Interesting Side Trips from Toccalmatto

While the majority of our time in Toccalmatto was spent in the bookmaking workshop, we did visit some of the interesting towns nearby. We were fortunate to have Andre and Carla as guides as they provided interesting insights about the places we visited. I was surprised at the number of castles and fortified manors in the area, but realized we were talking about at least a thousand years of sometimes turbulent history. Additionally, we learned that this area lay on one of the pilgrim routes from Canterbury to Rome. In my recollections of all the history that Andre related, I can only remember small portions and I am hoping that what I do remember is not too mixed up!

We visited the town of Fontanellato several times, the first time in the evening and saw the moated castle nicely lit with few people around.

This castle is known as Rocca Sanvitale and was begun in the 13th century and finished in the 15th century, which is when the town began to grow around it. Until the middle of the 20th century it remained the home of the descendants of the Count of Sanvitale.  We visited the castle a second time and were able to visit the interior rooms with wonderful fresco's. We were accompanied by Andre who has a great deal of knowledge of the fresco origins.

This is part of the fresco known as Diane and Acteon, painted by Francesco Mazzola, commonly known as Parmigianino ("the little one from Parma"), in 1523-34. When he painted this fresco he was only 20 years old, which underscores his amazing talent.

This is the room you see before the Diane and Acteon, fresco, and indicates the dramatic difference displayed in the style of painting.

We went to the Sunday market in Fontanellato and enjoyed the many local offerings.  I thought this photograph epitomized the region with Parmesan cheese and one of the many forms of Parma ham.

We also took a trip to Castell'Arquato, which is in the foothills about 10 miles or so from Toccalmatto. This castle sits in a commanding position overlooking the valley below. It is believed to have originated in Roman times as a military settlement. The first recorded news of this castle occurred about the middle of the 8th century.

It was quite a walk up to the castle entrance,

but it began with this lovely tree-lined avenue.

There was so much to see, but I thought this photograph gave some idea of the commanding position of the castle.

This is the Collegiata di Santa Maria, the church also built on the site in the middle of the 8th century. It was, however, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1117, so I guess it counts as a "new" church in this part of the world!
There is a small restaurant next to the arch under the clock tower.  We took the opportunity to relax for a while with an aperitivo.

The next evening, Carla took us to another castle, in the town of Vigoleno.

The good news for this visit was that we could drive to the castle entrance!

The town of Vigoleno is largely within the castle walls. All the streets were cobbled, some offering glimpses of the countryside below.

 Walking down the streets also meant that we had to walk up. The benefit of visiting in the evening was that is was cool with the occasional breeze.

We passed by several Trattoria.   Each looked very inviting and interesting.  Notice the ATV, an easy way to maneuver some of the steep narrow streets.

The photo above is in the castle main square. It was interesting to see that there was a large cistern, reminding us that this castle was first built in the 10th century which required a secure supply of water to withstand any possible siege.  You can stay in the castle, as it is run as a small hotel.

Next was a visit to the Abbey of Clairvaux of the Dove, or Abbazia di Chiaravalle della Colomba in Italian, which sounds more colorful.  We were fortunate to be here at this time of year, as this is when the "Flower Festival of Corpus Domini" occurs.

This is a beautiful carpet of flowers set in place along the central aisle of the basilica.

Close-ups of some of the details of construction.  Fortunately all of the flower petals and other elements of the display were still fairly fresh.  This is a Cistercian Abbey that is well preserved and still has practicing monks in residence.

This is a statement from the Abbey website that describes the layout of the square above, "The architectural complex is built in the traditional Benedictine plan, taken up by the Cistercians, with the fundamental buildings arranged around the square cloister and church".

The inner ring of the cloister is remarkable in it's detail and quite beautiful.

The pillars that make up the cloister walk were difficult to capture in a photograph, but I did attempt to capture these corner columns, all carved from a single piece of marble. 

 Kathleen taking a walk around the external cloister path.

One last photograph from a room off the cloister walk, dedicated to displays of measurement methods employed in the construction of the Abbey, which  were quite fascinating.

We also went for a guided tour of Rocca di Soranga, a castle-palace located in the nearby town of Soranga. This castle was once owned by the princes of the Meli Lupi family and is still inhabited by descendants of that family. Because it is still a family home, no photographs were allowed in the interior rooms. The exterior of the palace is rather plain which belies the beautiful artwork and furnishings within.

The first thing that you notice as you enter the castle courtyard is the Porsche, one of the prince's cars.

 
The courtyard portico with fresco's depicting vine leaves.

The tour guides spoke only Italian, so we were doubly fortunate that Andre came with us and provided a narrative in English of all that we saw,  (again, he is very knowledgeable about all of the art and the history of this castle).

An interesting patio overlooking the castle gardens.

The garden view from the patio.

This post wraps up our visit to France and Italy this summer.  I must add our gratitude and appreciation to Andre and Carla for being our knowledgeable guides to these castles and monasteries. I apologize if my memory of some facts is not totally accurate.  ( I would also like to thank Wikipedia for providing the occasional extra detail.)

