A Patron For The Environment

While traveling through the Italian countryside one afternoon, Francis of Assisi ordered his companions to stop. Spotting a flock of birds in a nearby tree, Francis felt the urge to preach to them just as he preached to so many people. His companions stood in wonder as Francis began to deliver a sermon to a flock of birds and the birds gathered around and listened to every word Francis had to say.

This story illustrates two aspects of the personality of Saint Francis of Assisi. The first is his incredible zeal to preach the Gospel. According to Saint Francis, all of God’s creatures, not just humans, deserve to hear the Good News. The second aspect of the personality of Saint Francis of Assisi that is illustrated in this story is his community with nature. Francis exhibited a unique relationship with animals and plants and was able to converse with them as no one else could.

It is for this reason that many people purchase Saint Francis of Assisi medals and put them on their pet’s collar. Because Saint Francis of Assisi was such a lover of animals, it is believed that he will watch over your pets and keep them free from harm.

It is also common for people to place statues of Saint Francis of Assisi in their garden. Here, he can reason with pests and convince them not to destroy your crops. He can also spend his time preaching to your plants, inspiring in them a faith that drives them to grow up tall towards heaven. A reminder of pure devotion and a helping hand in your backyard garden, a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi is a must have among your tomato and basil plants.

The Real Santa Claus

The man who inspired the legend of Santa Claus was actually a historical figure named Saint Nicholas of Myrha. Saint Nicholas lived a very religious life and many miraculous stories are told about him. The most famous is the tale of three young women whose father couldn’t afford the dowry they needed to get married. So Nicholas bundled together some money into three stockings and dropped the stockings down their chimney so that the father could pay his three girls’ dowry.

In 1071, Muslim forces overtook the city of Myrha, where Saint Nicholas was buried. Acting fast, three sailors took the Saint’s remains to the city of Bari, located along the heel of Italy’s boot. There, Saint Nicholas of Myrha became known as San Nicola di Bari. The people of Bari celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of San Nicola’s remains every year with a three-day festival. He is the patron saint of that city and along with Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, he is the reason why so many Italians are named Nicholas.

Wine and Saints

In Southern Italy and Sicily, the weather usually gets unseasonably warm for a short time around the middle of November. Known as Saint Martin’s Summer, this is typically the last warm weather the Italians will see until spring. Saint Martin’s Summer takes its name from Saint Martin’s Day, which falls on 11 November.

Saint Martin’s Day is a highly anticipated feast day in Southern Italy and Sicily because it is the day when homemade wines are first bottled and drank. It is believed that on Saint Martin’s Day, grape juice completes its transformation into wine. Traditionally, Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated informally, with families having outdoor dinners or midday picnics. Even the most sophisticated Italians use Saint Martin’s Day as a day to enjoy the more rustic pleasures of life: a warm sun, some wine, friends, family and food.

What Is Ziganette?

Over the past few years, the game of poker has experienced a tremendous surge in popularity. Poker tournaments are hosted in bars and clubs around the country and even televised nationally. With Poker’s rise in popularity comes speculation about what other forgotten games may become trendy once again. One possibility is the Sicilian game of Ziganette.

Banned in Italy and legendary in Italian neighborhoods, Ziganette is a simple game known for its fast pace and high stakes. During a typical night of playing, fortunes have been won, lost and regained over and over again. The games simplicity draws players in, but the chance for a big score is what keeps them playing.

Just as with Poker, Ziganette has no ceiling on how much a person could win or lose. Therefore, like Poker, Ziganette is best played “tournament” style, so that a person’s losses can be controlled. “Tournament” style implies that, for a fixed amount of money, a player receives a predetermined amount of chips. Players then play until all players except one have lost all their chips. The last player remaining wins the pot. It is a much safer way to play Ziganette and the reason why Poker has become so popular lately.

To play Ziganette, you need at least two players, although you can have many more. One player is the banker, the rest are the players. The banker shuffles the deck then invites any player to cut the cards. Once the deck is shuffled and cut, the banker deals out two cards, face up. These are the players’ cards. If these two cards are of different denominations, the banker deals out a third card, face up. This is the banker’s card. If all three cards are of different denominations, Ziganette may be played.

