0 Cop CAPRI 25 - Caesar Augustus

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TRADIZIONI 20 compagnato dalla mamma, si intratteneva con gli invitati e infilava all’occhiello delle loro giacche un rametto di fiori d’arancio. Offriva quindi alla sua promessa il “cascettino” contenente alcuni oggetti d’oro: un paio di orecchini, un laccio con fiocco, un braccialetto e una spilla. La sposa, intanto, in abito bianco, con i fiori d’arancio intorno alla fronte e l’ampio velo di tulle, rendeva omaggio alla futura suocera inginocchiandosi e baciandole rispettosamente la mano. Questa scena è brillantemente riprodotta in un dipinto di Alexandre Sain che, insediatosi a Capri nel 1865, riuscì a registrare con molta precisione una serie di aspetti peculiari della vita e dei costumi locali. Formatosi il corteo si recavano tutti in chiesa dove veniva celebrato il rito religioso. La sposa era portata sottobraccio dal padre con accanto la “comare” di cresima preceduti spesso dal gruppo di quattro musicanti: un violino, due chitarre, un clarinetto e da una ciurma di ragazzini in giubilo pronti a raccogliere confetti e monetine che unitamente a petali di fiori, coriandoli e riso, raccolti in apposite guantiere, la gente lanciava sulla sposa al suo passaggio. Facevano parte del corteo ragazze in costume che battevano il tempo della musica con tamburelli e dietro la A. BISCARO - SIME/SIE schiera degli invitati in abito da festa. Gli uomini portavano panciotti, cappelli rigidi a bombetta, abiti confezionati con stoffa nera pesante. Particolarmente avvenente era l’abbigliamento femminile: ampie gonne fino alle caviglie e strette in vita per dare risalto al busto prosperoso e grandi fazzoletti annodati al collo. Vestitissimi e decorosi anche i bambini. Un’incisione raffigurante gli sposi durante le danze che seguivano al banchetto nunziale. A destra, la scena di un tipico matrimonio caprese della metà dell’Ottocento in un dipinto di Edouard Alexandre Sain. An engraving of a bride and groom dancing after the wedding feast. Right, Edouard Alexandre Sain’s painting of a typical mid-nineteenth-century Capri wedding. Spesso i matrimoni venivano celebrati in casa della sposa. Quelli in chiesa si officiavano di fronte all’altare maggiore o in qualche cappella laterale secondo la devozione degli sposi. Durante la cerimonia, il violino
del gruppo musicale intonava l’Ave Maria. Per il luogo della celebrazione dei matrimoni correva anche una leggenda molto accreditata nella tradizione popolare e riportata dalla scrittrice francese Julia Kavanagh. Nelle belle pagine capresi tratte dalla sua opera Un’estate e un inverno nelle due Sicilie (1858) scrive, infatti, che il caprese che le faceva da guida, l’aveva condotta nell’attuale Grotta di Matermania chiamandola, però, “Grotta del Matrimonio” perché, diceva, che là si erano celebrati i matrimoni di tutta la sua famiglia. Prima del pranzo allestito in casa della sposa con dignitosa semplicità, possibilmente sotto un pergolato, venivano serviti ai convitati cioccolata e biscotti. Seguivano, poi, le varie portate: ravioli al sugo e pastasciutta tipo “ziti” così chiamata perché servita in questa circostanza (ziti=fidanzati). I secondi erano a base di carne, pol- JUST MARRIED by SALVATORE BORÀ Customs, traditions and ceremonies of this most ancient ritual Furtive glances exchanged in church, occasional encounters during the religious festivals celebrated on the island or in the fields during the grape or olive harvest – this is how the spark of love flared up between two young people on Capri in the past. Often the couple managed to slip away from the mothers’ watchful eyes to talk in secret around the corner from the house, behind the garden wall or on the way to fetch water from the fountain. Eventually, when the couple felt their love was solid, the official engagement took place with an “a’mbasciata”; that is, after the parents of the future groom had gone to the fiancée’s home to ask for her hand in marriage. This would be the first encounter of the two families, who had a chance to get to know each other on this occasion if they hadn’t already met, and they would begin to establish the “conditions”, according to the principle that “the husband should provide for his woman”. Next came the promises and agreements about any bequeathed buildings, farmlands or money. Regardless, it was the groom’s responsibility