Sometimes you just get lucky.
Sometimes you get a chance to be in the company someone whose art touches you and whose stories of her home are simply inspiring.
Sometimes you meet someone like Mira Cancelli.
Yesterday we got lucky.
We were exploring the Abruzzo town of Pianella (PE) and noticed there was an art exhibition on in Palazzo della Cultura.
The artist is Mira Cancelli and the theme of the exhibition is a tribute to the novel Fontamara by Ignazio Silone.
Intrigued we had a quick look and decided to come back later as there was a crowd already there.
So, after a coffee and little more exploring of Pianella, we went back to find we were now the only visitors. We had three rooms of paintings depicting key scenes from Fontamara all to ourselves. But not only that we met the artist and she gave us her undivided attention.
It was an absolute joy to be given a tour by Mira Cancelli herself.
Mira Cancelli is one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. Her passion for Pianella, for Fontamara and for her art is infectious. She described many of the works in detail along with delivering passages from Ignazio Silone’s book. When she heard that I’d read it her face lit up.
I’m not going to say that I loved reading Fontamara. But I do recognise that it’s an important book depicting the plight of the Abruzzo peasant farmers during the fascist era. I read it because it was one of the few opportunities that exist to read about Abruzzo in English through the eyes of one of its own, Ignazio Silone.
I never expected I’d look on my reading of Fontamara as a wonderful experience, but when I was able to contribute to Mira Cancelli’s passionate description of the life of the peasants, the treachery of those in power and the tragedy of Berardo Viola I was thrilled.
We spent an hour with Mira. Not only did she describe her work but she kindly showed us an exhibition upstairs of the history and culture of Pianella and also some modern and abstract art that is also on display.
The photos I took, with Mira’s kind permission, will give you an indication the scope of the exhibition.
I think we’d have continued to chat all day if we weren’t overtaken by il pranzo!
The exhibition continues until 7th April and I definitely recommend visiting. You can read more about the exhibition here (in Italian).
Mira Cancelli has a studio in Cepagatti and has also illustrated works by other artists including Primo Levi and Gabrielle d’Annunzio. She has had exhibitions in Rome, Paris, Tokyo and Dallas to name a few. You can read more about Mira Cancelli here (in Italian).
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Dear friends of Abruzzo,
You may be interested in my latest book, “Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone” (FSG, 2009). This is the first English-language biography of the writer. The book was the winner of the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History, nominated as a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the USA, and recently nominated for the Premio Flaiano in Italy. It received good reviews in the NY Times, the LA Times and the Wall Street Journal. For more information, simply click on the book cover on my website.
Cordiali saluti,
Stanislao G. Pugliese, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar, Harvard University
Professor of History
Hofstra University
Stanislao, thank you for the timely reminder about your book. I did mention it before in the post Ignazio Silone Update. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but here are reviews by Harry Clifton in the Irish Times and by Geoffrey Wheatcroft in The New York Times.
[...] In March we met Mira Cancelli and loved her depictions of famous scenes from Fontamara by Ignazio Silone. [...]