Around the year 1537, there lived in Rome in one of the most princely palaces that is still reflected in the turbid waters of the Tiber, a young aristocrat with a very strong personality.
He was of a height above the medium of those times with rarely beautiful features framed by flowing blond hair, an ivory white complexion and sky-blue eyes with a rarely intensive searching look.
He was well-known in the Roman aristocratic circle for his classical culture and intense dissolute way of life which, however, did not lack an inner force though interwoven with inconstancy.
With his refined elegance, he was sought-after at the soirées in the prestigious palaces, where, often, his amorous adventures incurred upon him wrath and vengeance.
However, this life lavished with luxury, adventures and insane dissolute activities, made him, at the age of thirty-five, ponder on the meaning of life and on its mysteries.
He was pervaded by a spiritual crisis. He passionately went hunting with a falcon in forests and sunny valleys, perhaps in an unconscious search of his identity. These were leisures which attracted because of the inadequacy of city life. He had never seen his mother’s smile as he lost her at his birth.
Marked by an inborn feeling of interior solitude, he paid much attention to the artistic expression of painting for which he was naturally inclined and through which he found a liniment to his interior torment that he tried to disguise by all means.
Imaginary characters and animals, mingling and slowly fading away, passed in his mind and on his canvasses gradually giving place to the expression of his repressed sentiments, in struggle between themselves.
It so happened that, feeling tired of that ephemeral life devoid of concreteness which was in no way beneficial to his interior torment, he made a sudden decision which marked the course of his life.
He decided to abandon this dispersive city life and to retire as a hermit to his family castle of Cervara delle Scale in the Simbruini Mountains at an altitude of thousand metres.
This place, most pleasant in the good season, also had an unusual charm in winter when covered by snow; it was like an island in the mountains and its name recalled a productive nature in which the deer and the fauna were abundant while its two roads branched off in typical narrow passages with large staircases both in ascent and in descent.
Once the winter fogs lessened, a stupendous view opened on the plain below with green cliffs and slopes around the turbulent torrent coming down from the mountains and lashing against the back base of the Barenchi princes castle.
There were no level roads in Cervara and all could be measured by a man with both arms outstretched.
Every step of the inhabitants and their horses resounded around the closely built small houses similar to a frozen flock. The sound of hooves gave a particular characteristic to this isolated mountain place and cadenced its days.
The whole urban centre was enclosed by walls with two opposite guarded gates. A small group of armed men resided there exacting payment for the passage of animals and controlling the vast forest territory.
It was thus that in May 1540 the young prince Baldirino Barenchi arrived there accompanied by five horsemen and his faithful Giuliano with whom he divided brawls and adventures.
In this rather sinister place, situated among the silicic mountains and a luxuriant nature, beaten by cold winter winds among the sonorous caverns below, rose the three centuries old family castle in which passed so much of the history of this noble stock.
Until that month of May, when sunny days alternated with a grey sky and gelid north winds, few peasants and shepherds belonging to that family, lead a miserable life together with animals kept in a wild state.
The wing of the castle which was to accommodate the prince had been readapted and rendered more comfortable in a short time and several fire places were restored for a better draft.
The young aristocrat, intimately called Irino, came to live his spontaneous retirement among these cliffs at an altitude of a thousand metres. He had to get used to the climate because of the sudden changes of temperature between limpid and cloudy days.
He was sure that in his voluntary exile, he had to adapt himself to an almost monastic life stimulated only by an incomparable view of the valley. He also adapted himself quickly to the numerous disadvantages and difficulties of the place.
After several days spent indoors, a sunny day prompted him to make a tour on horseback, followed by the most faithful of his armed grooms, among the glades and shadowy oaks where wild boars, deer and plentiful game were to be found. With the falcon on his left forearm, he enjoyed these hunting tours.
May was bright and the days were always full of vivid colours which gave serenity to the soul.
Then came a day, when the need to go outdoors and explore the surroundings had attenuated; he transformed a room into a studio and placed on an ample table colours, brushes thinners, paints and various earths to prepare the foundation of the works to be created.
One early morning, standing before all these implements, absorbed by a profound meditation with his mind full of ideas, not all strictly artistic, he saw himself back in the city at society gatherings and lust with his companions of merry-making severely repressed by his father with whom he never had a real filial relationship.
