Caltagirone
[ 21 ]Caltagirone ceramics are one of the most famous Sicilian artisanal crafts, with ancient origins. Arab potters, following the Muslim....
Caltagirone ceramics are one of the most famous Sicilian artisanal crafts, with ancient origins. Arab potters, following the Muslim conquest of the island in 827, brought a strong ceramic artistic tradition — along with technical procedures used in the East.
By 1700, ceramic art flourished under new influences. Floral motifs, large scrolls and continuous designs became prominent. Caltagirone kilns now fire vases with exuberant decorations, holy water vessels, washbasins, altar frontals, statuettes, architectural decorations of church facades, bell towers and tiles for residential floors.
Castagno dei 100 Cavalli
[ 20 ]The Hundred Horse Chestnut tree — the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world — is located in the Etna Park....
The Hundred Horse Chestnut tree — the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world — is located in the Etna Park, near Sant’Alfio.
Painting shown here by Castagno detto dei Cento Cavalli; Tecnica: acquarello; Misure: cm 21,5 x 30,5; Data: metà dell’800; Autore: C.H. Smith; Provenienza: Galleria di Stampe Antiche, Roma. Published in De Aetna, Il testo di Pietro Bembo tradotto e presentato da Vittorio Enzo Alfieri. 1981, Sellerio editore Palermo.
Cardinale
[ 19 ]Titian painted this official portrait to commemorate Pietro Bembo's elevation to cardinal in March 1539. ....
Titian painted this official portrait to commemorate Pietro Bembo's elevation to cardinal in March 1539.
Stemma del cardinale Pietro Bembo — “Coat of Arms” in English — rendered here by Facquis.
Our Font
[ 17 ]The Bembo design is an old-style, humanist, serif typeface originally cut in 1495 by Francesco Griffo, a Venetian goldsmith....
The Bembo design is an old-style, humanist, serif typeface originally cut in 1495 by Francesco Griffo, a Venetian goldsmith who became a punch cutter and worked for the revered printer, Aldus Manutius.
The typeface was named after the notable Venetian poet, Cardinal and literary theorist of the 16th century, Pietro Bembo — and it was used to publish Bembo’s De Aetna, written about his visit to Mount Etna.
De Aetna not only introduced a new roman typeface, it also introduced some rules of punctuation. Manutius, the consummate editor, invented the semicolon and used the colon, comma, and period in a consistent manner that ultimately became standard practice.
Bembo was revived by a well-respected English typographer, Stanley Morison in 1929; his redesign was the result of adapting the Bembo typeface to the machine, composition, and typesetting requirements of the day.
De Aetna
[ 16 ]Our brand bible: De Aetna, Il testo di Pietro Bembo tradotto e presentato da Vittorio Enzo Alfieri. 1981, Sellerio editore Palermo....
Tarot
[ 15 ]A few years before our Pietro was born, another Bembo was hard at work: painter and miniaturist Bonifacio Bembo (1420-1480)....
A few years before our Pietro was born, another Bembo was hard at work: painter and miniaturist Bonifacio Bembo (1420-1480), was so charmed by Tarot cards’ Neoplatonic idealism and exoteric symbols that he created a deck for Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, between 1442 and 1444.
Bembo’s deck – 48 cards measuring 180 x 90 millimeters, illustrated on gold and silver backgrounds – is now part of the Pinacoteca di Brera collection. Pictured here are Two of Cups and Six of Coins.
The Modern Book
[ 13 ]De Aetna was published by Aldus Manutius (Aldo Manuzio in Italian), founder of the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part....
De Aetna was published by Aldus Manutius (Aldo Manuzio in Italian), founder of the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His “enchiridia,” small portable books, revolutionized personal reading and are the predecessor of the modern paperback. In ancient greek, “enchiridion”means "hold in hand.”
Riconoscenze
[ 12 ]Our hero is looking pretty distinguished: Pietro Bembo, incisione a bulino di Pietro Beceni su disegno di Giuseppe Bossi, 1812....
Our hero is looking pretty distinguished: Pietro Bembo, incisione a bulino di Pietro Beceni su disegno di Giuseppe Bossi, 1812.
In fact, he deserves a medal! Cast bronze medal; Aftercast (whole); Bust of Pietro Bembo facing left (obverse); Bembo, partly draped, reclining against a rock by a stream, holding a branch in his left hand. To left, tree. (reverse) Production date 1532 (circa). Producer name: Valerio Belli. Made in: Venice. © The Trustees of the British Museum
Giornale di Sicilia
[ 11 ]
Uovo
[ 10 ]Inspired by the oval shape of the period in our Bembo font, eggs have become a key reference for us at pisani et al. Now we see them....
Atlante di Botanica Profumata
[ 9 ]Atlante di Botanica Profumata: an inspiring gift from an elegant friend. “Dear Daniela, I hope this book will be useful to you during your....
Atlante di Botanica Profumata: an inspiring gift from an elegant friend.
