and his wife Gianfranca were already there and shortly afterwards we saw Patrizia, Maria Rita's sister and her husband Gianfranco. I have to confess to having been completely ignorant of the local traditions and it was explained to me that the men and women would be walking seperately and would meet up at another point of the town before proceeding back to the church all together. Soon the procession began with church dignitaries at the head of each file with the women carrying a model image of Mary, the mother of Christ, and the men carrying a model image of Jesus. Along with Raimondo I joined the men. I felt a bit strange walking along, hearing the Lord's prayer recited aloud in Italian as we walked, as I'm not a Catholic and would hesitate to call myself a Christian in the conventionally understood meaning of the word. Philosophically, I'm probably more in sympathy  with Buddhist or Taoist views of the world. However, despite its shortcomings, I have to admit to having a certain amount of respect for Catholism even if I find papal rulings on certain contemporary issues rather strange and completely lacking in pragmatism. The devil is in the detail rather than the spirit. What I was witnessing here had a genuine innocence that was so far removed from the charge of the British high priest of atheism, Professor Richard Dawkins, (that giving a child a religious upbringing is akin to child abuse), that it was hard not to laugh at the appalling arrogance of Dawkins' "towering intellect". Anyway, I digress. The two processions met and joined together for the short walk back to the church where a service took place. We didn't go in for the service. However, it was interesting to hear the other members of the family talk about how in small communities like this it was the church which held the community together and that it has an ever more difficult job today with the constant media scrutiny that it comes under. And the media is more interested in the perverse exploits of a few renegade priests than celebrating anything positive and worthwhile that religious communities do.

Back at the holiday home, there was a huge family feast early in the afternoon, with everyone in attendance, and this really was a time for joy and celebration. There was so much fantastic food that it was hard to stop eating but fortunately for me my stomach gave me the warning signs about when it was the right time to stop! It really was a splendid family get-together and we were lucky to enjoy some fine weather throughout the weekend before we returned to Nuoro late afternoon on Easter Monday.

Below, family feast Easter Sunday

Exhibition of the work of Sardinian Sculptor Costantino Nivola

Last Sunday, before enjoying a splendid St.Valentine's Day meal at a restaurant in central Nuoro, Dai Monti

Del Gennargentu, Maria Rita and I  went to see an exhibition of the work of the well-known Sardinian sculptor and painter Costantino Nivola, grandfather of Alessandro Nivola the film actor. Nivola came from a very humble background, growing up in the small village of Orani which is about 15 kilometres south west of Nuoro. He worked locally as an apprentice stonemason before finding success as an artist but spent much of his later life in New York after marrying Ruth Guggenheim, whose Jewish origins made much of Europe an uncomfortable place for the couple during the Second World War.

The exhibition is showing in Nuoro at the Tribu in Piazza Santa Maria della Neve, until 21st of March, and is entitled L'investigazione dello spazio (The investigation of space). We found it a very interesting exhibition, with some curious abstract works alongside others based more in realism, and we could clearly see how Nivola's native Sardinia influenced his work (as in the work Bozzetto per il pannello murale dello show-room Olivetti a New York, 1953, pictured above).

One of the most startling and profound works was the Capella del Corpus Christi (the Chapel of Christ - pictured below) which was upstairs in a seperate room away from the main body of the exhibition. Entering inside was evocative of entering any chapel where the ambience and silence can give an immediate and soothing experience of sensitivity, both physical and emotional.

Nivola had close links with the town of Nuoro and in 1965 accepted a commission to create a series of sculptures in the Piazza Satta,  a square in the central part of the town, and this was completed in 1967. Here, it is very much in evidence just how Nivola made such creative and intelligent use of space. (A part of Nivola's work in Piazza Satta is pictured below).

Il Fuoco di Sant'Antonio

I had indended to write this post earlier but a bout of gastric flu knocked me back for several days. Anyway, now, just a  fortnight or so after the event, I'm ready to write about 'il fuoco di sant'antonio', a traditional festival in Italy which takes place on the 16th and 17th January. Firewood is gathered beforehand and, with food and drink in generous supply, a huge bonfire burnt on the 16th January, the eve of the 17th, the day which actually honours Sant'Antonio (or Saint Anthony in English). On Friday the 15th January, we travelled from Nuoro to Lotzorai, a small and very picturesque seaside town on the east coast of Sardinia where Maria Rita's family have a holiday home. We joined about another ten members of the extended family for the celebration. Unfortunately, I started to feel unwell on Saturday so I wasn't able to involve myself as much as I would have liked. However, I was well enough come Saturday evening to partake of the rather sumptuous feast that we all indulged in as we sat around the blazing bonfire. Jokes and stories were told and everyone seemed to be enjoying the food, the conversation and the warmth of the fire. It was quite an experience for me as I tried to listen, sometimes following the thread of the Italian being spoken and understanding quite well, and other times completely losing it.

Unfortunately, on Sunday I started to feel very queasy and extremely delicate and it was a relief to arrive back in Nuoro. Nevertheless, I do hope that I'll be able to enjoy the experience more fully in the years to come!

Below is a pic of me enjoying 'il fuoco di sant'antonio'.

Graffiti and Street Art

In my very first post in this blog I wrote about the extent of the graffiti in Nuoro and how the council here, as opposed to the council in my native city of Bristol, appear to have no interest in cleaning it up. In fact, there seems to be a rather cavalier attitude here towards dog fouling and litter as well as graffiti, which is a shame because, potentially, Nuoro is a town which has a lot going for it and I feel much safer walking the streets here than I do in many English towns. As I've written before, Nuoro has a rich cultural and artistic heritage, as well as being located in a very beautiful part of Sardinia, and I am sure it would attract more visitors if a greater effort was made to clean up the town.

Anyway, a few days ago, while walking through the town centre, it was interesting for me to stumble across the more acceptable face of street art and the very crudest and mindless example of graffiti within a stone's throw of each other. Firstly, the ugly scrawl on an old disused church, which still has a certain amount of architectural charm, in Via delle Grazie. (See below)

I had hardly walked for another half a minute when I saw a far more skillful example of street art on the wall of a shop, Street & Fashion, showing a picture of a deejay working at his decks. While lacking the wit of a work by Banksy, I couldn't help but feel that at least it displayed a certain amount of artistic skill and it's highly likely that the work was legitimate.

Perhaps the council in Nuoro would do well to provide more legitimate spaces for those with genuine talent to be able to practise their art, as has happened in Bristol. (Maria Rita is pictured below in January 2009 in a part of the Bristol Harbourside where street art is allowed to be practised freely and some very interesting work is on display).