The play is simple: players wager that a card matching the banker’s card will come out BEFORE a card matching the card they bet. A fourth card is then drawn from the deck and placed on the table. If it matches a player’s card, the banker wins all money wagered on that card. If it matches the banker’s card, the banker looses and must pay out all bets. Bets are paid out 1 to 1. If the drawn card doesn’t match any card on the table, it becomes available as an additional player’s card.

So, for example, if a 3 and a 5 are dealt first, they become the player’s cards. If a King is dealt next, that becomes the banker’s card. If the next card dealt is a 3, then any players who bet the 3 lose their bet. If the card is a 5, then any players who bet the 5 lose their bet. If the card is a King, then every bet is a winner and the banker must pay them out. If the card isn’t a 3, 5 or King, then it simply becomes another player’s card that may be bet.

Play continues with the banker drawing cards, bets being settled and new bets being placed until the banker loses. At which point, the deal passes to the right and another player becomes the banker.

There are a few additional rules you should know. If two player’s cards match, they are still available to bet. They are stacked one on top of the other and called a Double Up. Double Ups are less likely to lose so they aren’t paid out the same as a regular bet. A Double Up is paid out 1 to 2. So a $2 bet on a Double Up gets paid $1 if it wins. Three players’ cards of the same denomination may be played as well. This is called a Triple and the pay out is even less. A Triple is paid 1 to 4, so that a $2 bet that wins is paid $0.50.

With every deal of Ziganette, the chance to win big or lose big abounds. The only thing that is for certain is that every flip of a card brings new excitement. Faster and easier to play then Poker, Ziganette may just be the next big thing. Always remember, games of chance are just for fun and you should never wager more then you can afford to lose.

Good Luck For A New Home

Have you ever given any thought to the people who used to live in your home? Most people don’t like to think about it but odds are you weren’t the first person to sleep under your roof. Who knows what kind of drama unfolded in your home in the years before you moved in? Even if your home is a new construction, who knows what happened on the land where your home was built?

In a land as old and storied as Italy, this is a major concern of the people. What if something bad happened in the house before you moved in? What if there is a negative air? How can you get rid of it? Fortunately, the Italian people are as spiritual as their land is historic and they have come up with a series of traditions to cleanse a home of negative spirits.

A Crucifix
There is no better recognized way to keep evil away than by displaying a Crucifix. A symbol of the Resurrection of Christ, the Crucifix reminds evil spirits who the one true power is and forces them to retreat.

A Patron Saint
Every family needs a patron saint, a specific saint that they turn to in times of need. For many Italians their patron saint is the patron of their city or region. So a family from Naples would have a statue of San Gennaro in their home. For others the choice of a patron is more personal and can be based on family tradition or a particular saint’s life story.

The Horn
Every new home needs a horn. The Italian Horn is such an important part of Italian culture that it deserves its own article completely. But for now let’s just say that the horn is the most widely regarded amulet to ward off evil that the Italian people have.

A Broom
You need a new broom. Brooms symbolize the sweeping away of evil spirits. Also, they are weapons against mischievous spirits who may inhabit your home. These spirits, common in Italy, can be distracted by a broom placed outside your bedroom door. Compulsive by nature, the spirits get preoccupied counting the bristles and by the time they are done, the sun is rising and they have to run and hide.

Salt
A new homeowner who receives salt should sprinkle it outside their front door. Salt represents the salt of your tears. Sprinkling it outside your home leaves all your sadness outside the home. It is a way to mend old wounds and let bygones be bygones.

Olive Oil
Olive oil is at the heart of the Italian lifestyle. Not only is it an integral part of the Italian diet but it’s also a key to good health. To give a new homeowner a bottle of olive oil is to wish them a long and healthy life. If a married woman whose husband is faithful gives olive oil to another married woman, it is believed that the gift will keep the receiver’s husband faithful as well.

A Plant
Plants are a common gift of luck in many cultures and for good reason. They are a natural air freshener, liven up an area and bring perpetual life into a house. Tending for a plant also helps to reduce the stress of the owner. Therefore giving a new homeowner a plant is to wish them a healthy and stress free life.