“Dear Daniela,
I hope this book will be useful to you during your adventurous journey into the alchemy of fragrances... because perfume is magic, capable of generating unique and precious sensations!
With love, Gabri”
Inside the book is a glorious illustration of the tonka bean, one of the prized ingredients in our Profumo De Aetna.
Cosmographia Universale
[ 8 ]Woodcut depicting the erupting Volcano Etna, from the Cosmographia Universale volume L’Etna nell’edizione del 1598 (collezione personale)....
Woodcut depicting the erupting Volcano Etna, from the Cosmographia Universale volume L’Etna nell’edizione del 1598 (collezione personale). Sebastian Münster, the renowned German cartographer, geographer, and mathematician, was credited with publishing numerous editions of Cosmographia Universale; for more Etna depictions, click here.
Josef Albers
[ 7 ]Josef Albers’s classic Interaction of Color is a masterwork in art education. Conceived as a handbook and teaching aid for artists....
Josef Albers’s classic Interaction of Color is a masterwork in art education. Conceived as a handbook and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students, this influential book presents Albers’s singular explanation of complex color theory principles.
Josef and Anni Albers were married on May 9, 1925 and traveled to Italy on their honeymoon.
Profumo di Vulcano
[ 6 ]“Wines that are authentic, not processed, are able to convey the aromas and flavors of the land they come from in just a few sips. ....
“Wines that are natural, not processed, are able to convey the aromas and flavors of the land they come from in just a few sips. Profumo di Vulcano is one of these: a wine from bygone times, with a strong personality and an unmistakable identity. A wine does not have to be perfect — it needs to be authentic.” -Federico Graziani.
Our dear friend Pier Giuseppe Moroni (on the left in the image below) created the painting for the Profumo di Vulcano label.
Pistacchio di Bronte
[ 5 ]Pistacchio - 1708, from Johann Volckamer's Nürnbergische Hesperides, oder gründliche Beschreibung der edlen Citronat-....
Pistacchio - 1708, from Johann Volckamer's Nürnbergische Hesperides, oder gründliche Beschreibung der edlen Citronat-, Citronen- und Pomeranzen-Früchte.
Pistacchio verde di Bronte, the most prized pistachio in the world, owes its precious and unique characteristics to its territory: the extraordinary combination of the plant and the lava soil on the slope of Mount Etna.
A Beautiful Story
[ 4 ]Ready for a tale of "travel, passion and mysterious, silent communication"? Alessandro Baricco’s Seta has been translated....
Ready for a tale of "travel, passion and mysterious, silent communication"? Alessandro Baricco’s Seta has been translated into 27 languages, but here’s an excerpt in Italian, just for fun: “Stoffe meravigliose, seta, tutt’intorno alla portantina, mille colori, arancio, bianco, ocra, argento, non una feritoia in quel nido meraviglioso, solo il fruscio di quei colori a ondeggiare nell’aria, impenetrabili, più leggeri del nulla.”
Seta Italiana
[ 3 ]Wandering through the archives of historic Como silk factories, we were intoxicated by the patterns and colors of this luminous....
Wandering through the archives of historic Como silk factories, we were intoxicated by the patterns and colors of this luminous, sublime fabric. We found bolts of silk that seemed to be waiting just for us — and voilà, our first pisani et al. bags were born.
Aetna Mons
[ 2 ]Painting: Tavola 12, Città di Catania. Tecnica: gouache. Misure cm 41x63. Data: metà dell’800’. Autore: scuola napoletana....
Painting: Tavola 12, Città di Catania. Tecnica: gouache. Misure cm 41x63. Data: metà dell’800’. Autore: scuola napoletana. Provenienza: Galleria di Stampe Antiche, Roma.
Engraving: Tecnica: incisione. Misure: mm 130 x 140. Data: 1703.
Autore e incisore: Lamsvet. Opera di appartenenza: “Elegia tres et fragmenta; P. Cornelli Severdi Aetna, accessit. P. Bembi” di Pedo Albinovanus. Provenienza: Collezione Logiudice, Roma.
From De Aetna, Il testo di Pietro Bembo tradotto e presentato da Vittorio Enzo Alfieri. 1981, Sellerio editore Palermo.
Pietro Bembo
[ 1 ]Pietro Bembo (1470–1547), scholar and critic, was one of the most admired Latinists of his day. After some years at the court of Urbino....
Pietro Bembo (1470–1547), scholar and critic, was one of the most admired Latinists of his day. After some years at the court of Urbino, where he exchanged Platonic love letters with Lucrezia Borgia, he moved to Rome and served as secretary to Leo X (1513–1520). Later he retired to Padua and a life of letters. He was made a cardinal in 1539.
The poems in this volume come from all periods of Bembo’s life and reflect both his erudition and his wide-ranging friendships. This verse edition is the first time they have been translated into English.
This volume also includes the prose dialogue Etna, an account of Bembo’s ascent of Mt. Etna in Sicily during his student days.