That morning, therefore, he approached the table cluttered with the said materials.
Together with Giuliano, he began to pest in a marble mortar the earth combined with resinous substances mixed with oil and turpentine after which with his left hand he traced on a piece of parchment, a series of signs devoid of the minimum artistic plot.
This brief attempt was sufficient to give rise to a female face with most inexpressive eyes and an absent look to suddenly emanate his natural creativity. He rejected that almost formless drawing, others followed in search of their identity.
He passed the whole morning alternating these indefinite and amorphous ideas.
Once started, this creative activity kept him occupied entire days. During that period he dedicated little time to amusements and drank only hot drinks with biscuits. Thus two months lapsed during which he very seldom went outdoors in search of inner peace.
That fresh summer passed and a mild autumn was approaching, announced by gusts of wind which compelled the inhabitants of the village to stay in their miserable hovels. Foggy days alternated with sunny ones so that the glade below either disappeared from sight or gleamed in its green mantle.
Giuliano ground earth and various minerals in the mortar filling the room with resinous smells. The crackling chimney was the only voice heard besides those of the two when suddenly Irino found the right solution to solve the plot of his ideas in which his creativity was imbedded.
Lying in bed on his back, or sitting in the armchair with high elbow rests looking up at the decorations of the ceiling, lit by a feeble light of four oil lamps on the walls, he was lost in the distant images of his mind.
Engrossed in contrasting feelings and sudden flashes, he passed agitated nights with recurrent nightmares in which he saw himself moving with difficulty among the ruins of pulled down palaces. He could not explain their meaning.
The following day, in the grey and foggy morning which cancelled the view of the glade, he felt a chill in spite of the two woollen blankets with which the thoughtful Giuliano covered him.
Sipping a cup of milk, he was aware to be still permeated by the ideas of the previous day which were now clear to him.
At that time, on the canvases appeared rural and mythological scenes with rampant horses, shady forests and between them, one day began to appear, as an evoked image, behind a veil, first an inexpressive and gradually a more distinct female figure with features unknown to him.
She seemed to arise through a visionary scenography. A mystic sense hovered in them and the artist himself felt as though he was painting in a “trance” in a framework of symbolic events referring to his life.
The features of that unknown female figure were very similar in their various creations, maintaining the same expression. Only the colours of the garments changed from a tender green, pale pink, sky blue and all were evanescent.
In a short time this female figure became obsessive because suddenly she gushed forth from his mind.
It was thus that on a cold and rainy night, unable to sleep, he went to his studio where, with a flat brush dipped in white lead, he started to cancel all those figures so similar to each other. He was in a state of obsessive fever.
He wanted to remove from his mind this perforating charm, but her infinitely sweet smile began to appear to him in his indistinct and nebulous dreams. He was wasting away because of this restlessness. He found no liniment to this mental violence which made him recur to alcohol, drinking until it dulled him. At that point he would be put to bed by Giuliano and there he remained raving and menacing. Consequently he lost appetite, became untidy in his dress and became arrogant which was not in his character. And he never went out, even on sunny days.
His old father, living in Rome, was informed of his condition and he hastened to come to the castle, leaving aside the grudge concerning the future hereditary legacies; the reason for which the rebellious son had broken relationship with all the family, by going into exile in these mountains.
The father arrived to the castle late one evening and the encounter was not a happy one because of a submerged detachment even if lessened by a badly suppressed familiarity.
Hardly two days after this cold meeting, a good doctor was summoned who tried to bring back the young man to a better way of life, guessing that the best cure would be a warm family affection.
Once settled down in the castle, the old prince attempted in every way to bring his son back to social life and encouraging him to go outdoors. He understood by experience, that he was suffering for some intimate and not evident reason.
The plastered canvases, cancelled by angry brush strokes of white lead, induced the father to think clearly on the subject, corroborated by the vague indications of Giuliano.
After a few days, a calmer atmosphere was felt since there was a mutual controlled trust which attenuated the submerged conflict between the two.
In a short time, Irino seemed to get over his abulic state, finding a new interest in life.
At that point the father had a lucky intuition to which the son gave his consent, mostly not to further compromise their relationship.
The father, after much hesitation, proposed to organise a nice feast in the castle inviting all the members of the family and persons of high rank.
Thus the preparations for the feast slowly began to be organised.