to furnish the new home. The woman’s family, however, had the task of preparing the “trousseau”, with 12, 24, or 36 items, depending on the family’s economic condition. The trousseau would include sheets, nightdresses, lingerie, tablecloths or bath towels DA “PITTORI A <strong>CAPRI</strong>” LA CONCHIGLIA ED. made of terrycloth or embroidered linen, handmade cotton quilts and all types of crocheted covers. It took years to prepare all these pieces, which were collected gradually and placed in the eagerly-awaited cascia, the hope chest. Eight days prior to the marriage ceremony, the mother-in-law and female friends and neighbours would go to the bride’s house to inspect the trousseau. The father of the bride’s oldest sister was also present on this occasion, and “sweets trays” were offered, or “tarallucci and wine”, depending on the local customs. Risqué comments were inevitably made during this “appraisal” of the trousseau items, referring particularly to the greatness of the couple’s genital attributes. A “shirtless” bride was a girl who contracted marriage with no dowry, offering the groom only her youth and her beauty. Orange blossom and a treasure chest On the wedding day, the groom, dressed in a black suit with a red scarf around his neck, would go with his mother to the bride’s house, linger there with the guests and put a sprig of orange blossom in their buttonholes. Then he offered his fiancée the cascettino, a kind of treasure chest with some gold objects: a pair of earrings, a ribbon with a bow, a bracelet and a pin. Meanwhile, the bride in her white dress with a crown of orange blossom and a ample tulle veil would pay homage to her future motherin-law, bowing down before her and respectfully kissing her hand. This scene is brilliantly reproduced in a painting by Alexandre Sain, who settled in Capri in 1865 and succeeded in very precisely depicting a number of the distinctive aspects of local life and customs. Once the procession had formed, it wound its way to the church where the religious rite was celebrated. The bride walked arm-in-arm with her father, alongside the “godmother” from her confirmation, often preceded by a band of four musicians – a violin, two guitars, and a clarinet – and a gang of exuberant children keen to collect the comfit and coins that would be thrown as the bride passed by, along with the flower petals, confetti and rice that were kept in special little boxes. Next came girls wearing special local costumes who kept time with tambourines, followed by the ranks of the guests dressed in their finest clothes – for the men, this meant waistcoats, bowler hats and suits made of heavy black material, while the women’s outfits were especially charming: wide skirts down to their ankles and tight at the waist to highlight their ample bosoms, and large scarves tied around their necks. Even the children were all dressed up and on their best behaviour. The weddings were often celebrated in the bride’s home, while the church weddings were held in front of the main altar or in a side chapel, depending on the pious 21
Page 1 and 2: COPIA OMAGGIO EDIZIONI PRC COMPLIME
Page 3 and 4: 6 Lucio Dalla durante un concerto a
Page 5 and 6: Camerelle rantina, di cui ancora og
Page 7 and 8: conobbe Mabel Norman, ricca e affas
Page 9 and 10: LUOGHI 16 1947, quando per la prima
Page 11: Usanze, consuetudini e cerimonie ch
Page 15 and 16: 24 INTERIOR L’essenza del lino Fr
Page 17 and 18: 26 INTERIOR Per rinnovare la voglia
Page 19 and 20: anni, sei lingue parlate perfettame
Page 21 and 22: Per Anne Nivat «Arrivare a piedi s
Page 23 and 24: il cavernicolo Come Diefenbach, Pau
Page 25 and 26: millenni al tormento del ferro di b
Page 27 and 28: 38 U. DʼANIELLO FASHION Idee di ma
Page 29 and 30: 40 NATURA Sinfonia blu di TULLIA RI
Page 31 and 32: NATURA 42 Fries, a “riscoprire”
Page 33 and 34: NATURA del popolo» (dall’autobio
Page 35 and 36: NATURA 48 una pelle di alabastro. Q
Page 37 and 38: affacciano su via Fuorlovado, nel c
Page 39 and 40: un... pesce no forte, capaci di abb
Page 41 and 42: L’offerta di pietanze di pesce ne
Page 43 and 44: Braciole di tonno Tuna steaks Ingre
Page 45 and 46: 60 PERSONAGGI L’uomo che amava le
Page 47 and 48: PERSONAGGI 62 Scrivendo ad un’ami
Page 49 and 50: PERSONAGGI 64 za di Capri, per esse

0 Cop CAPRI 25 - Caesar Augustus

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