Grifonetto Baglioni: the most handsome nobleman of his time in Perugia

A new coffee shop has opened in Piegaro and it is called
"BAR LUNA" from the name of the owners' cat: LUNA! 

This year in August new ownership took over the coffee shop on my street and the name seemed already a good omen: BAR LUNA. It is not much about the moon but rather the fact that it is named after the owners' cat and Piegaro is the town of cats!

As an example my home's karma turned out to be cats without knowing it, there are images of cats everywhere including a wind-chime (all things that came with the home and I rearranged), what I brought in was the painting of birds in cages, which at this point is very safe for them to be in. I am very happy for these birds, I will find a way to make them feel free out of the reach of cats.

So in Piegaro, there are many beautiful cats, a few of them stand out, as an example 'Nuvola' who is the hostess of Piegaro. Recently there was a new entry, a tabby cat who was abandoned by his owners in the parking lot below the village. He made his way up to downtown by taking the stairs, leaving his water container behind and the first home he found became his new home. He seemed to be very well-fed, healthy, and friendly. He had no problem adapting to his new life. Last but not least an expat cat arrived recently in town and is named 'Mishka', he speaks Russian, Norwegian, English, Italian and Cat and he seems to be pretty comfortable with the rest of the community of cats in Piegaro. After all, he must be very educated with all his travels, he must have gotten over the fear of others. Finally, there is another cat who acts like a dog, I think he emulated dogs at a certain time in his life, he sits next to the bench where his owners are sitting as if he were a dog and he follows them along the streets of Piegaro just like a dog. I have loved cats all my life but cats in Piegaro surprise me every day. Cats in Piegaro are special cats or they become special by living here.

The Ghripon is the Symbol of the town of Perugia. 'Grifonetto'  is a term of endearment that comes
from 'Grifone', we use terms of endearments a lot in Umbria. Words usually end with -ino, -ina, -etto, -etta

Piegarese celebrate with
"Prosecco" wine, my fiancé has
introduced me to Spritz, a
classical drink from Veneto,
based on Prosecco with Aperol
drink and sparkling water.
"Cin-Cin!" "Salute!"=
"Cheers!"

Going back to the BAR LUNA, the owner of the coffee shop is very professional in what he does, he knows what he is doing, he has worked for many years for famous coffee shops downtown Perugia, he is a traveler and he has also worked as a chef but he says he prefers serving at the coffee shop because he likes to be with customers. I got very interested in his way of interacting with people, he is originally from Perugia and knowledgeable about the history of Perugia. At first, I said to myself that I had met one of the few perugini who are "simpatici", perugini are known for being "antipatici", unfriendly, snobbish, and to some extent rude (deriving from a prejudice), they are known to be bold, as per the description of Pope Paul III who had a strong fortress built in the city of Perugia in order to contain the boldness of the Perugini, in Latin: "ad coercendam Perusinorum audaciam". What makes the difference with other Perugini is that this gentleman is very open to listening and easy in responding!

Therefore between one espresso and the other, an excellent croissant -freshly made by a famous pastry shop in Perugia (that I love)- and a blackberry fruit juice, sometimes a Spritz with my fiancé, we started making friends by going back historically, beyond our short lives, funny enough from the Renaissance time of Perugia. Now I do not recall why he happened to introduce me to a gentleman of the Baglioni family of Perugia, Lord Grifonetto Baglioni. Grifonetto, locally called "Il Grifonetto" was apparently the most handsome nobleman of Perugia. I didn't know about his existence and his story but as soon as he mentioned a famous altarpiece painted by Raphael, I got more and more interested. This painting was originally commissioned by Lady Atalanta Baglioni, Grifonetto's mother, in 1507 and the face of Jesus is the authentic face of Grifonetto, Jesus is the handsome Grifonetto Baglioni.

Raffaello Sanzio, Raphael, painted this altarpiece for the Baglioni
family in Perugia in 1507 upon order of Lady Atalanta Baglioni, Grifonetto's mother.
(Borghese Gallery, Rome). It is called Baglioni Altarpiece (this is the central piece of the original work of art
now scattered in three museums)

The oil painting on wood was originally placed in the Church of San Francesco al Prato at the end of Via Dei Priori downtown Perugia, where it remained for about a century and later transferred to the Borghese Gallery in Rome. This painting was very important for the career of Raphael, it opened him the gates to Rome, where he was invited the following year by Pope Julius II.

Apple green is currently the color to go for
wedding decorations in Italy, such as favors.

While the altarpiece meant glory and success for Rapahel (1483-1520), one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance and apprentice of Pietro Perugino, the story of the painting is very tragic, there is the grief of a mother for the loss of her child (expressed by the Virgin Mary and the rest of the characters as well as by the cloudy weather), Atalanta Baglioni's handsome son Grifonetto, who had been murdered following to internal fights in the Baglioni family for the supremacy of a branch of the family and which go under the name of "Nozze di Sangue" or "Nozze Rosse" (tr. blood nuptials or red nuptials) and that took place on July 15th, 1500.


Among historical memories and lots of enthusiasm for Piegaro and my new friends, Luca and Patrizia at Bar Luna, I have already organized with them the sale of subscriptions for the jogging competition that will take place on September 23rd, this Sunday, in favor of the local cancer association (they sold out!). The next project is Zumba lessons. Bar Luna is going to find a Zumba teacher in Perugia, who is willing to come to Piegaro to keep us healthy! I will add some advice about eating healthy food and will ask advice to Bar Luna, maybe we can throw a health party at their café!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BAR LUNA  VIA ROMA, 15 -  06066 PIEGARO (PG) open every day.

-----------------------------------------

- Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

FRIENDS OF CAMA 

Join the Facebook Page to Receive Blog Updates 

NEW!
Now on Twitter