While visiting the oldest houses in our
small towns, it becomes immediately clear what a wide array
of objects are produced by local artisans. They are objects
rooted in the farming traditions of this region. Wood, tufa
stone, straw, wicker, papier-mâché, textiles,
clay, are all easily available in the outlying areas and
they have always been utilized for the creation of small
gems useful both in the home and at work. Although these
objects have always had a function of some kind, they’ve
also been subject to tasteful decorations since time immemorial.
Simple wooden spoons, forks, vases, plates, bread stamps,
all become extraordinary characters of various shapes: women,
bearded men, brigands. Today many of these objects can be
purchased from artisan shops and numerous other souvenir
stores as they are reproduced by a new generation of talented
artisans. It is not too difficult, however, to obtain some
original artefacts of some time ago, either in one of the
various antique markets or stores, or even from some old
gentleman living in one of the small villages lost in our
region’s interior and who is jealously guarding his
memories.
Papier-mâché
The
tradition of working with papier-mâché is an
old one tied to religious cults. In fact, patron festivals
are often associated with the presence of a triumphal float
created from this material. The Triumphal Float is definitely
a perfect example of this, that every year is destroyed
in the traditional assault upon it, and therefore, is rebuilt
by local expert artisans which aptly demonstrate their work.
Papier-mâché is made in various phases. After
the creation of the statue to be imprinted in plaster, many
layers of absorbent paper is lain down, alternating pieces
of news-paper with a special glue. It is then left to dry
until the two halves can be fused together to form the statue.
At this point the statue can be painted and refined. Today
papier-mâché is also used for creating typical
nativity scenes and small artistic artisan objects, or folk
art.
Ceramic and terracotta
Ceramic and terracotta are typical materials used in our
area. There are three ways of working these materials:
imprinting,
assembling pieces and baked. The traditional pieces are
the cucù (cuckoo),
roosters that in ancient times were the symbol of prosperity;
the call of the cucù, in addition, were thought to
“give life to inanimate objects”, and to bring
out the voice of the clay.
The cucù have various forms as far as each artisan
creates each with their own personal touch. These objects
remind us of country barnyards and old rural customs.
Often current productions are made using old techniques
and instruments which can be seen in the Ridola Museum of
Matera (clay pans, pots with
lids or spiral decorations, vases, bowls, cups, flasks and
bottles).
In the small town of Grottole the traditional artisan crafting
of vases and other ceramic objects has been perfected. These
items are worked and baked in rudimental ovens within the
caves, (Cryptulae, from which
the town got its name). This production differentiates
itself from that of Matera because it is limited to producing
objects which only satisfy daily necessities. The art of
clay baking is passed down from father to son.
The local stone
Matera was carved out of tufa and, in more recent times,
when construction upon the plateau began, it was built with
blocks of tufa.
It’s rocks, which came out of square and geometric
quarries, were cut, broken and designed by master masons
in a way so that they might be used to make chimneys, sculpted
fountain faces, decorative ledges, rough caryatids, crosses
and saints.
Today those master masons don’t exist any longer but,
in their place, we find builders and artists. The tradition
of tufa working has been lost in the course of time as well
as the instruments used to work it. Sculpting tufa requires
particular technical skills because it is a non-uniform
material with variable qualities that can change from quarry
to quarry. In old times it was extracted from the quarry
with a pick and then was cut into blocks of a dimension
and weight adapted for its use. Currently, the extraction
of tufa is less tiring and is achieved using a circular
saw. The tufa market in the Matera area, is sustained above
all by the need for restructuring the houses in the Sassi.
The tufa, thanks to its friableness, lends itself to artisan
work. Today it is used to create furniture accessories
(coffee tables, chairs, lamps…etc. and small objects
of art.) These are unique products, not created in
series, in which its value is more aesthetic than functional.
Musical instruments
The art of music in Basilicata developed through its pastoral
traditions. The first musicians were definitely shepherds
who created their instruments as an artisan would. Since
1500 the cornice drum, the waterspout, the salterio, the
ghironda, the ciaramela, the violin, the guitar and the
zampogna (a type of bag-pipe),
have been made and used. A direct testimony to this comes
from the Nativity scene (in
rock) by Alto bello Persio,
within Matera’s Cathedral, where shepherds visit and
play their ancestral instruments.
