Molise Frescoes,Test of Time

 Molise Frescoes TEST OF TIME

Frescoes have been painted on the walls of caves for centuries, their origins unknown. 

What are they? A specific type of picture painted directly onto a wall which has been covered in lime plaster. 

Water is essential for the coloured pigment to merge with the plaster and then rather sitting on the surface of the wall as a painting does, this technique actually dyes or stains, and becomes an integral part of the wall's colour.

In Italy this type of painting was used extensively, particularly in the Renaissance period when it was used to adorn churches and important buildings across the Europe and further afield.

In the Molise region virtually all the the churches both large and small are home to an abundance of Frescoes.

The quality of the paintings is astounding, many have actually rendered me to tears merely because the intensity of the images they create is so intense.

One church, in fact the first one I visited earlier this year is an exceptional example of the quality and craftsmanship. That is the church in Cantalupo nel Sannio.  A fairly large and yet unimposing church from the outside it literally explodes into life when you step inside. The whole roof is littered with stars, and behind the alter angels seem to ascend to the heavens amidst them.

I have attended several services there and each time although I am not religious my heart has literally ascended to the sky simply by being transfixed by the beauty of the paintings.

Cantalupo nel Sannio holds a special place in my heart now as it is where I began my blog journal about the Molise region. I was welcomed most warmly by the priest at the church when I went to investigate the village written about and photographed by Frank Monaco in the 1950s.
I owe a big thank you to everyone in the village who welcomed me most warmly when I visited and look forward to going back again soon, even if only to hear the voice of the lady, no longer in the bloom of youth but with a voice which resounded through the church like an angel.
And to meet the gentleman whose image was captured on the printed page for eternity by  Frank Monaco in 1950, and still remembers it today. Then a boy of about four years old, he is now somew!at older.

I cannot claim to be a photographer of Frank Monaco's calibre, and in fact the art of photography back in the 1950s was certainly very different that today. I am still not able to catch the essence of a person in a photo as he seemed able to do, and I can certainly get a lot more practise than he did wielding my digital camera.

However with an abundance of stone, tree, leaf, brick, beast and flower there are still an abundance of images waiting to be displayed.

Molise a haven for the artist, archaeologist, architect, historian, sculpture, musician, poet, naturalist, ornithologist, and even the entomologist

She is waiting to share her hidden secrets with you.

Those who left and all they left behind

Those who left....
Italians, mostly men began to leave Italy as early as the 1860s...more than 4 Million in total. They wanted to start a new life in a new land...Many planned to return and almost 50% did.

People continued to leave until the immigration was halted by the fascist government in the 1920s.
However, after WWII people began to leave once more seeking their fortune in a more affluent land

This is a quote from a newspaper in the 1900s ... It is very complimentary about the Italian men of the time.

"The Italian, like the Irishman, is a bundle of contradictions. He is hot-headed and quick-tempered; yet he is good-natured, kind, obliging; he is gay, fun-loving, light-hearted: yet he takes the every-day duties of life as seriously as he takes religion; he is generous and yet will deny himself the necessities of life to save money. Hot-blooded, volatile, when compared with the Anglo-Saxon, artistic in temperament, industrious, easily influenced for good or bad, the Italian immigrant is an interesting addition to our population."

-- The Manitoba Free Press, Jan. 18, 1913

Most of the people who set off across the world to seek a new life were poor farm workers, but some were craftsmen and soon managed to establish themselves well enough to earn a good living.

Immigrants did not only go to America, they also went in huge numbers to Canada, Argentina and Australia, and many once again many of their families still live there today.

Molise was one of the regions which people left in large numbers, this was of course because there was no work it is mainly an agricultural area. Today things are sadly much the same, as the population is continuing to fall into decline even further, many young people forced to move away to seek work.

But back to it's past. Now spread across the world people whose families hailed from Italy want to find out about their past, and trace their roots.

This is not an easy task to undertake but is made easier with the internet of course. There are many routes to trace your past. A great page is
http://www.CyndisList.com/mailinglist/
which is mine of information for anyone searching to discover their past in Italy.

Molise has never really recovered economically from the mass exodus in which began again after WWII. 

Now many Italians in the Molise region have family all over the world. Some are now seeking to return to their roots, or at least find out about their past.

There are houses for sale across the region at really cheap prices certainly compared with many parts in Europe.

It is sad to see so many villages in decline, mostly in the centres, where people have left the region or built new modern properties on the outskirts. 

Molise, however, hides a  history that is worth investigating. If you want a quiet holiday, a chance to get away from it all then it is an ideal destination.

The town of Trivento for example, it has a population now of less than 5000.

This interesting hillside town sits proudly looking over the valley called Le Trigno which looks down over the river snaking its way along the bottom

Like so many of the villages and towns in the region the town centre is rather neglected, it's stillness wrapping you in it's cloak as you walk around the tiny narrow streets.

http://www.echomolise.org/Photo_Project.html This group is undertaking a project to find out more about the immigrants who left Italy to travel far and wide. Take a look at the site and if you have photos of our family perhaps you could take part.

An interesting aspect of the research on this project talks about the Italian determination to proudly announce their origins by their region, even their village first and then after declaring that they are Italian.  This had to be put aside when they set foot in places like the United States where nobody was rally bothered where they came from, only that they were Italian. 

Later as more immigrants came it became more evident once again, as interest began to grow in the regional cooking variations. However in the UK, a Pizza is merely considered to be Italian, nobody really cares that it originated in Naples.

Food has played a large part in the relocation of Italians around the world, but that is easy to understand because it plays a large part in their lives.

Being British and always totally obsessed by my weight I find it difficult to get as excited as so many people do about the gloriously laden tables set out before me here.

History has certainly has not been neglected in the kitchen whether it is here in Italy, in America, Canada or the UK.

Those early immigrants who uprooted themselves leaving their family and all that they loved behind never forgot their recipes, and continued to cook then as they do now just like Nonna used to do.


Well done Molise.. Be proud of your roots... You are certainly carrying on traditions that deserve to be preserved.