Parole, Parole - A LitFest in Italy

Pietrasanta's summer festival of literature 'Anteprime' - Italian and international, starts today in the Piazza and I'm going to be there trying to catch the odd word or phrase of recognisable Italian!  The line-up includes literary stars such as Dan Brown and Orhan Pamuk, as well as journalists, TV satirists and critics.  The atmosphere is already buzzing.  Yesterday the sun came out for the first time and summer officially kicked off!  We were all out on the streets making the most of it.

Exhibition openings are friendly, casual affairs here, with lots of free wine and nibbles.

We were invited to an art exhibition on the subject of Words - Parole, Parole - at a small trattoria in one of the side streets and I was curious  - and not a little sceptical! - at what I might be going to see. I'm not a great fan of 'installations'.  But the show blew me away.  This is what the whole thing looked like, occupying one wall of the restaurant.

Forty one painters and sculptors in Pietrasanta were given a shoe-box and asked to fill it with an art work on the theme of 'words'.  The results were diverse, beautiful and sometimes challenging.  Here are just a few.

Polish sculptor Szymon Oltarzewski went for simplicity

Flavia Robalo

Flavia Robalo's sculture, above, was one of my favourites, made from cut-out paper like a child's pop-up book.

This is 'Infinity' by Swiss sculptor Rita Meier, carved in marble.

Veronica Fonzo 'Parole - nido del pensiero'

Veronica's figure was leaning out of the box as though trying to speak.  I found it rather disturbing - the traces of blood on the face, and the 'nest of thoughts' on the head like a crown of thorns.  But then, art isn't just to decorate or entertain - sometimes it's there to make you think.

Elena Zanellato:  Le Bois d-amour

 And finally, Venezuelan sculptor Maria Gamundi's 'The Secret' - it's amazing what you can get in a shoe box!