Eh! I am a lonely old French millionaire, living alone in my beautiful modern house here on the hill, overlooking the bay of Fécamp and the view of the magnificent line of cliffs which runs down to le Havre. It will never be overlooked: It is the best site in the town. I 'ave absolutely no-one to leave zis house to when I die. You look like a responsible couple, and also, you are Engleesh. I wonder, would you care to come inside wiz me and see what you sink about my proposal. 'ere, come up onto zis terrace and admire ze view... As you see, ze house is built to ze most exacting architectural stanadards. Let me offer you a leetle drink.....
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Tiens! 'ere I am in my lovely new apartment, brand new as you say in Eengland. I 'ave 'ad many soughts about 'ow to decorate eet. We 'ave a very simple, modern, minimalist style 'ere. Very chic. So I will add a leetle trellis, 'ere, to give what you call a false perspecteeve. And I will add some bright blue plastic roses, 'ere and 'ere, so charming, no? And my old farzer, 'e was a fisherman, so in 'is 'onour I 'ave put zis model of a fishing boat right in front on ze balcony. Eet is good, no?
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Well, actually, the Place Gouret is named in memory of my great-uncle Albert Gouret who was betrayed as a member of the Resistance, right at the end of the war, and he was taken away and shot by the Germans. Of course I never knew him. I am very proud of him. The whole family is very proud. They were terrible times. We cannot imagine now what it was like. I run the Bar de la Place now, right in front of the Hotel de Ville. Very popular with tourists of course. We get a lot of Americans coming, art lovers, because of all the Impressionists who painted this town, and people interested in the Normandy landings. And Dutch and English of course. And Germans, too..... They love it.
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Mayor: Now, here we need to modernise the town. We need to pull down the fish-canning factory, and these old works. We need a good hotel, and a museum and a cultural centre. And a playground for the children. We'll have to close the road and move this bridge and it will cause a lot of disruption for three years. Then it will all be renewed. What do you all think?
Commune: Oui!
Départment: Oui!
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Paulette, you stand in front. You are the smallest. Now, Daniel, you next. Put your hand on Paulette's shoulder. Now, Lionel, you stand behind Daniel, yes that's right.Put your and on Danile's shoulder. Now, Cyril, you go behind Lionel. Michelle, you are next, you mustn't cry. Just stand here, and put your hand on Cyril's shoulder, and then we will have – er, who's the next tallest? I think Agnes, yes, you are the one.... Now, you twins come next, Aristide and Nicole, either one, it doesn't matter, you are the same height. Now, all you others, wait your turn. We have to take your picture in groups, and this way everyone gets an equal position in the composition. Hurry up, stand straight, remember this is where the famous French artist Manet stood to paint the cliffs... you will all be in our photograph, you will remember this day when you grow up, and be very proud. Now, stand very still, that's it, and a big smile! Good, now the second group. Starting with Alain, good, now Armande, and then Camille, yes, that's it......
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French TV cooking channel called Yumissimo... she is making velouté de concombre, incorporating rocket and tomato.... (True).
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Do you know what he's going to do? He's going to get some goats. In fact, he's already got some. They're in the orchard at the back and he's made them a shelter in that building at the side of the garden. I know it used to be a goat house, but he's been using it as a personal gym for the last few years. He's taken all that exercise equipment out and put it in the garage. Yes, it's true. I said to him Jean-Paul, you don't know anything about keeping goats. Milking them, and so on. They can really hurt you if they want to. And he said, there can't be too much to it, the peasants used to keep them. Really! He wants to make his own cheese. I ask you! He's not even here most of the time. He's a city man, not a farmer. He's in advertising. He doesn't know anything about farming. He says he can learn it all from the internet. Ridiculous.
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Mayor: This old building here on the quayside is very historic. It is not being used in the best way. In fact this whole property has always served in a useful way for our community and the present owner just wants to convert the place into apartments for a one-off profit. We will buy it from him by compulsory purchase, and make sure the whole town benefits from the restoration of the area. This will preserve our heritage and create jobs and new opportunities for generations to come. What do you think of this?
Commune: Oui!
Department: Ouit!
Echo from Belgium, Nederlands, Holland, Denmark: Oui! Oui! Oui!
Echo from England - typical council official: An Englishman's property is sacrosanct. And we have never used a Compulsory Purchase order, and don't intend to start now. Even an election doesn't scare us. Nothing the community does will make us change our mind..... Never mind if all the old skills and knowledge is lost, this man must be allowed to put his apartment block and cafes into this building......
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Showing posts with label Vicenza architecture Palladio Venice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vicenza architecture Palladio Venice. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Vicenza!!!!
Came back to the flat from the internet cafe and managed to get this to open up! Ha!
