Castrum
Martinae Cultural Association – Martina Franca (Taranto, Italy)
Interview
by
Maria
Teresa De Donato
Over the last thirty years we have witnessed,
in my humble opinion, a decline at all levels – moral, ethical, political,
social and above all cultural.
As Italians – no matter where we live, be it in our homeland or abroad
– we cannot but be happy and proud whenever we see that despite the evident
deterioration of our society there are many getting busy, especially in the
field of culture. As an Italian who emigrated to the USA some 26 years ago I
can say that it is a great joy to see all over Italy the birth of initiatives
and cultural associations that operate in this field and really work hard to
spread culture and art at all levels and in every possible way. One of the
associations that particularly caught my attention and stands out for its
excellent organization, the harmony of its members, and the many initiatives
that it takes and presents to the public is certainly the Castrum Martinae
Cultural Association of Martina Franca (Taranto, Italy).
Today, it is, therefore, a great honor for me to host President Aldo
Narcisi on my Blog and Virtual Cultural Salon.
MTDD:
Thank you, Aldo, for accepting the invitation and for being my guest today. It
is a great pleasure to be able to talk to you. Let's start by introducing yourself:
Who you are, what you do in life, your study, and any other information you
want to share with our reading audience.
Aldo: Good evening Maria Teresa, thank you for this interview first of all because we are bound by great esteem and affection and because this is certainly a great opportunity to make our association and the purposes for which it operates in the area known.
My
name is Aldo Narcisi and I am the president of the Castrum Martinae Cultural Association
(2015) and in my life I have been an interior decorator for more than 25 years,
a lover of art in all its facets, and of the traditions and the history of my town.
MTDD: Aldo, how did you come up with the idea of founding a Cultural Association and why did you see the need for it?
Aldo: It all started 7 years
ago from a simple Facebook page in which, with a group of friends, we shared
historical photos and posts on local traditions and history. Later, driven by
the love for our town, we decided to establish a real cultural association in
order to better enhance our cultural and environmental heritage as well as our local
traditions to the advantage of the entire Martinese community.
MTDD: In the Apulian cultural panorama and
above all, in that of Martina Franca, what exactly is the role that your
Association plays and how do you think your association distinguishes itself
from all the others operating in your sector?
Aldo: The Castrum Martinae
Association founded in 2015, is a non-profit cultural association, which aims
to disseminate and promote culture and art in all its forms: poetry, music,
painting, through literary presentations, poetry readings, pictorial and photographic
exhibitions, concerts. Among the peculiarities of our association there is a
particular attention given to the preservation, promotion, and dissemination of
traditions, of martinism and of local history, through shows in the vernacular
and the organization of tours in the historic center; to make the architectural
beauties increasingly appreciated and the history of our town, we also use
multimedia audiovisual reproductions and various social networks.
Compared to other associations we stand out because we are
lucky enough to have a large number of artists in the association, made up of
painters, poets, writers, photographers, actors, and musicians and this allows
us to operate simultaneously in all cultural sectors and, therefore, to be very
active and present in the cultural and artistic life of our territory.
MTDD: Do you make a special selection when accepting new members? Do they need to meet some specific requirements?
Aldo: No, we do not make any specific
selection; generally those who approach us have the same interests as we do and
share the socio-cultural aims of the Association itself and, therefore, can
easily be part of it by requesting regular registration.
MTDD: With what criteria do you determine the theme of your events?
Aldo: We often take
inspiration from the time of the year and create national and international
themed events such as "Plots of art against violence against women"
on November 25, “Castrum in love” for February 14, Valentine's Day, during the
Christmas holidays, the vernacular show "Illuminates Christmas" or
even homages to mothers and grandparents on the days dedicated to them. Then we
also carry out other cultural events according to the proposal of the members
or of third parties, such as literary presentations, exhibitions of various
kinds, concerts, and poetic and literary readings.
MIDD: When it comes to the organization of events, have you ever made use of sponsors, patronage or even only partnerships with other associations and if so, in which cases?
Aldo: We carry out many events in which we avail ourselves of the patronage of the Municipality of Martina Franca, such as the show now in its sixth edition "Illuminate Christmas" and which unfortunately this year did not take place due to Covid 19, for which we also make use of some sponsors; moreover the patronage of the Municipality has been granted to us for some literary presentations, for the exhibitions of trousseau and period clothes relating to birth and marriage and for exhibitions of vintage photos, but also exhibitions of current photos of our beautiful town. Furthermore, the patronage was also granted to us for the "reading, music and fashion" events realized in correlation with the exhibitions of Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, which the municipality of Martina Franca has hosted in the Doge's Palace for the last two years, events made in collaboration with the cultural association Artava of Taranto and Turisport Europe.
Many
other events were organized with the collaboration of other local associations:
"Artemozioni" Association, "Riflessi d'Arte" Cultural
Association, "La Cutizza" 2010 Association, "Amar Down"
Association, "C. A. V. Martina Franca” and “Artava”
Cultural Association.