First, the façade of the old castle was restored in a short time and speedy messengers were sent to manors in earldoms and principalities of those whom they wished to see, some of which were quite distant. Most of the nobles much in the public eye, were honoured to accept the invitation of the prince and assured him of their presence.
Two months later, already in the summer season, the first guests started to arrive. Due to the concrete distance the arrivals lasted a whole week.
The citadel within the walls was decorated with festoons of laurel and myrtle leaves; signs of welcome were to be seen everywhere and the guests were received with the utmost respect. The ramparts were decorated with the flags of each family invited. The walls of the houses in front of the castle were also cleaned – just as anything else that could catch the eye of the guests.
Giuliano, at the head of the servants, was entrusted to organise a perfect reception, assigning to each family accommodation adequate to their rank and number. Many abandoned rooms were restored.
The garrison stationed in the castle was strengthened. Everything was scrupulously devised in every detail for a chivalrous tournament.
Musicians, jugglers and acrobats were summoned to enliven the days of the guests.
Irino’s father had two specific aims in planning the feast: first to revive his son who was on the verge of a physical and moral collapse and to strengthen diplomatic relations with various families which recently seemed to have abated.
Each family that entered the castle by a drawbridge was announced in a loud voice accompanied by a blast of trumpets conferring a certain solemnity to the event.
The two princes, father and son sumptuously dressed, standing on a platform in the centre of the court, met the guests with the dignity of their coat of arms. There were abundant embraces which confirmed the old ties of friendship. To strengthen the latter, on May 19th, the day following the arrival of the last guests, the official opening of the feast was declared.
A most strange fact happened, however, which Irino felt with much apprehension. He felt a shiver when the family of prince Torrielli di San Cataldo, composed of the father with two sons and a lovely daughter, were presented to the two hosts. In the features of the daughter, Irino recognised with emotion, the incarnation of the obsessive figure he painted.
They were both struck by an obvious and mutual attraction.
The vision of that young woman wrapped in costly vests, totally occupied Irino’s mind so that he was almost unable to contrive a worthy welcome to the other guests. This female figure which appeared so overbearingly in his oneiric paintings had now become a reality.
The gentle figure whose name was Marionda Torrielli and who belonged to a rich and ancient family of Perugia, produced a strong mental confusion in Irino which he hoped would soon disappear as the feast progressed.
He tried to gain her sympathy with the affected grace that distinguished him, while he felt the most tender sentiments sprout towards her. This was a feeling unknown to him, but he managed to express it during a visit they made together to the central tower of the castle; the relaxing evening atmosphere and a vague fragrance of herbs contributed to this.
After three days of an assiduous courtship, which the young girl accepted with the restraint of her class while Irino suddenly felt an intense sentiment of love.
The festive days proceeded without any impediment whatsoever, with all sorts of tournaments with horsemen in cuirass and coat of mail and above all the Pantagruelian meals accompanied by strong wines.
The kitchens of the manor were busy for a whole week preparing a variety of choice dishes and particularly barbecued and boiled meat: six deer, six boars, three calves, seven pigs and much game were slaughtered for the occasion. The meals were enlivened by musicians and acrobats.
This festive ceremony strengthened friendships, relationships and even settled territorial disputes between families.
Everything contributed to render a pleasant stay during which it appeared natural to announce the engagement between Irino and Marionda who were taken up by an attraction overcoming all limits.
Rich prizes were given to the winners of the chivalrous tournament and of the tombola. Many of these noblemen participated in the hunting parties in the vast estate of the Barenchi.
The week flew in a most happy atmosphere, but then came the time of departures and small caravans, after bidding farewell and expressing their gratitude left early in the morning, once again crossing the vast forests and grasslands.
An unforgettable souvenir remained in the memory of the guests and in the hearts of Irino and Marionda, fascinated by each other.
The young girl left with her father and two brothers on a foggy morning which made the separation even more difficult, even though Irino reassured her confirming his future visits to Perugia.
Bidding farewell to the last guests who left a day later, the castle, put in order, returned to its daily “routine”, cadenced by the usual rhythm of life. The festive atmosphere which hovered even in the streets of the village, was soon cancelled, but not forgotten.

To be continued

Cover image: Giuliano Gentile “Cervara delle Scale”

Translated from Italian by Assia Boutskoy