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Piazza Vasari (Vasari
Square) during the
Saracino Jousting Tournament
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Arezzo..
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 Dominating
the fertile valleys of the ValdiChiana area (the Chiana Valley),
between the River Tiber and the River Arno, against the backdrop of
the Casentino hills, Arezzo still retains the glory of its ancient
past beneath its outward appearance of simplicity.
Gabriele D’Annunzio described the characteristics
of Arezzo in a mere few verses: a beautiful, peacefull, artistic and
creative town, but at the same time alert, attentive and with a
fighting spirit. Such is the character of Arezzo and its inhabitants,
unchanged by the passing centuries.
We can still sense and savour this atmosphere of history and art while
walking round the historic town centre, a labyrinth of streets and
alleyways where the craftsmen's workshops still produce precious goods
which are steeped in history.
If we close our eyes we can still breathe in the smells, hear the
clattering of the horses’ hooves, the hammering of the blacksmiths
and the sound of the carpenters chiselling.
Everything has remained as before. Nothing has changed.
And it is precisely here, in this historic framework, that Virgilio
Dragoni has been practising his art for the past 30 years: an
art which has links with history, with tradition but also with
creativity.
His restaurant "IL SARACENO" ("THE
SARACEN") is one of those craftsmen’s workshops, where the
cuisine is a picture painted in the colours of the ancient local
tastes and flavours and represents a true creativity in combining the
ancient and the modern.
 His
splendid wine cellar, amply supplied
with wines ranging from those of the highest quality to the less noble,
serves as a wonderful setting to the charming restaurant. It is an old
craftman’s workshop, transformed (but not greatly) into a delightful
and welcoming restaurant where, by sampling Virgilio’s delicious
culinary creations, we can savour an atmosphere of past tradition.
Here, only a very short distance away, in the Basilica of St.
Francis, another Arezzo artist, Piero Della Francesca,
produced one of the greatest, most important and most magical works of
art in the world:the magnificent cycle of frescoes based on "The
Legend of the True Cross", which has recently been
restored.
And similarly at only a very short distance away we can find the Cathedral
with its splendid stained-glass windows by Guglielmo de
Marcillat (1520) and the superb terracottas by Giovanni
and Andrea Della Robbia.
Furthermore, we are only a few steps away from the Pieve
Church of Saint Mary (XI Century) where, in addition to some
works by Giorgio Vasari, we can also admire a
magnificent poliptych by Piero Lorenzetti (1320).
 Basically
we are only one step away from the Vasari Square
(Piazza Grande), the vibrant heart of Arezzo .
It is here that once a year (on the first Sunday of September) the
inhabitants of Arezzo compete against each other for the conquest of
the prestigious trophy: The Golden Lance.
This is the prize that is awarded to the winner of the "Saracino
Jousting Tournament".
It is a commemoration and re-enactment of a chivalrous joust which has
been held since the Middle Ages, and which, in one of the cantos of
his "Divine Comedy" Dante Alighieri himself
declares to have withnessed.
It is the commemoration and the re-enactment of the batle against the
Saracens which, however, represents the eternal battle between good
and evil. The horsemen of the four districts race on horseback, "couching
their lances", towards a target held by the replica of a Saracen:
"Buratto King of the Indies" (a life-size figure). This
results in a most violent impact! The winner is he who attains the
highest score, and there will subsequently be great celebrations right
through until dawn! But it is still always Arezzo that wins! To fight
the "Buratto" you need steady hands and strong arms and such
are the hands and arms of the inhabitants of Arezzo: firm, strong
hands which at the same time know how to be gentle, light and magical!
And indeed it is from the magic of these same hands that the
goldsmiths' jewellry is produced, jewellery that is among the most
prestigious in the world. Since the Etruscan era, the inhabitants of
Arezzo have been transforming the goldsmith’s trade into a craft
rendered even more precious by the nobility of the metal.
And even today there exist about 2000 industrial and artisan
goldsmiths’ companies, where the methods of production by
the highest technology are happily combined with the art and the
creativity of manual skills, which can extract a whole range of
emotions from one piece of "rough gold".
"OROAREZZO", the world famous exhibition of
the goldsmiths’ craftmanship, which is held every year in the town,
is the most prestigious showcase for these emotions and allows the
whole world the opportunity to get to know Arezzo gold.
Similarly well-known throughout the world is the Arezzo "Antiques
Fair" which is held on the first Sunday of every month.
On that day antiques dealers and non-specialists alike arrange to meet
in Arezzo, in the splendid backdrop of the historic town centre. Here
you can find objects with an antique flavour or others that are of
more recent origin, from the most prestigious collectors’ items to
those more simple and common; from the most highly valued antiques to
the less valuable "knick-knacks".
And how could we forget to mention the surroundings of Arezzo? The
small towns of Cortona, Monte San Savino,
Lucignano; the magic of the Valdichiana (Chiana
Valley); the mystical nature of the Casentino hills with their
religious jewels: the hermitage of the friars at Camaldoli
and the Francescan Sanctuary of La Verna, as well as
such little known gems as Lierna and Talla, the birthplace of Guido
Monaco. And from there we must take the road which leads
towards the River Tiber to find Monterchi, which is home to possibly
the most controversial work of art by Piero Della Francesca, "La
Madonna del Parto" (The Pregnant Madonna); continuing
until we reach Sansepolcro, Piero Della Francesca's birthplace; and
from there, heading on upwards towards the source of the River Tiber,
we come across Caprese, birthplace of Michelangelo Buonarruoti;
then finally arriving at Pieve S.Stefano, world capital of the
"Diario" (Diary). |
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