Hold on to Peace - Image courtesy Ira Mitchell-Kirk

Hold on to Peace - Image courtesy Ira Mitchell-Kirk

Friday 26 March 2010

Rural Italy


Most artists will be staying in Roccasecca. This link, to the beautiful palazzo where the reconstruction is almost finished, has little videos of the area.

The palazzo itself was home to first the German soldiers and then the New Zealand soldiers on rest. Last year I painted a watercolour of the palazzo and the view, and as I work with the restoration team I imagine what it might have been like for the soldiers resting there after their time at the front line. I was very reluctant to paint over traces of a stencil that reminded me of the markings on a wool bale as I was quite sure they could have been put there by Kiwi soldiers.

Locals told me that the German soldiers had painted a large sun on the ceiling, although I saw no trace of it; they would have occupied the village during the winter, while the Kiwis enjoyed it in the warmer months and could dance and sing in the garden and piazza.

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