Captivity Comes from Captivus

A dear friend of mine from Great Britain recently said to me that once you have learned how to use prepositions in English, you can say you have learned the language. I would like to add that once you are done with prepositions, the next step is using the so-called 'false friends' correctly. False friends are words that are written similarly in English and Italian because they come from Latin and Greek. They are also known as cognates. Indeed whatever word sounds difficult to you in English is easy for us in Italian: basically, all the words that come from Latin and Greek. Many times American and British friends ask me: "Do you understand this word, Roberta?" (As an example: onomatopoeic). And I answer my friends: "Of course, we leant you this word. It's the same in Italian!" 

Why false friends? 

By being away from Italy loan words see their meaning change once they are part of the English language. That is why these words are called 'false friends'. A false friend example is a word 'crisis'. If you read 'crisi' in Italian, we mean 'recession' and not a major catastrophic event. Another false friend is: 'suggestive'. you may run into this word with Italian tour guides who say: 'I invite you to enjoy this suggestive landscape', wherewith 'suggestive' we mean: beautiful, inspiring, unique. That is what the word 'suggestivo' means in Italian. 

However not all words coming from Latin and Greek change their original meaning (i.e. onomatopoeic is the same for both of us). Another word that did not change its original meaning is 'captivity' (cattività in Italian) which is a very interesting word. Captivity comes from the Latin word 'captivus', prisoner. 'Cattivo' or 'cattiva' in Italian is translated as 'evil' in English. That gives us something more important to talk about. 

In Italian the word 'cattivo', 'cattiva' comes from: 'Captivus malii' which means: prisoner of evil. It is much different from saying that a person is evil. In the original Italian and Latin meaning, the person is not evil by nature. The person is a prisoner of evil. That gives us a different perspective when we look at other people. 

'Captivus' is the first Latin word I learned in middle school. The teacher gave us the example of 'Captivus malii'. That is why I remember it so well. I hope you enjoyed my today's contribution. 

"The Unicorn is in Captivity (and no longer dead)" from The Hunt of the Unicorn (ca. 1500), The Cloisters, New York

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Acanthus Leaves and the Eternal Cycle of Life

Entrance door with acanthus leaves
varieties are seen in Florence 

If you are traveling in Italy you may notice that Italian Renaissance residences, Renaissance-style main doors and gates are often enriched with floral swirls that look like kales, with central flowers and acorns. These details are called rosettes. Rosettes turn a balcony's supporting beams into a festive garland of flowers, an empty door wooden square into a point of attraction. The same artistry applies to paintings and frescoes in the Renaissance: rosettes turn into swirls and explosions of beautiful leaves surrounding a painting's main scene.  

We said we have to keep in mind that the Italian Renaissance was a rewriting of the classical ages. Indeed Italian Renaissance art brought back to life what the classical ages had left us as a heritage.  

We can think of the classical ages as an evergreen remedy in times of revival after a temporary recession or important world phenomenons such as the Industrial Revolution and the current globalization. Indeed these events have much in common because they have given way to the highest consumerism peaks. Consumerism works in pairs with death while artworks in pairs with life. 

Arch of Settimio Severo, 203 A.D., Leptis Magna, Libya

That is why when times are hard on us when we look for a sense in life when we feel lost, we go back to the ages that made us feel eternal. The classical ages are eternal themselves by the means of their works of art and traditions and acanthus leaves are probably the best symbol for eternity. Acanthus leaves carve on Etruscan urns are probably the most meaningful example of the acanthus leaves' message: it's the description of the neverending revival cycle of nature. In this sense, death becomes part of the life cycle and is enhanced and respected the same as life. Acanthus leaves were an invention of the classical ages. They do not exist in real life. They are an idealization of what we strive for: eternity. 

English translation: Antique rosette belonging to
the arch of Settimio Severo (203 A.D., Leptis Magna, Libya)

My curiosity about acanthus leaves comes from the fact that I grew up with my mother Elena painting one of the historic Deruta patterns, called RICCO DERUTA. I started wondering where the pattern came from. Researches took me back to Italian Renaissance artist Perugino.  Then through Perugino, I got interested in the classical ages: Romans, Greeks and Etruscans in particular. These latter are a recent discovery of mine. My love for the Etruscans burst last year only by watching a 3D video of a finding with acanthus leaves carved on it. It was a helmet. It brought me back to the origin of my researches and the circle was concluded. I had found the answer to my question about the meaning of acanthus leaves.