Wood
Stability, harmony and peace with nature are all attributes of wood. To give a new homeowner a gift made of wood is to wish them those same traits in their life.

You may recognize some of these gifts and others may be new to you but they’re all part of an ancient Italian tradition designed to insure happiness in the home. And if you have a happy home, you have a happy life.

Mona Lisa and Her Mystic Smile

Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art?
- Nat ‘King’ Cole

What is it about Leonardo DaVinci’s painting that fascinates us so much? Why do historians write books about it? Why do musicians write songs about it? Why do we continue to stare at this painting, 500 years after it was made?

The simple answer is that the Mona Lisa continues to fascinate us because it is famous. And yet, despite 500 years of celebrity, we know very little about the Mona Lisa. In fact, almost every facet of the painting and its history is the subject of some sort of scholarly debate. Even the paintings name is controversial.

In this country, we know Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting of the smirking woman as ‘Mona Lisa’. But in Italy, she is known as ‘La Giocanda’ or ‘Monna Lisa’. ‘La Giocanda’ is a reference to the last name of the woman in the picture. According to Giorgio Vasari, a Renaissance biographer of Leonardo Da Vinci, a Neapolitan woman named Lisa Gherardini was the model for the famous painting we call ‘Mona Lisa’. Gherardini was the wife of a Florentine businessman name Francesco del Giocando. It is not known who commissioned the painting, but the belief is that the woman in the Mona Lisa is a real woman, Lisa Giocando.

The name Mona Lisa also comes from the name of the model. In Italy during Renaissance times, women of respect were referred to as ‘mia donna’, or ‘my lady’. This expression of respect is often shortened to ‘monna’, just as ‘my lady’ is contracted to become ‘ma’lady’. So the name Mona Lisa is simply an Americanization of Monna Lisa, or Lady Lisa.

That is one theory as to who the woman in the painting is. Another theory is that she is Leonardo Da Vinci and that the painting is a self portrait. Popular as this theory is among some people, there is no evidence to back it up. Another theory is that the painting is of Isabella of Aragona. Isabella married the Duke of Milan, who died after falling off of his horse. Some believe that after the death of her husband, Isabella married Leonardo Da Vinci in secret. There is only circumstantial evidence to support this theory.

Beyond the debates about who Mona Lisa is and what we should call the painting, there is further controversies revolving around the picture. There are rumors of Leonardo Da Vinci painting multiple Mona Lisas. Some even depicted the subject in the nude. The Mona Lisa was a major breakthrough for its time and was immediately copied by artists trying to learn Leonardo’s technique. For this reason, there are various versions of the Mona Lisa almost as old as the original, floating around. Some claim to be Leonardo’s own work, but only the painting we know as the Mona Lisa is recognized as being Da Vinci’s.

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa inspired so many imitations from its unveiling because it revolutionized portrait painting. First, the woman is depicted from the waist up, not from the shoulders up as was typical for the time. Second, the landscape behind her is a detailed landscape that is as thought out and well executed as the woman. Again, this was not the norm for the time.

The most important reason why the Mona Lisa caused such a sensation was Da Vinci’s use of sfumato. Sfumato is the blending of shadow to create realism. Nowhere on the Mona Lisa can you find a border or hard edge. Da Vinci invented a new technique for painting that created strikingly realistic figures. This is why the Mona Lisa is famous. Before her, paintings were two dimensional, flat representations of people. But the Mona Lisa, she could almost wink at you.

Since her unveiling, the Mona Lisa has inspired admirers and critics. This love/hate relationship that the art world has with her has led to an even greater celebrity. At the beginning of the 20th century, the painting was actually stolen and Pablo Picasso was interrogated as a suspect. In the middle part of that century, vandals doused the Mona Lisa with acid and threw a rock at her. Later, she was sent on a global exhibition where the lines were so long that, in Japan, viewers were given no more than two seconds to stand before her before being ushered on.

The Mona Lisa is a cultural icon, a watermark in the Western Civilization. She reveals to us as much about artistry as she does about the cult of celebrity that engulfs us all. Love her or hate her, you cannot deny her. She is real, much more than a cold and lonely, lovely work of art.