402
enormous fortresses. Michelangelo was one of many locals who found himself frantically trying to buffer frescoes and church domes by covering them with blankets,
or building up whole mattresses in an effort, mostly futile, to protect church art from
the invaders.
Conditions became so dreadful that it is rumored that by the late sixteenth century bread not even suitable for hungry dogs was the staple diet in Tuscany, an area
once rich in every respect that had become one of the poorest, depauperate regions
in all of Europe. Imagine, a cross-section of some nearly 9000 square miles in the
heart of Italy, its capital being Florence; the geography that gave birth to such
ancient cultures as the Villanovans, the Etruscans, and to the very Renaissance
itself, reduced to rubble and squalor.
With little else to sustain the remaining inhabitants, ancient (obviously organic)
agricultural techniques were again embraced so as to try to revivify a dying culture.
In this Quixotic effort, the revered Tuscan Saint Giovanni Gualberto (995–1073),
known for having planted trees his entire adult life, was recalled with urgent fondness. Duke Ferdinando I embraced Gualberto’s creed to bring his country back to
the living. The Duke’s symbol became one of “working bees”—producing lifeaffirming fruits of the land. The strategy succeeded.
Meanwhile, Jews fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition were welcomed in
Tuscany; the death penalty and all forms of torture were abolished, Tuscany becoming the first government body to achieve these humanitarian ends anywhere in the
world. And today, as Professor Bardi has noted, Tuscany has more forest than virtually any other region of Italy. This ecological renaissance is based upon a rural love
affair, the endless embrace of nature, as recounted in every art form, love sonnet,
that evanescent landscape behind “The Mona Lisa” or “Virgin of the Rocks.” An
impression easily obtained by visiting the little sequestered village in the hills after
whom the author of Pinocchio adopted his nom de plume, the village of Collodi
where Lorenzini’s mother worked as a maid for the richest family in town, the
Garzonis. They would, in turn, honor that woman and her son who today Italy
knows to be one of the great literary geniuses of all time (Fig. 44.2).
44.4 Ecollodiology
The town of Collodi, founded in the late 1100s, is described by many as being in
perfect harmony with its surroundings, a true case study in what we might whimsically designate ecollodiology. Atop the town, with steps leading to it, is found the
great Church of Saint Bartolomeo. Bartolomeo was the son of a ploughman, one of
the Twelve Apostles of Jesus who—according to Saint Jerome—carried a copy of
the Gospel all the way to India. At the base of the village are the magnificent
Baroque gardens of the Villa Garzoni, along with the wonderful park designed by
Ottaviano Diodati in the eighteenth century, said to be the most sublime of all parks
in Italy and later dedicated to the memory of Pinocchio. The Garzoni gardens spread
out along flirtatious grids adrift in whimsy, mythic statues, follies, caves, aviaries, a
44 Collodi’s Garden and the Misadventures of Pinocchio
enormous fortresses. Michelangelo was one of many locals who found himself frantically trying to buffer frescoes and church domes by covering them with blankets,
or building up whole mattresses in an effort, mostly futile, to protect church art from
the invaders.
Conditions became so dreadful that it is rumored that by the late sixteenth century bread not even suitable for hungry dogs was the staple diet in Tuscany, an area
once rich in every respect that had become one of the poorest, depauperate regions
in all of Europe. Imagine, a cross-section of some nearly 9000 square miles in the
heart of Italy, its capital being Florence; the geography that gave birth to such
ancient cultures as the Villanovans, the Etruscans, and to the very Renaissance
itself, reduced to rubble and squalor.
With little else to sustain the remaining inhabitants, ancient (obviously organic)
agricultural techniques were again embraced so as to try to revivify a dying culture.
In this Quixotic effort, the revered Tuscan Saint Giovanni Gualberto (995–1073),
known for having planted trees his entire adult life, was recalled with urgent fondness. Duke Ferdinando I embraced Gualberto’s creed to bring his country back to
the living. The Duke’s symbol became one of “working bees”—producing lifeaffirming fruits of the land. The strategy succeeded.
Meanwhile, Jews fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition were welcomed in
Tuscany; the death penalty and all forms of torture were abolished, Tuscany becoming the first government body to achieve these humanitarian ends anywhere in the
world. And today, as Professor Bardi has noted, Tuscany has more forest than virtually any other region of Italy. This ecological renaissance is based upon a rural love
affair, the endless embrace of nature, as recounted in every art form, love sonnet,
that evanescent landscape behind “The Mona Lisa” or “Virgin of the Rocks.” An
impression easily obtained by visiting the little sequestered village in the hills after
whom the author of Pinocchio adopted his nom de plume, the village of Collodi
where Lorenzini’s mother worked as a maid for the richest family in town, the
Garzonis. They would, in turn, honor that woman and her son who today Italy
knows to be one of the great literary geniuses of all time (Fig. 44.2).
44.4 Ecollodiology
The town of Collodi, founded in the late 1100s, is described by many as being in
perfect harmony with its surroundings, a true case study in what we might whimsically designate ecollodiology. Atop the town, with steps leading to it, is found the
great Church of Saint Bartolomeo. Bartolomeo was the son of a ploughman, one of
the Twelve Apostles of Jesus who—according to Saint Jerome—carried a copy of
the Gospel all the way to India. At the base of the village are the magnificent
Baroque gardens of the Villa Garzoni, along with the wonderful park designed by
Ottaviano Diodati in the eighteenth century, said to be the most sublime of all parks
in Italy and later dedicated to the memory of Pinocchio. The Garzoni gardens spread
out along flirtatious grids adrift in whimsy, mythic statues, follies, caves, aviaries, a
44 Collodi’s Garden and the Misadventures of Pinocchio