Until next time, thank you for joining us on our travels,  au revoir and arrivederci.

Atelier Alma Charta, Toccalmatto

On Sunday June 19 we moved from Parma to begin our letterpress printing, etching and bookmaking workshop with Andre Beuchat at his studio located in the small village of Toccalmatto, a short distance north of Parma. We had been introduced to Andre and his daughter Martine by our friend Kathleen at the Codex exhibition and book fair held earlier this year in Point Richmond, California. Kathleen had taken this workshop in 2016 and wanted to return, so she invited us to join her.  Now, here we were excited  to embark on a new adventure. I with a certain amount of uncertainty, as I had never set type or made an etching before.

Andre's studio is located in the family's old farmhouse in an amazing structure with very thick stone walls and domed brick ceilings. You can see more through the website here.

Our accommodations were also at the farmhouse, which included all of our meals lovingly prepared by Andre's wife, Carla.  More about that later........

The farmhouse is tucked away down a short narrow road, which we found fairly easily with Kathleen's help since she had been there last year.

Looking into the studio before we started. You can see the vaulted brick ceilings that I mentioned above, quite remarkable construction when you consider that this space once housed cattle.
We had all come with an idea for our book project and on describing them to Andre, he began sharing many of his books from which we could form ideas applicable to our projects.   We each began at different stages of our books, which allowed Andre to guide each project through all phases in parallel, and not, for example, all needing to use the same press at the same time.

One area where we set type.

This is the type set for the poem that I had chosen. I found this pretty challenging and won the prize for the most mistakes when we made a test print.   A "b" and a "d" look pretty much alike when viewed upside down and backwards!

Diane discussing an element of her book with Andre.

Kathleen's zinc plate with her drawing to be included in her book.  The plate has yet to be etched before it is ready for inking and printing.

The weather was hot while we were in the workshop, but in the cold winter this is Andre's "central heating system".

Len with his first experience inking the type before running the press, all hand powered, by the way.

Diane and Andre working on her printing.

Satisfying to see the pages as they come off the press, one at a time.

Kathleen working on a cut-out design for the cover of her book.

The Atelier was home to several cats, who were always willing to help!

Jack was often in the studio to keep us company.  He did not like the hot weather and the studio remained quite cool.

We began work on our projects after breakfast at 8:30, breaking for pranzo (lunch) at about 1:30. Pranzo is the main meal of the day and always seemed to include three courses and wine. Carla is an excellent cook and we ate very well everyday.  We welcomed a short siesta before starting back in the studio at 3:30, working until about 7:00pm.  Ending our day with the evening meal, cenzo (dinner), more wine and lovely conversation.
Much of what was included in each meal came from Andre and Carla's garden, which made it all the more delicious.

Carla with bounty from the garden.

Just a small example of one of the lunch courses.  I think I could do a complete blog on the beautifully prepared food (thank you Carla!)  but, back to the printing.

This is the area where the ink was prepared for our etchings.

Andre prefers to rely as little as possible on powered tools and this is a good example of how to keep warm the surface used to ink the etched plates (a small tea light).

An example of an old hand-powered press, made in Monza and dated 1868.

Diane pulling her etching off the press.

Kathleen with Martine, Andre and Carla's daughter and her sweetheart, Federico.

Diane with Sylvie, Andre and Carla's other daughter.  Diane used some of Sylvie's marbled paper in several of her book covers.  They added a very beautiful element.

Critical review of an etching just completed. A good lesson was the importance of making proof copies to insure the result you want before making a number of copies.

It is quire difficult to record all of the steps involved in making each of our books, but here is Diane with Andre working on the design of  her book cover.

Another step in the process.  I loved the use of  Andre's collection of old clothes irons as weights to keep things flat and in place,

We all hand-stitched our books together, note another iron in use.  There were many steps involved to finish our books and it was a marvel that Andre shepherded us all through our different challenges so that we each completed our books at the end of the two weeks.  He is a master teacher.

 Kathleen with the intricate cover cut-out, each one done individually by hand.

Len feeling very happy with his first handmade books.

Diane with her beautiful copies.

We felt very welcome at Atelier Alma Charta, almost part of the family. Another group photo of Kathleen, Lucca, (Sylvie's sweetheart), Sylvie, Diane, Carla and Andre. (someone had to take the photo!)

Dinner on our final evening with homemade pizza "to die for". Carla's pizza crust was like no other I have ever tasted.  The best!!  We were joined by Martine and Federico and it was the perfect ending to an amazing experience.

This was the end of our trip to France and Italy, so we packed up to begin our trip home. This photo includes Kathleen's luggage as well.  We drove her back to Parma where she was meeting a friend for another two weeks in Italy.

Sadly, we must say arrivederci.  Hopefully to return another day........

There was much more that occurred during our stay at Atelier Alma Charta, so I have decided to create another post to tell about the castles, ancient buildings, and fresco's that Andre introduced us to, providing a history lesson along the way.
Stay tuned.