ITALIAN JOURNEY – PROGRAMME 2

No country has a greater wealth of architecture and historical monuments.

Our image of Italy is obviously an idyllic one, but there is another side to Italy.

The industrious Milanese claim that theirs is the most productive region in Italy.

We will see that Italian art is not limited to works of art of the past.  Today the Italians themselves are going to tell us what makes Italy so different, so lively and vibrant.

SICILY – LAVA ROCK

Catania is tucked between Mount Etna and the Ionian sea, on the east coast of Sicily.

It seems a bizarre place to build a city – the volcano is still active.  But Catania has managed to flourish in the shadow of the smoking mountain.

Wherever you are in the city, you feel the constant threat of the giant mountain looming over you.  But it is not a totally negative presence.

Mount Etna is an integral part of life in the city, not just because it provides building materials, but also because it is a source of pride, of social identity, and an inspiration to artists and craftspeople.

James McConnachie, an English travel writer, visits a local workshop to talk to craftsman Franco Bentivegna, who works with clay and lava rock.

James: This is terracotta.  And these are ceramics. Franco, tell me, how did you begin in this line of work?

Franco Bentivegna: I began about thirty years ago as a hobby and then I made it into my my job.

James: And how did you learn to make...?

Franco Bentivegna: As a boy I used to go to ceramics classes after school in pottery workshop in Catania.

James: Right, yes, the designs are all done...

Franco Bentivegna: The designs, they’re done by hand based on the Sicilian tradition.

James: And the inspiration, the source of inspiration of your designs is also...

Franco Bentivegna: Local things, Sicilian things, also because Sicily was ruled by different peoples –Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, French, and Spanish.  There is a endless mixture of styles and traditions, so there’s no shortage of raw material.

James: What about the future? How will this tradition continue?

Franco Bentivegna: My daughter and my granddaughters will carry it on.  They are already at work… yes, they do it after school too, in the afternoon.  This is a table made of lava rock that my daughter is decorating entirely by hand.

James: Hello.

Daughter: Hello.

James: And this... this is so smooth.

Franco Bentivegna: Yes, it is machine-finished, then the decoration is done by hand.

James: Why do you prefer to do everything by hand?

Franco Bentivegna: Because artisans  need this manual aspect, otherwise they become manufacturers.  And manufacturers must work on a large scale in order to be competitive, whereas artisans make single pieces, and have their own place in the market.

James: I see.  And these are...?

Franco Bentivegna: Tiles. They’re hand-painted too.

James: Tearrcotta.

Franco Bentivegna: Terracotta that is hand-painted and then fired to become ceramics.

James: So you do a bit of everything.

Franco Bentivegna: yes, we make tables, tiles, plates, and we make … we’ve made things for haute couture.

James: What...?

Franco Bentivegna: In lava stone or in ceramics or clay,  fine enough to be used for making clothes.  The designer Marella Farrera uses them.

James: I can’t imagine what they look like…

Franco Bentivegna: I’ll give you her address and telephone number, and you can go and see her and see these things for yourself.

James: Thank you very much indeed.

Franco Bentivegna: Goodbye James. It was a pleasure meeting you.