La Scarzuola, Montegabbione

View of the “acropolis” of la Scarzuola, near Montegabbione, Umbria. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Tucked into the steep, forested hills of Umbria sits the convent-turned-architectural-passion-project, la Scarzuola. While the religious site was supposedly founded in the 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi (and the convent built some centuries later), contemporary pilgrims make their way to this isolated spot for a different kind of mysticism: the surreal “ideal city” of milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi.

Buzzi purchased the convent in 1956, beside which he built his own rambling complex of seven, sometimes overlapping, theaters. His vision included references and symbols both famous and esoteric, culminating in the piled, small-scale replicas of European architectural landmarks that form the “acropolis” (see above). Symbolic elements like wings, eyes, and winged eyes, as well as monstrous, gaping mouths that double as doorways, appear throughout the complex, although their exact meanings remain obscure.

As much as the site often feels like a realization of something purely internal to Buzzi’s imagination, the architect was concerned with both the structures’ relationships to the physical landscape and the experiences of visitors. The individual theaters are all at least partially outside and designed to direct the viewer’s gaze in very specific ways. One of the smaller theaters, for instance, is only partially covered, the stage separated from the semi-circle of seats by water, the seats separated from each other by walls, and each seat directed at a mirror that sits in another semi-circle behind the stage (pic below). The audience therefore sees themselves and each other through these mirrors whenever they look towards the stage. And, because of the short walls blocking their peripheral vision, there is nowhere else for audience members to look.

Buzzi stopped work on la Scarzuola in 1978 before it was fully finished. After he passed away in 1981, his nephew Marco Solari continued to work on the complex, and still owns it today. The current site feels one part Parco dei Mostri, one part House on the Rock, and is open to visitors via guided tour.

For more information, or to book your own visit, go to the Scarzuola website.

View over the exterior wall to the first courtyard and church at la Scarzuola. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Sun stage, part of la Scarzuola’s multi-theater “acropolis.” Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Open-mouthed beast between the sun and moon stages and facing the main stage in la Scarzuola’s acropolis. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Our guide before one of the more eye-catching elements of the "ideal city.” Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Winged eyes, a common symbol at la Scarzuola. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Open-mouthed sea creature-cum-entranceway at la Scarzuola. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Part of la Scarzuola, Montegabbione, Umbria, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Mirrored, eye-shaped theater bordered by water and only ten seats. La Scarzuola, Umbria, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Behind the acropolis and intimate, mirrored theater. La Scarzuola, Umbria, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

La Scarzuola is also home to dogs, cats, and, within its lotus-dotted pools, frogs. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Shang and Zhou bronzes

Western Zhou hollow-legged li vessel for cooking meat and grain in the collection of the Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

China during the Shang (1766–1046 BCE) and Zhou (1045–221 BCE) dynasties had the most sophisticated bronze-making techniques of the ancient world, skills which led to increasingly complex forms as the centuries progressed. The most plentiful and best known bronzes from these periods are ceremonial receptacles for wine or food, many of which have been discovered in graves. Common shapes, like the ones pictured in this post, were based on even earlier ceramic cooking and serving containers, including:

li — vessel with rounded, hollow legs used for cooking food (see above image)

ding — a rounded vessel on three or four solid legs, also used for cooking food (see below)

yan — steamer resembling a wide-mouthed vase on top of a li base (see final image)

gui — squat, curving food vessel with a wide foot (see below).

The symbolic meanings of the animals and abstract patterns that cover the exteriors of these vessels are still mysterious, although the objects’ clear ritualistic function strongly suggests they did possess some purpose beyond purely aesthetic decoration. Two of the most ubiquitous motifs, especially in the Zhou periods, are the highly abstracted kui dragon and the tao-tie (or taotie) mask.

Although tao-tie translates as “glutton mask” or “ogre mask,” art historian Sherman E. Lee has pointed out that the name is a modern misnomer (Lee 35–36). The “mask” probably represents a number of different creatures, and may even act as a composite of multiple animals at once. The face becomes more legible (and the term “mask” more problematic) once we realize that, despite the frontal appearance of its large eyes, the tao-tie is in fact composed of two profiles joined along a vertical axis. Knowing this, we can see the curving lines that sometimes fill the space at the outer edges of the face are often actually the body of the creature. In some cases, the tao-tie and kui designs merge, appearing as two dragons facing each other, or as a single dragon split from its center (as seen in the last two dings pictured below).

Even without knowing the exact meaning or purpose of each symbol, the complex and shifting relationships between these oft repeated, yet constantly developing, images suggest their creators were inspired by a similarly complex and mystical conception of the world. And it is this transformative slippage—between front and profile views, real and mystical creatures, multiple designs on the same vessel, and the meanings of similar designs on different containers—that makes Shang and Zhou vessels so visually fascinating, intellectually engaging, and creatively inspiring.

Tripod ding (or li ding) with three bands of taotie designs in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

You wine vessel with bat-head (?) and kui designs in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Zun vase with taotie design in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Tripod ding with cicada and kui designs in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an. 16th–11th century BCE, Shang period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Tetrapod ding for cooking meat in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Gui food container with taotie designs in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. In this case, the wide foot beneath the bowl is propped off the ground by additional legs in the shape of elephant heads. The taotie here also appears to represent a stylized elephant, as suggested by the long, trunk-like noses and well-defined ears. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

You wine vessel with leopard (?) and kui designs in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Gui food container with taotie and leopard (?) designs in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-10th–mid-9th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Flat-legged tripod ding with taotie design in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Tripod ding with taotie and kui designs in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of yan steamer with taotie design in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Mid-11th–mid-10th century BCE, Western Zhou period. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Reference: Sherman E. Lee, A History of Far Eastern Art, 5th ed., Prentice Hall: 1994.

Date and type of each pictured vessel confirmed by museum labels.