Memories of Deruta and Good Luck symbols  |
| The herb of the Rue still grows on the city walls of Deruta and has given the name to the town, according to a disregarded theory. |
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| Renaissance symbols in contemporary times found in the hot spot of Piegaro, Italy: "Bar Fortuna", Fortune Coffee shop. |
I thought of Deruta this morning at "Bar Fortuna", the hot spot of Piegaro, where they serve a "grappa" from Northern Italy made by the distillation of the rue. Rue is a diffused herb of Deruta, whose original name in Latin is
"RUTA GRAVEOLENS", as per the label on the bottle.
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| "RUTA GRAVEOLENS" is the original Latin name of the RUE, Grappa is a fragrant beverage that the Venetian glass makers brought to Piegaro with their glass tradition in the late 13th century. |
I like to think that the name Deruta comes from "Rue", "RUTA" in Latin, "DE-RUTA". "DE" in Latin is a preposition that can translate many meanings, among which "as per imitation of". "Imitating" the herb of the rue would express that a town is a healing place, as much as rue was considered an anti-pestiferous herb in Renaissance times.
Other meanings of "DE" are: from, out of, about. Regarding the origins of the name DERUTA, my question is: why would the rue be on top of the tower of the crest of Deruta if the rue had nothing to do with it? I am asking this question because I keep reading about the origin of the name DERUTA coming from 'destroyed', "disrupted'.
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| The ceramic Crest of Deruta (the photo is mine) |
Indeed as regards the heraldry, if we analyze the crest of Deruta, we notice three elements representing the town's symbols:
1. a Tower, symbol of the castle of Deruta;
2. a Griffin, homage of the town of Perugia to Deruta;
3. a plant of Rue on top of the tower.
The plant is also a symbol of good luck (tr: "Fortuna"). Rue is one of my lucky charms and I have used it as a miniature on this blog's flap.
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| the detail of the rue on top of the tower of Deruta |
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| The stylized flower of rue as a lucky charm in the hands of the Queen of Hearts. |
Going back to the "grappa" with rue leaves and sprigs, it is curious to notice that the glass bottle is plain white, it is the rue that gives it a vibrant green color that is difficult to reproduce in the picture. And which other color is the symbol of good luck besides green? Green!
When I first took the photo the bottle was brand new and sealed. Rue grappa tastes really good. It tingles a little.
As lucky charms are concerned, a theory states that the flower in the hands of the Queen of Hearts is a blooming flower of rue.
My latest discovery is that the word "Rue" "Ruta" comes from Greek and means "liberation", "redemption". Recently I am drawn to this word so much. I just love it!
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FRIENDS OF CAMA
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