Orlando Furioso

Typical musical instruments Goat leather Poplar and beech wood
Single artwork

370,00

Description by the artist

Here it is my Orlando furioso (The Frenzy of Orlando, more literally Raging Roland. Poplar and beech wood, jute string, leather rods, snare drums in natural gut, goat skins. Drum made entirely by hand according to ancient traditions, very nice in the complex, enriched by decorations of Sicilian painting. Inspired to the homonymous work of Ludovico Ariosto, of which the Sicilians have stylized the events narrated with the character of Orlando Furioso by me depicted on a central cameo of the drum.

Details and dimensions

Dimensions (cm): Height 36, Width 50, Depth 50
Weight (kg): 4.5
Handcrafted in Sicily

The artwork in the Sicilian culture

By the Governance of Sicilian Artisan Foundation

The Opera of the Puppets has made the joy of the people since 1700, when the puppeteer and his traveling theater were expected in the squares of the villages of Sicily. It narrates the deeds of the paladins  Charlemagne. The main characters are Orlando, Rinaldo and the beautiful Angelica. To the cry of “Death to the Saracens” the paladins fight the Moors. To this day it remains a really exciting and fun moment to watch the exploits of these wooden puppets to which the puppeteers give life and character by acting and, at the same time, moving them from behind the scenes, while often a piano is the soundtrack to the whole thing. It should be noted that when the puppet theater withdrew from a village, the elders continued to tell the exploits of the paladins, sometimes even adding more to the story, around the conca (brazier for heating) or in the square, with friends and relatives.

The Tarantella is a typical Sicilian dance usually accompanied by the friscalettu, tambourine, maranzano and accordion. It is a dance probably originated in 1600 and became a symbol of southern Italy all over the world.

PhotoTwo carrettieri (cart drivers), in the inland of Sicily ready to bringfruit and vegetables in the town, 1950

The Governance also suggests

The objective of the Governance is both to safeguard the traditions and ancient crafts of the people of Sicily, and to sustain economically the Artisans and the Artists, both the real ethno-anthropologists of the country.
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