A New Warm Heart in the Borgo
Going back in time at my neighborhood's latest labor of love
Cari amici,
My neighborhood, Borgo Sant’Antonio Porta Pesa, is well known in Perugia for being home to an unstoppable group of soci (members of the neighborhood association) who have, in the last 10 years, transformed this formerly drug-infested, sketchy part of the centro storico into a desirable place to live. They’ve beautified and landscaped the common areas and surrounding land, built an apiary, involved school groups with such projects as planting apple trees, helped transform a little-used church into a popular concert venue, and on and on. Come December 8 each year, Corso Bersaglieri gets “renamed,” becoming Via dei Presepi, home to at least a dozen distinctive presepi (manger scenes) in various styles, some of which include antique handmade figures. One grand display in the church has automated figures, running water, and a tempesta (storm) that unleashes rain and thunder every few minutes. And now there’s a new kid on the block—a medieval cereria (candlemaker’s shop).
This new venture is the brainchild of Marina Nenci, a woman whose creativity is as boundless as her interest in making the past come alive. In what was, for decades, an abandoned space, the Cereria di Mastro Roberto (named for another creative type, the borgo’s indispensable Roberto Insacco) is an evocative throwback, made warm and cozy by the scent of melted wax and the allure of freshly made candles and jars of local honey. Marina made the workshop’s central feature, a furnace where the wax is melted and the candles dipped; Roberto leveled the floor and built rustic tables and chairs. Contributing to the ambience are copper pots, hand-painted pottery, baskets, wrought iron candlesticks, and other items reminiscent of the past, donated by the borgaroli.
In an interview by Sando Allegrini for Perugia Today, Marina explains how she and her team transformed the space, datable to the period from the late 1200s to 1400, exposing the original masonry. Though the project is her “baby,” Marina credits others for donating their time and talents. “We worked in harmony and shared purpose,” she says in the interview. “I would say that, in addition to work, each borgarolo left us a little 'heart.’ I think I can say that we acted with conviction and in a spirit of community.”
This small medieval haven will be open as of December 16 for guided tours during the holidays and beyond (4:00-7:00pm, reservations at 347 0583608). It’s for anyone who’s “interested in taking a dip in the past,” Marina says, “in a simple way, but rich in cultural content.”
Living a stone’s throw from the cereria as I do, I’ve stopped by several times when I saw that the door was unlocked. Roberto is often there, slowly adding to the shop’s stash of candles in smoky shades of yellow and golden brown. It’s the kind of place that makes me want to sit for hours, inhaling that waxy perfume and imagining myself in a time warp of centuries. It’s the kind of place that makes me grateful to live where I do.
Tante belle cose. Alla prossima—
Cheryl
Poems of the week:
P.S. My book! Which you can buy here or on the usual sites, or, better yet, order it from your local bookstore. Another fab option is to ask your library to stock it. If you read it and like it, please tell your friends and/or leave a few lines of praise on any bookish site. You’d be surprised how much a rating or review helps authors. Baci!
Wonderful
Thanks for that info Cheryl. I’ve made a note to visit next week. Looks as though it’s about 50 minutes from us but I’m sure we can tie it in with something else