My mother Elena is painting acanthus leaves at CAMA
before 2011.  A classical pattern called: Ricco Deruta

                          

Screenshot from the 3D video reconstructing a helmet with acanthus leaves
that was found in an Etruscan tomb in Tuscany 

Acanthus leave borders from a fresco by Perugino

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Cama® is a cultural brand inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Like and share our page to join our online events & receive blog posts. 

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Peace and Plenty

Guido Reni, Peace and Plenty (1627) 

I didn't know that we celebrated the International Day of Peace on September 21st. Is this something new? From what I know facebook participated in the Day of Peace celebrations by making love filled with hearts. I am sure you noticed it, too. Today the heart function is back to normal. Clicking on hearts on Facebook yesterday was much fun!

When I think of peace I envision the etching by Italian artist Guido Reni with the personalizations of Peace next to Plenty. The allegory is meant to express the alliance between the two. To me everything beautiful comes in pairs: peace and plenty is the best example to express this concept that is very often depicted in art. 

Other pairs that come to my mind right now are Venus and Mars, Aurora and Helios, Spring and Hermes. This latter is very interesting with regards to reviving something (spring) as Hermes is the messenger of success. 

Now I have a little story to share. By observing the coat of arms of a local family called Misciattelli, I thought of it as an expression of the alliance of peace and plenty. Colors were reinforcing the idea: blue for the dove's background and red for the cat's. Look at the coat of arms with me:

The Misciattelli coat of arms (colored by me for the Friends of Cama)

The cat was the symbol of the Miscìattelli family because their name comes from 'miscio', onomatopeic for a cat in Italian. The cat is the symbol of abundance as a fat cat means that the neighborhood is feeding him well, that there is food available.  

The dove is the international symbol of peace and the olive tree sprig is an additional element to prove this meaning as true. So when I first saw this coat of arms I thought of being in front of the alliance of peace and plenty again. 

Soon after I asked a heraldic association to let me know if what I thought could be real. I sent them an email. They got back to me and said that coat of arms does not go this far as to allegories. It was just a coincidence. The only thing they said to me is that the dove in a coat of arms is a feminine symbol. 

Indeed what had happened is that the Marquis Misciattelli had gotten married to a local young lady who was invited to select a symbol for herself to be added to the coat of arms on the day of their marriage: she selected the dove of peace. 

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FIVE YEARLY WINDOWS FOR TWELVE MONTHS

Simone Martini, Saint Martin of Tours, 1322-1326, Basilica di San Francesco, Assisi, Italy 

My favorite day of the year is New Year's Eve. To me, this day is the first window into my life journey's renewal. Celebrating a new start to the journey with the rest of the world is definitely a great event. 

The egg is a symbol of rebirth and renewal. 

However, there are other important windows during the year. Among all celebrations in Italy, we can list FIVE important occasions to celebrate the yearly revivals: 1. New Year's Eve, Easter, August 15th - also known as 'Ferragosto', November 11th - also known as 'St. Martin's day' and Christmas. Most recently I heard people rename 'Ferragosto': 'Summer New Year's, probably because of the fireworks closing the day's celebrations just like we do on New Year's Eve. 

We are now way ahead towards autumn. Our next yearly renewal appointment is November 11th. In Italy, on this day we celebrate Saint Martin of Tours. The reason is that we remind ourselves of being charitable in order to face the seasons' craziness.

Fireworks in Italy are part of the Ferragosto celebrations
on  August 15th 

These five-yearly celebrations became part of the religious and political calendar in classical ages already- such as the case of Ferragosto, which was the name given to this celebration by Emperor Augustus - Feriae Augusti --> Ferragosto in Italian ---> etymology from Latin: Augustus vacations. However in the beginning these celebrations were part of nature's revival cycles. These cycles were described by the fruits of the earth, among which wheat was indispensable for survival since the dawn of time. Ferragosto was meant to celebrate the closing of the wheat harvesting period. 

Christmas atmosphere in Sicily 

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