Vicenza
Now, all the rich knobs in Venice hated the heat of the swamp and the marsh and the mosquitoes, and they yearned for somewhere cool and with solid ground under their feet for the summer, and once they had collectively conquered the interior region and held it safe from their various enemies, they hit upon the little inland city-port of Vicenza as a place to send their families for the holidays. They built up a gorgeous urban environment with palaces, churches, squares and markets but they had no defence at all when one of their own arrived to tell them how to build, embellish and improve their new palazzi. The architect who set their blood racing was Palladio, who created in Vincenza a series of urban show-off set pieces, and various country villas dotted about on the estates around the town, and these buildings were so beautiful, so correct, so brilliantly modern, so stylish and perfect that they formed the basis for architecture ever since. If you visit Vicenza, nestled into the nearest hills to the Serene City of Venice, you can easily walk round and see most of Palladio's buildings externally, and some internally, with some marvellous signposting and excellent self-guided walk brochurery.
The extraordinary thing is that the first building you go to see (called the Teatro Olimpico) was the last of his designs – he never lived to see it complete. It was commissioned by a body of men who must have been completely extraordinary in themselves – they were (I guess) all rich and powerful, and learned, and took Hercules as their exemplum... nothing could be achieved without work! They called themselves the Accademia and they thought they should spend all their money on anything to do with antiquity – literature, statuary, art and of course architecture. So they asked Palladio to make them a theatre and gave him an awkward little bit of land with an old prison on it... He was already experienced in creating temporary theatre buildings for special events, and had a huge amount of knowledge of the Greek and Roman theatres. Also he was genius at working on difficult sites, and he'd been thinking of what he wanted to achieve with such a commission, so in no time he had knocked up the basic layout... a wooden amphitheatre or 'cavia' of elliptical design, and a proscenium and stage 'scena' of triumphant classical proportion and ornament. There were of course some large elegant entry rooms for the building where the accademicians could meet and listen to music and lectures, but it was the theatre itself which was to blow everyone away. We went in via a 'new' passageway which brings you straight into the side of the auditorium/cavia - and it is a breathtaking experience....
The postcards on sale do not do justice to the experience of seeing this important space – the first covered theatre in the world – I will post my own photos in due course. But the seating is original, the stage wide and close, the 'orchestra' available for seating and the whole space just astonishing. The scena is sort-of based on a Roman triumphal arch with three main entrances and two more at the side. It is decorated with Corinthian columns and dozens of statues... these were originally to have been 'the Virtues' but after Palladio had died, the Accademicians had themselves plastered all over their marvellous theatre. They had to pay for their own statues, and some could only afford recycled ones, so although they were all stoutly male, some do appear to have rather feminine attributes (boobs).
The first performance (in 1580!) was of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, for which the costume designs etc remain. The set was designed by Palladio's rival Scamozzi, who hated him, and shows seven streets leading away from the stage – the city of Thebes in fact. It was such a marvellous design, and so fragile, that it is now regarded as an artwork in its own right and has been left there. It is all absolutely astonishing, especially when you think that London was groping towards a few comparatively temporary wooden theatres at the time, the Globe, the Swan, etc. This Olimpico at Vicenza is still a marvellous working theatre, with a breath-taking stage and orchestra pit, excellent acoustics, terrific history and it must really rank as one of the greatest and most influential buildings in the world. Go and see it!!!
Andrew asks me to record that we had lunch nearby in a little bar which claims to be an osteria and spuncioneria. We don't know what that means, but they serve a terrific menu of polenta or pasta with various fillings of fish, prawns, porcini etc. The address is Pitanta, Contra Santa Lucia, 8, Veneto. Bravo!
We walked round for a few more hours, looking at Palladio's marvellous exciting buildings which still give you a thrill. Vicenza claims him as their own, but recently had to agree that he was actually born in Venice and ran away at the age of 16 to escape an apprenticeship agreement. No-one really knows how or why he died, or much about his life, but his fantastic buildings have led to the town being made a World Heritage Site and it is definitely worth a visit. If you don't already like architecture, then you might start to take an interest when you've been to see all this stuff. We are definitely coming back, to see the villas this time.
We also recommend a quick visit to the town's Natural History and Archaeological Museum which is exemplary if very quiet... however it has some shocking examples of taxidermy, some very very very ancient pots, bones, skulls, etc., some excellent 3-D models of geological formations such as limestone caves, and the biggest fecking stick insect I have ever seen. I had no idea such things existed in Europe and I will walk past hedges with more care in future. This one is evidently called Ph. acanthopus Burmeister and is about as big as a big man's trainer.
Vicenza
Now, all the rich knobs in Venice hated the heat of the swamp and the marsh and the mosquitoes, and they yearned for somewhere cool and with solid ground under their feet for the summer, and once they had collectively conquered the interior region and held it safe from their various enemies, they hit upon the little inland city-port of Vicenza as a place to send their families for the holidays. They built up a gorgeous urban environment with palaces, churches, squares and markets but they had no defence at all when one of their own arrived to tell them how to build, embellish and improve their new palazzi. The architect who set their blood racing was Palladio, who created in Vincenza a series of urban show-off set pieces, and various country villas dotted about on the estates around the town, and these buildings were so beautiful, so correct, so brilliantly modern, so stylish and perfect that they formed the basis for architecture ever since. If you visit Vicenza, nestled into the nearest hills to the Serene City of Venice, you can easily walk round and see most of Palladio's buildings externally, and some internally, with some marvellous signposting and excellent self-guided walk brochurery.
