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.
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.
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