ART IN TREVI

In Italy, and I guess throughout most of Europe, building hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years old are crumbling away due to years of neglect and now, air pollution. Car exhaust causes marble to soften and leaves an ugly black residue. For these reasons you'll often see buildings covered in scaffolding as they're being renovated and/or cleaned.

I know there's nothing more disappointing than rounding the corner, anxious for that first glimpse of a building you've only seen in pictures before - only to find it shrouded in scaffolding! When that happens, you have to tell yourself that the work-in-progress is necessary to ensure that these building will be around for generations to come.

Here in Umbria, in addition to the regular maintenance, there are still repairs being made from damage caused during the 1997 earthquake. If only I'd had the concession for scaffolding and cranes I could be living the high life by now!

TREVI has been covered with scaffolding and over-shadowed by cranes for well over a year now - maybe two, and who knows how long these renovations will take? In an effort to distract from the plywood walls that separate and protect, Trevi has begun an artistic program where artists can decorate the walls with a variety of subjects.

While in Trevi a few weekends ago we also noticed that many artists had their work on display.  One artist who caught our attention was ALFIO TABARRINI.  At first we were enchanted by his wood carvings of hilltowns, (Trevi, I assume), but he also had works of a completely different style on display.  I'm not usually a big fan of modern art, and maybe the subject matter has something to do with it, but these colorful renditions of Trevi were very, very interesting.