As far as I can remember, going to markets was never my thing. Too many hours spent walking, following, looking and waiting, waiting for my Mom to find the one object in a million among fruits, vegetables, clothes or objects piling up on the stalls. And do not think wandering in markets is a sickness that only women suffer from ! I lived the same ordeal with my uncles ! You can then understand why market is synonymous to mess and suffering to me.
Still last year when my spanish roommate would tell me "Look what I've found at the market today, isn't it cute ?", I would have never imagined myself going to Montagnola, one of Bologna's most famous market. The brain wave came when I discovered the little Piazza Santo Stefano market : THE sanctuary of old things; but not any old things ! There you can find paintings from the 18th to the 20th century. Of course, they aren't works from Michel-Ange or Caravage but still paintings that do not lack of interest. There are also pieces of furniture from the Belle Epoque (20's in France), beautiful editions of Manzoni, an inescapable italian writer (but very painful to read for students in Italian), other great books, table clothing from the old times and a lot of vintage objects.
Among all this, all these stalls, all these italians looking for THE piece, I see the stall of a Senegalese merchant selling rings, bracelets, necklaces, statuettes, masks and passeports* that came straight from a craft workshop. Who knows why my first thought on seeing that stall was "he is so out of place !". But he was not. When I think about it, in sub-saharian Africa, culture is above all oral. The conservation of objects from generation to generation is a quite rare fact . However, legends and traditions are still very present thanks to speech. These objects may not be vintage ones but the know-how of the craftmen who created them is totally vintage. And that is how he wasn't as much out of place as I thought. I think that for a moment, I had forgotten how cosmopolitan a market can be.
Still last year when my spanish roommate would tell me "Look what I've found at the market today, isn't it cute ?", I would have never imagined myself going to Montagnola, one of Bologna's most famous market. The brain wave came when I discovered the little Piazza Santo Stefano market : THE sanctuary of old things; but not any old things ! There you can find paintings from the 18th to the 20th century. Of course, they aren't works from Michel-Ange or Caravage but still paintings that do not lack of interest. There are also pieces of furniture from the Belle Epoque (20's in France), beautiful editions of Manzoni, an inescapable italian writer (but very painful to read for students in Italian), other great books, table clothing from the old times and a lot of vintage objects.
Among all this, all these stalls, all these italians looking for THE piece, I see the stall of a Senegalese merchant selling rings, bracelets, necklaces, statuettes, masks and passeports* that came straight from a craft workshop. Who knows why my first thought on seeing that stall was "he is so out of place !". But he was not. When I think about it, in sub-saharian Africa, culture is above all oral. The conservation of objects from generation to generation is a quite rare fact . However, legends and traditions are still very present thanks to speech. These objects may not be vintage ones but the know-how of the craftmen who created them is totally vintage. And that is how he wasn't as much out of place as I thought. I think that for a moment, I had forgotten how cosmopolitan a market can be.
On visiting that market, I think that my sleeping genes of Indiana Jones woke up and made me want to explore all the markets of Bologna.
Before showing you the Piazza Santo Stefano market, I chose to let you have a foretaste of Piazza Verdi vintage market :
To conclude that post, let me tell you that I took those photos myself with my Agfa Flexilette camera from 1963 (I'm keeping the vintage spirit). I shall have another opportunity to talk to you about that great camera. I hope that you appreciated these first photos since I am as inexperienced in photography as is Absolute B.
*passeports : masks used by the populations of Central Africa. They used to serve as ID cards to travel inside a territory, was also a sign of social distinction in a tribe and in a corporate associations.
Shug'A'Very
(translated from French by Absolute B.)
Unfortunately there are only a few markets where I live, and they happen rarely and are actualy quite far to travel to. From your photographs I can tell there are a number of really interesting and lovely items. I would love to experience that.
ReplyDeleteHope you will have the occasion one day to visit this kind of market because it really is an interesting experience : you are surrounded by years and years of History (and stories :D) that some sellers are willing to let you know because after all they are also excellent story tellers ;).
ReplyDelete[S'A']