MY FIRST VISIT TO THE GREEK THEATRE IN SIRACUSA IN 2020 |
PANORAMIC VIEW TOWARDS THE BAY AND THE ISLAND OF ORTYGIA |
MY FIRST VISIT TO THE GREEK THEATRE IN SIRACUSA IN 2020 |
PANORAMIC VIEW TOWARDS THE BAY AND THE ISLAND OF ORTYGIA |
SICILY'S MOUNT ETNA - A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH!!
International news media are reporting this morning (22nd February 22) that Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily and one of Europe's most active volcanoes, began to violently erupt again yesterday!
A pillar of ash and debris, related to a lava flow on the southeastern slope of the mountain, rose 6.2 miles in to the sky. Vulcanologists have been reporting increased seismic activity in the region since the middle of February when the volcano first showed signs of significant activity. Though there are no reports of casualities or damage to communities so far, the authorities decided to close Vincenzo Bellini international airport near Catania at lunchtime yesterday for several hours.
ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA FEBRUARY 21st 2022 |
It's just two years, almost to the week, since I was staying in Catania and let me tell you - this volcano is an ever present spectre for anyone living in the city. Not for nothing did the Romans see Etna as the home of the god Vulcan - arms supplier to their Gods. Sit and have a coffee in the main square and you can see its dominating summit above the urban skyline. It was smoking at the time I was there! Walk round the town and there's evidence of former volcanic activity in several spots. On one walk I did the remnants of a medival fortress had solidified lava flows almost up to its walls. The largest recorded eruption took place in 1669 when large chunks of the town were destroyed.
LAVA FLOWS NEAR CATANIA'S MEDIEVAL CASTLE Photo taken by me in February 2020 |
VIEW OF THE 1669 ETNA ERUPTION AND LAVA FLOWS TOWARDS THE TOWN OF CATANIA |
Mount Etna sits on a base which lies on top of the convergence point between the African and Eurasion continental plates, so any movement along that line causes stresses and strains in the surrounding rocks which can lead to cracks and fissures and the build up of liquid hot magma from the earth's core. That's probably what's happening now. What will happen in the next few weeks remains to be seen but Catania's residents will be watching the situation carefully for sure!!
A PIETRA DURA PANEL SHOWING A VIEW OF FLORENCE c1590-1600
I've written about pietra dura (the Italian craft of making beautiful objects using semi-precious hardstones) before in this blog but couldn't resist publishing a short article on a piece which came up for auction last November.
Florence was an epicentre for the craft of pietra dura in the 16th century and there were several workshops in the city, but probably none finer than that of Cosimo Castrucci (fl.1576-1602) who specialised in making panels with pictorial scenes made from various semi-precious stones.
In 1592 Cosimo and his son Giovanni travelled to Prague to set up a workshop at the Imperial Court of Rudolph II - a keen patron of the craft. Hardstone panels were expensive, luxurious and highly valued by Kings and aristocrats round Europe so to have a workshop and examples of the craft in one's Kingly possession would have been a huge status symbol for Rudolph.
This panel, probably made in the Prague workshops of Castrucci and featuring a view of Florence was consigned to German auctioneer Lempertz of Cologne by a Belgian vendor last autmn. The view of the Arno River with a fisherman in the foreground and a panorama of Florence in the background, is crafted from a variety of semi-precious stones including jasper, chalcedony and agates fastened to a slate panel. It's mounted in a leaded iron frame and measures 20 x 27 cm.
With a presale estimate of 30-40 thousand euros when it came to the auction block it fetched 230,000 euros plus commission and was bought by the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein who have a collection of works by Castrucci. I remember them buying the remarable pietra dura Badminton Cabinet for £19 million pounds in 2004 at Christie's in London.