3rd May 2007
fabbro nm. blacksmith.
Once we had decided that we needed a ‘cancello’, suddenly I was aware of gates everywhere. It seems the Italians like a bit of ironwork; from the elaborate curlicews of the palazzi lanterns , decorative torch-holders and rings for tethering horses, to the gleaming new electric gates of the modern villas there is a plethora of wrought iron everywhere you look.
Marito and I career around the countryside, taking photos of ‘gates that we like’. We both like the old ones, his taste more simple and austere, mine suffering from illusions of grandeur and lusting after gates with intertwined rusty initials, crests and crowns. For once I am persuaded that ‘less is more’ and we settle for simple gates with curved tops and, just for me, some arrows.
Outside a house with some particularly fine railings marito asks the owner if he can recommend a ‘fabbro’, and he can.
Inside the foundry there is smoke and a ferrous smell mixed with some kind of powerful male pheromone. Then, through the sparks, I spot the ‘fabbro boys’, their huge blackened hands are hot and dry, and for some ridiculous reason I am blushing as we shake. In their tiny office, marito, fabbros and I talk gates. They show us portfolios of gates they have made, and we show them the photos of gates we like. Of the 20 or so photos we show them, they know them all, and have made most of them. They know their stuff these boys, they’re artisans.
Old gate.
They agree on the design and they agree to let the gates rust naturally, rather than spray them with the pale grey anti-rust paint that is so prevalent around here. They agree to make our gates. Outside in the yard we shake hands again, the ‘fabulous fabbro boys’ are smiling their handsome shiny faces slicked with soot, blue-eyed and brown-eyed brothers.
The best thing I ate today;
Pinola gelato – I love gelato and I love pinola, what more can I say except that in the land of good ice-cream, the more you try the more you get a feel of what is good and what is very good, and this is very, very good.
Where to get it;
Chiusi citta – Tip, look for the sign that says ‘artigianale’ unless you want a magnum.
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