MTDD:
Palazzo Ducale is the only venue where you organize your events or are there
others? Can you give some historical information about your beautiful and
equally suggestive Baroque town and this stupendous palace?
Aldo: Palazzo Ducale is not the only venue where we hold our events, we often rent other venues, especially in the historic center, such as the headquarters of the Artisan Association, where we usually hold art exhibitions and other cultural events. Other times we were kindly hosted by the owners of some shops or bars in Martina Franca, who made their spaces available so that we could carry out our events.
Now I am very happy to answer your question regarding our beautiful Baroque town and its Ducal Palace.
Martina Franca is an enchanting town in Baroque-Rococo style, which stands on a plateau of karst origin which places it at 400 meters above sea level. The ancient origins of this city are testified by the numerous findings of the populations who already lived there in prehistoric times, but the name by which it is known was given for the first time by Filippo I D'Angiò, who in recognizing Martina Franca perpetual privileges such as franchises, renamed it this way. The epoch of greatest splendor for this town was the '700, a period in which the most important monuments and churches that still dominate its historic center were built. The baroque is the style that dominates; it is found, in fact, in the many buildings and in this place it has taken on characteristic connotations that distinguish it from the other declinations of this artistic and architectural current; it is no coincidence that we speak of martinese baroque.
The best representation of this incredible style is undoubtedly the Basilica of San Martino, built in the second half of the 18th century at the behest of the archpriest Isidoro Chirulli. Passing through the narrow streets of the center of Martina Franca one is inevitably captured by the majesty of this church, the facade, in which the statue of the patron saint is depicted, is imposing and very suggestive, with the characteristic white color of its marbles, with the representation of a scene symbolizing piety and brotherhood, in which the saint shares a cloak with a beggar.
Passing through Piazza Roma, we come across the famous Palazzo Ducale, built by the will of Duke Petracone V Caracciolo in the 17th century and now the Town Hall. The palace was never completed, as it was originally designed, due to the huge expenses; it was only partially finished in the eastern wing by Duke Francesco III in 1773. The façade, built in typical Baroque style, is divided horizontally by a wrought iron balcony, the work of local masters, and vertically by pilasters. Inside there are beautiful tempera in the rooms of Arcadia, Myth, and the Bible and in the Chapel of the Dukes very well decorated in tempera by Domenico Carella in 1776.
MIDD: For a couple of years I
have been following you regularly and I myself have had the great pleasure and
honor of having been, even if only virtually, a guest of some of your events in
which you have presented, through introductions and readings, also my novels Ocean of Senses and Missing Puzzles, which made me very happy and for which
I sincerely thank you. I know that among the members of the Castrum Martinae
Association there are artists of all kinds – from painters to poets, from
writers to photographers to musicians. Both the Steering Committee and all the
members of the Association are very committed, but the thing that strikes me the
most is the positive and constructive spirit that you emanate and that does you
all credit.
How did you manage to create such a harmonious group?
Aldo: Each of us makes our skills available with a spirit of collaboration, we are all clearly united by the interest in art, culture, traditions, and love for our beautiful town; all this allows us to work together to achieve our common goals.
MTDD: Are there any other aspects that we have not brought up so far and that you would like to mention?
Aldo: The Castrum Martinae Cultural
Association is a purely voluntary association, therefore a not-for-profit one, and
I am pleased to point out that all the members and artists who work for the
realization of the events do it for free. All of us are one and only animated
by the love for our town and by the passion for art and culture. Every event
that we manage to carry out is certainly the result of great efforts and
sacrifices on the part of everyone, but the consensus of our supporters, who
are becoming more and more numerous, it’s really rewarding and certainly makes
us very proud.
MTDD:
Should someone wish to get in touch with you and maybe come and see you, how
can they do so?
Aldo: They can do so by contacting us through our pages and Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/Ass.CulturaleCastrumMartinae/
Or through our Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/c/ASSOCIAZIONECastrumMartinae
As well as through our email: castrummartinae@libero.it
MTDD: For 2021 I have various projects in mind which include hosting some artists who are members of your Association and that I hope will accept my invitation. Thanks again for participating in this interview, but above all thanks to you as the President and to all the friends of Castrum Martinae for being who you are and for your great and much appreciated commitment in the cultural field. All of this does you honor.
Aldo: A heartfelt thanks to
you, dear Maria Teresa, for your welcoming hospitality and your kindness, thank
you for this beautiful interview in which you gave us the opportunity to
highlight our common effort as cultural operators in our territory, but also to
appreciate our beautiful town. Thanks also for the invitation extended to the
artists of our association to be future guests on your Blog and Virtual
Cultural Salon; they will certainly be very happy. Best greetings and many hugs
to you from our Board of directors and all other members... Thank you very
much, it was a great honor for our association.
