Italy... Art lovers Paradise!

Piazza Navona - Rome

Art stops time, and I experienced it as well. Staying fixated at a painting full of exuberant colors is not something new and one must surely have done it at least once in life. Someone once told me that it would takes months just to explore Rome and half of it would surely be spent standing in from of a 3x4. You never quite understand that till you stumble upon Rome's cobbled-stone Piazza's, especially the most famous of all, Piazza Navona. This square is enlivened every day by many artists who with their art succeed in capturing the features and the typical expressions of those being depicted. Be it a ballerina in red with her back facing us or the carpet of poppy laid out for you along the rolling hills of Tuscany, each artist brings his inspiration to life with so much care and concern. 

It is easy for an untrained eye to get mixed up with the work of a real artist pitted against a counterfeit one. Today their is more of chaos and clutter while creativity takes a beating. Sipping hot cappuccino by one of the small cafe's nearby, one of the locals at the cafe said that the local laws (Or rather the lack of it) are killing the legitimate while the fake peddlers are making an easy cut on reproductions. The least that most do, is to tell the boggled tourist that this is not their art and the real artist is elsewhere. Such honesty too takes a beating in some of the other streets.

Walking among all the canvas, a charcoal painter with a customer sitting across is bound to catch your eye. He starts with the eyes, then the nose and finally the lips. Each time using his fingers to soften the feel of her. Gentle strokes of his charcoal pencil, which can barely be seen to the naked eye, circle the outline of the face and hair. More flamboyant strokes of his pencil and to add his deep humming of a song from the past, the recreation of the lady nears completion. The only thing left, is her walking out of the paper, and she is beautiful. He does not demand a fixed price and instead, leaves the person being painted to spend time with herself on paper. She touches her paper-self, pays him and he walks away to the next lovely face. That's when you picture a true painter in your mind.

As noon progresses and you start to explore some of the other nooks and corners of town, one is bound to find a more contemporary artist hidden away in the alleys. Imagine a controlled graffiti artist who using spray cans and a few stencils, comes up with the most innovative and exaggerated view of some of the prominent landmarks of Rome. Well, that's exactly what was happening. Large noisy groups surround this person, who in her own world is throwing cans with bursts of spray at her paper. Soon, when the colors get vibrant and the bi-stander cannot understand the outcome, there is pin-drop silence. A few more cans thrown around and 5 minutes later, her art in an unreal star-war themed Rome comes to life. 

Whatever said, art here is something that keeps you gazing. Like someone once said, "A picture is a poem without words"

Music is another form of art that does not crave attention in Italy. It comes naturally to many and most perform for the the sheer pleasure they derive in it. As you stroll by the snake-like lanes of Italy, be sure to find a musician who will surprise you at least once. An evening in a Piazza or at one of the prominent viewing points is never noisy with all the tourists, but is far more serene and quintessentially romantic to even the stone-hearted. From all the lovely memories that stand out, Francesco Bassi's vocals and guitar at Piazza Michelangelo, Florence; was the most soothing to over 150 people seated at the steps of the square. The sun setting behind the singer and some Chianti to soothe a couple in love or an aching heart, was in every ones mind. Speaking to him after his near 3 hour performance, just as he is rapping up for home, he said, "If i don't share my best with you (his voice), where is the fun of this life"...!

Will remember him for a long time to come for rekindling many memories and giving us a perfect evening.

Venice has artists who create music with passion. You are bound to find someone sitting all alone with a Cello in the middle of a square and creating notes from the dark spring clouds. A few lanes ahead, you may find a violinist's fingers running faster than the chattery banter of a group of tourists. A couple of more bridges across and you would stop to think what instrument is this and more importantly, which direction is it coming from. As you wander through the tiny streets and reach a small corner, still trying to figure out the eerie and unusual sound, you come across the most innovative musician of the lot, a glass harmonica player. His music still rings a sense of calmness in my mind even today.

The people of Italy chase their dreams. Money, house and other material life is second in their dictionary. Good food, music to cherish the moment and a few conversations are far more important to their day to day life. How can life be so complicated with such trivial needs!

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up"~Pablo Picasso

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