The extraordinary thing is that the first building you go to see (called the Teatro Olimpico) was the last of his designs – he never lived to see it complete. It was commissioned by a body of men who must have been completely extraordinary in themselves – they were (I guess) all rich and powerful, and learned, and took Hercules as their exemplum... nothing could be achieved without work! They called themselves the Accademia and they thought they should spend all their money on anything to do with antiquity – literature, statuary, art and of course architecture. So they asked Palladio to make them a theatre and gave him an awkward little bit of land with an old prison on it... He was already experienced in creating temporary theatre buildings for special events, and had a huge amount of knowledge of the Greek and Roman theatres. Also he was genius at working on difficult sites, and he'd been thinking of what he wanted to achieve with such a commission, so in no time he had knocked up the basic layout... a wooden amphitheatre or 'cavia' of elliptical design, and a proscenium and stage 'scena' of triumphant classical proportion and ornament. There were of course some large elegant entry rooms for the building where the accademicians could meet and listen to music and lectures, but it was the theatre itself which was to blow everyone away. We went in via a 'new' passageway which brings you straight into the side of the auditorium/cavia - and it is a breathtaking experience....
The postcards on sale do not do justice to the experience of seeing this important space – the first covered theatre in the world – I will post my own photos in due course. But the seating is original, the stage wide and close, the 'orchestra' available for seating and the whole space just astonishing. The scena is sort-of based on a Roman triumphal arch with three main entrances and two more at the side. It is decorated with Corinthian columns and dozens of statues... these were originally to have been 'the Virtues' but after Palladio had died, the Accademicians had themselves plastered all over their marvellous theatre. They had to pay for their own statues, and some could only afford recycled ones, so although they were all stoutly male, some do appear to have rather feminine attributes (boobs).
The first performance (in 1580!) was of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, for which the costume designs etc remain. The set was designed by Palladio's rival Scamozzi, who hated him, and shows seven streets leading away from the stage – the city of Thebes in fact. It was such a marvellous design, and so fragile, that it is now regarded as an artwork in its own right and has been left there. It is all absolutely astonishing, especially when you think that London was groping towards a few comparatively temporary wooden theatres at the time, the Globe, the Swan, etc. This Olimpico at Vicenza is still a marvellous working theatre, with a breath-taking stage and orchestra pit, excellent acoustics, terrific history and it must really rank as one of the greatest and most influential buildings in the world. Go and see it!!!
Andrew asks me to record that we had lunch nearby in a little bar which claims to be an osteria and spuncioneria. We don't know what that means, but they serve a terrific menu of polenta or pasta with various fillings of fish, prawns, porcini etc. The address is Pitanta, Contra Santa Lucia, 8, Veneto. Bravo!
We walked round for a few more hours, looking at Palladio's marvellous exciting buildings which still give you a thrill. Vicenza claims him as their own, but recently had to agree that he was actually born in Venice and ran away at the age of 16 to escape an apprenticeship agreement. No-one really knows how or why he died, or much about his life, but his fantastic buildings have led to the town being made a World Heritage Site and it is definitely worth a visit. If you don't already like architecture, then you might start to take an interest when you've been to see all this stuff. We are definitely coming back, to see the villas this time.
We also recommend a quick visit to the town's Natural History and Archaeological Museum which is exemplary if very quiet... however it has some shocking examples of taxidermy, some very very very ancient pots, bones, skulls, etc., some excellent 3-D models of geological formations such as limestone caves, and the biggest fecking stick insect I have ever seen. I had no idea such things existed in Europe and I will walk past hedges with more care in future. This one is evidently called Ph. acanthopus Burmeister and is about as big as a big man's trainer.
Frustration
Annoyingly, we are not able to get our freebie online service tonight in the apartment, and I hoped to load today's exciting bulletin from a memory stick onto the pc at the internet cafe, but for some reason it doesn't work. The staff are all Indian and presumably speak good technical Italian but not English. So I am stumped for the time being and will try to get our Palladio story up in the morning.
For now I will just say that Vicenza is the city of toilets a la Turque, that is to say, squatters, which are ok if you have been regularly to yoga.
This is a slightly squalid posting, I think, especially when what I want to say is radiantly wonderful about the architecture and amazing life story of Palladio, who one way or another changed all our lives, even though he died in 1581 or thereabouts.
I will have to get my blog updated tomorrow. We had a great day though. My conference starts on Friday (tomorrow) after lunch so that will be the end of my free time in Italy. Two days of work, then onto the cruiseship to chunter round to Istanbul. Then it really will be hard to get the blog done....
For now I will just say that Vicenza is the city of toilets a la Turque, that is to say, squatters, which are ok if you have been regularly to yoga.
This is a slightly squalid posting, I think, especially when what I want to say is radiantly wonderful about the architecture and amazing life story of Palladio, who one way or another changed all our lives, even though he died in 1581 or thereabouts.
I will have to get my blog updated tomorrow. We had a great day though. My conference starts on Friday (tomorrow) after lunch so that will be the end of my free time in Italy. Two days of work, then onto the cruiseship to chunter round to Istanbul. Then it really will be hard to get the blog done....
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