Near San Polo 3097a

This needs some interpretation!

Survivors

The precarious looking chimney in Dorsduro I told you about 2  years ago, is still standing.  https://ytaba36.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/inner-secrets-revealed/

And, there are still skaters enjoying the pista da pattinaggio (ice-skating rink) in San Polo. But this year, there is no colourful, lit-up display at the centre of the rink. And, there used to be many stalls selling all types of edible goodies, now there are only a handful.

The children and adults using the rink didn’t seem to miss them.

If you rent skates, you get vivid orange ones. A few people proudly sported their own skates.

Corte Moro Lin, San Polo

Another interesting find, tucked away in San Polo

Another special day: thank you Giovanni

While walking through San Polo, I was pleasantly surprised to run into Giovanni Vio, whom I had mentioned in a previous post. He  very kindly invited me to see his studio on the Lido, where all manner of ceramic and terracotta works are produced. (His website is http://www.vioartfactory.com/)

The fence around the property announces that this is not an ordinary suburban home. Examples of the work are embedded into the wall.

Looking like biscuits lined up to go into an oven, these clay articles are drying out, waiting their turn to go into the kiln.

Giovanni in one area of the large studio, with more terracotta pieces awaiting attention. I had no idea how labour intensive it all is.

Wet clay is pressed into moulds like this, and allowed to rest for a while.  Giovanni can judge when enough moisture has been drawn out of the clay, which shrinks a little from the sides of the mould. Then, he will turn the mould over, give it a tap, and the raw piece will drop out. (I hate to think how many pieces I might ruin before I got even this beginning stage correct!)

The clay is sourced from Bassano del Grappa. (And I thought that area was famous for another product … grappa.)

This is the typical colour I associate with terracotta products. But, they have a few techniques they use in the studio, to produce a variety of effects.

For instance, paint may be applied, or steel wool used to scrub away parts of the surface, to give an aged look.

Ground coloured glass is also used, and fused onto the terracotta pieces, to provide yet another attractive variation.

         

The kiln used to bake the clay, or to fuse the glass onto the terracotta, reaches 1000 degrees Celsius. (This reminded me of the heat of the molten metal at the Valese Foundry.)

I’ll leave you with a few more images; it is not easy to do justice to the scale of the work done, nor the passion that is obvious in this third generation artist. I appreciate the generosity shown by Giovanni, who locked his shop in San Polo for several hours to take me to his studio.

More artisans

On Salizada San Lio, Castello, number 5468, a new shop has opened! It is the tiny offspring of the main shop, Il Gufo Artgiano, on the Ruga degli Spezieri, 299, in San Polo.

I was attracted to it by the sight and smell of cow hides hanging at the door way, then when I looked in the door, by the delight of many colourful pieces of leather work.

Everything is hand-made, and in this shop you can find handbags, coin purses, credit card holders, belts, bracelets, bookmarks …

They are fighting the tsunami of shops with cheap ‘leather’ imports that are springing up all around the city (and not only in Venice).

The designer, on the right, and the artisan, on the left

My little purchase. I’ll use it with pride and good memories

Lonely Planet review for Il Gufo Artigiano

Hot copper and extremely careful handling is the secret to the embossed  leather designs gracing journals, handbags and wallets in this artisan’s  atelier. Ancient ironwork patterns in Venetian windows and balconies inspire the  swirling designs, with vibrantly coloured leather adding an unexpected modern  twist: orange satchels, saffron-yellow photo albums and verdant day  planners.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/venice/shopping/crafts/il-gufo-artigiano#ixzz2PZwKQG00

Artisans still exist

There are still skilled craftsmen and artisans working in Venice, and I met two of them in one day.

The first is a  fabbro ferraio (favro in Venetian, it seems), that is, a worker in iron, a blacksmith. I noticed his shop in a narrow calle in Castello because of his window display.

Models of Rialto Bridge and San Marco

Further examples of the work he does

 The favro is Primo Bollani, and this is his cramped workshop.

Primo Bollani, (blacksmith) Castello, 5567

I really plead with you to look at his website, to gain some appreciation of what he has done, and is trying to achieve.

www.elferonovo.com       http://www.elferonovo.com/uk/indexuk.htm  (English version)

I crossed the Rialto Bridge to do some wandering in San Polo, and met another delightful, unassuming artist, Giovanni Vio. He has a tiny shop outlet on Calle de la Madoneta, 1459 to display some of the many ceramic and terracotta items he has made, and offers for sale.

My modest purchase

Giovanni has a studio on the Lido, where he does his work, and also gives lessons to those wanting to learn this art form. He also does restoration work, a skill learned from his father and grandfather.

He is the grandson of Romano Vio, a Venetian sculptor born 100 years ago. A tribute to him is currently on in Venice, until 26 aprile.

Again, I urge you to have a look at Giovanni’s website (also available in English).   www.vioartfactory.com

These two hard-working talented men (and others like them) deserve more attention (and customers); please help keep their art alive!

Sartorial splendour

These two dapper gentlemen were strolling along in the San Polo sestiere.

You just don’t see blokes dressed like this in Dismal Swamp!

And, after a long time without the presence of this subject, I bring you the self-professed pissotta numero uno.

Bold as brass!

Their glory days are long gone

These doors are in the San Polo sestiere, opposite the State Archives building. They are so weather-beaten, and the lions that must once have shone proudly are now weathered and tarnished.

Missing one lion battaglio (knocker)

The remaining lion, rusty and tarnished

The other doors and their once proud lions.

… and the graffiti, of course

The metal work above the doors must have been quite beautiful when it was first installed.

 

Pietre sbuse/piere sbuse: another mystery in Venice

It was in the excellent blog BluOscar (in my Blogroll),  that I first read about these stones set into the walls of some palaces. They protrude in a vertical manner, and have a hole near the end. There is speculation as to their use. Since they appear in pairs, or more, it seems logical that some type of pole could have been threaded through them. But, why? In the Scuola San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, you can see a painting (by Carpaccio), of St Jerome and the lion in the convent.  Once you have looked at and enjoyed the very lively painting, you will notice that there are pietre sbuse on the wall below the two upper windows. And, it appears that clothes are draped over one of the poles. There are other theories, such as: they could have been used to dry fabric that had been dyed. 

You have to look up to spot these stones. The ones I’ll show you here are to be found in Castello and San Polo. I also saw them in the Rialto area, and a single one in Campo San Luca. The partner to that one must have been removed or knocked off during some renovation work in the past.

13th century Palazzo: Sal. San Lio, 5674

Castello 5658

This private dwelling was not so old as the one in Castello. A gentleman I spoke to about it shrugged it off as “Quite new, maybe 200 years.” It’s all relative, isn’t it? Aside from many other eye-catching architectural features, this palazzo also had a number of  pietre sbuse.

San Polo

I hope you see some of these, next time you’re in Venice. You might also spot some that are set in a horizontal plane, with a solid stone a little distance below them. Happy hunting!