In the Village Chosen by the Great Twentieth-Century Artists: A Day in Calice Ligure

The sea in Liguria: in the imagination of Emilio Scanavino, a famous painter and sculptor born in Genoa to parents from Calice, the blue waves draw a surface resembling a mirror of ice scratched by skates. If the interpretations of his 1955 painting can be countless, one thing is certain: the Ligurian landscape, with its deep blues and wild greens, had influenced him, and however much his art had evolved in a non-figurative, post-cubist direction, references to his homeland are not missing from his works. Many of these works Scanavino created after 1962, the year in which he bought a house in the Eze district of Calice Ligure, soon extending the boundaries of his art studio to the whole village, thanks to having attracted many other important artists to the Ligurian inland town too.

For about twenty years Calice was one of the reference points for both Italian and foreign artists, as well as for gallery owners, art critics and journalists. Walking today through the characteristic caruggi, among houses restored with respect for tradition, it is natural to think that Scanavino's paintings such as “La Porta”, or “La Montagna”, both from 1975, however abstract, somehow sink their roots into the vision of this landscape. We are in the inland area of Finale Ligure, the municipality to which belongs what is however considered among the symbols of Calice: the Rocca di Perti. It is one of the favourite destinations of hikers and climbing enthusiasts, since the rock is regarded as the highest part of the Finalese, an area devoted to outdoor sports.

The hairpin bends immersed in the clean air of Calice Ligure are instead an unmissable pleasure for cyclists, who come here in large numbers even from abroad. Our walk through the village takes us, along a road passing between houses and gardens with many fruit trees, to the square where the Parish Church of San Nicolò and the Oratory of San Carlo stand. The two religious buildings, built one next to the other, dominate the village in a fascinating timeless atmosphere. The Parish Church was built in the eighteenth century, on the remains of a pre-existing thirteenth-century building, and its fine Baroque façade is echoed by that of the adjoining Oratory. Inside we admire eighteenth-century paintings, as well as precious works by the sculptor Anton Maria Maragliano. Another ancient church of Calice that we visit in the late afternoon is the one dedicated to Santa Libera, built in 1550.

Our dinner in Calice too finds us pleasantly immersed in the history of the area: when Calice Ligure was populated by the famous twentieth-century artists, the Trattoria Piemontese, run by the Viola family, in Piazza Massa, had already been there for about a century. “The Trattoria was founded in 1870 by Secondo Turello and his wife Teresa Viola. He was from Isola d'Asti, which is why the place was called Trattoria Piemontese. In the following decades the running of it passed first to the nephew Alberto and then to his son, also named Secondo, and his wife Giovanna, that is, to our parents,” Luca and Roberto tell us, the sons who today run the restaurant, always with the precious help of their parents. Their family is the living memory of the history of Calice Ligure also because, when all those artists were there, naturally they came to eat here.

“Who knows, maybe Aldo Mondino once sat at this very table,” we think, as we begin to taste the house hot starters and the typical cappon magro. Between one delicacy and another we admire the paintings on the walls, thanks to which we feel immersed in the historic artistic atmospheres of the village. Among the first courses we cannot resist the spelinseghi alla ligure and the ravioli with butter and sage, which we follow with a nice mixed fried fish, while some of our friends choose another delicacy, the rabbit Ligurian-style. We wash all these treats down with Ligurian wines including the Rossese di Dolceacqua and the Pigato d'Albenga, and to finish on a sweet note we taste the house desserts, including peach ice cream, tiramisu, bunet, apple cake and peach and amaretti cake.

After dinner we ask the owners if we can visit the very well-stocked wine shop, also to admire the ancient well inside it. The seasons change, and today it is the new galleries that carry on the artistic tradition of Calice Ligure. It is a real pleasure to discover this world, even during the autumn period: also to enjoy a nice plate of maltagliate with mushrooms and perhaps a chestnut ice cream.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Trattoria Piemontese Piazza Massa, 4 Calice Ligure (SV) Tel.: 019/65463