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The cultural heritage of Impruneta, which was built up over the centuries, is diffused over its territory, which is an extraordinary landscape with unique characteristics.
There are several important historical and artistic collections of great value, such as Museo di Arte Sacra in the Basilica, or some of the cotto handmanufacts in the brickworks. The archive of Maria Maltoni deserves to be mentioned because it testifies the experience of the Scuola di San Gersolè.
The ancient tradition of cotto and all the attention dedicated to the agricultural products are the results of the richness of Impruneta. We must also give recognition to some social aspects of Impruneta community life such as Fiera di San Luca and Festa dell’Uva, which play an essential role in its heritage.
As previously stated, Impruneta has a particular geographical position within the Province: on one hand it borders with Florence, a city of art and tourism; on the other it is the natural door giving access to the Chianti.
Taking all these elements into consideration, the County Town has undertaken a programme of initiatives in order to develop its identity, its own peculiar resources, keeping a close relationship with the surrounding territories.
One of the initiatives is Progetto Integrato –based on the participation of social bodies, cultural associations and entrepreneurs- which aims at the formation of the Ecomuseo Terre d’Impruneta.
Parusia has been chosen to provide the definition of the characteristics and the guidelines of the programme of Ecomuseo.
The choice of an ecomuseo seems to be appropriate to the cultural and environmental heritage of the territory. Moreover this choice seems to respond to the development of the local area, which the local government is trying to pursue in a balanced way in keeping with its history and its tradition.
The model for an ecomuseo was first established in France in the 50s and then became popular in Italy. During many congresses and conventions researchers underlined the fact that the ecomuseo is based upon “an agreement in which a community commits itself to preserve a territory”
The guide lines of the model are very simple. They include “a union of assets and locations”, which in their totality represent the territory. The guide lines provide the itineraries which permit the “knowledge and the enjoyment” of places.
These itineraries can provide a general survey of the territory or can specialise on individual arguments.
Information points for each area help visitors to get their bearings. These information points are the core to the functioning of an ecomuseo. At each point the visitor can find some rooms providing information, others for meetings and discussions, a library, archives, spaces to display permanent collection or temporary exhibition.
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| Terre d'Impruneta | |
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The Project Terre d'Impruneta
Focusing on Impruneta, the “union” is made of assets and locations that permit visitors to read and more fully understand the characteristics of the historical and cultural heritage of the area.
Therefore the general theme of Impruneta comprises three different sections:
a) History and Nature. The landscape of olive oil and vineyards. This section is devoted to the knowledge of the environment transformed by the work of men and to the retrieval of the signs of sharecropping that are still evident;
b) Land of Cotto which comprises all the assetts connected to the brickworks, to the manufacturing and collection of products, to the history of the ties between the kiln owners and Florence.
c) Sacred Land, concerning the history of Basilica of Santa Maria all’Impruneta, the route of pilgrimages, the veneration for the image of the Virgin in the Basilica.
For each of these sections, an itinerary has been proposed and a reference point has been identified. This reference point will be called information point of that area or interest point in which information on nature, history, culture and science can be found. The information point will provide a series of experiences on the theme of the section.
All the itineraries will start from the Visitor Centre, the core of the museum, which ideally should be placed in Buondelmonti Square.
It is worth mentioning that all the information technologies supplied to the visitor provide sufficient information and allow him to have personal visit.
A vast programme of activities will be at the core of the life of the museum and will be based upon the changing of seasons and the village fairs.
In the aftermath of World War II, in coincidence with the breakdown of the rural civilisation, Impruneta became a residential centre for many families who used to live in the countryside. Nowadays many of its citizens work outside the municipality and they take again their real identity of citizens of Impruneta only at the end of the day. A pivotal element in considering Impruneta is its position so that this town can be considered as a “metropolitan hill”, a link between the Chianti and Florence.
The project Terre d’Impruneta promoted by the County Town aims at reasserting the local identity and the social and economic development of the territory. The core of this project is the Ecomuseo. Its structure is very simple. First there is the Visitor Centre, to be considered as the general information point for the museum (ideally it should be located in Buondelmonti Square), almost a kind of window where all the initiatives should be displayed and a gathering place for all incoming visitors.
From this centre the three main themes – itineraries- will depart. For each theme an itinerary has been created, which will help visitors to discover the different marks of history, nature and activities in the territory. Consequently three different Interest Points– information point referring to the specific itinerary – will give information on the totality of the heritage from different points of view – historical, artistic and scientific-.
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| Impruneta and Jean Michel Folon | |
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We could say that, unawarely, Jean Michel Folon has always represented Chianti in his every picture; on the other hand, we could say that Chianti never found an artist capable of reproducing the atmosphere that many wanderers breathe once they take their first steps among our hills, until Folon made his visit.
Folon, notable Belgian artist, whose love for Florentine countryside was renowned, has left a last artistic tribute in Impruneta, before passing away.
In 2005 Folon created a “logo”, that represented the countryside region of Impruneta, Bagno a Ripoli and Greve in Chianti, for the new tourism signage system. Folon’s painting is a welcome message for every visitor entering one of the three municipalities.
Jean Michel Folon (whose masterpiece “man with umbrella” stands in front of the Saschall theatre in Florence) with his sober and gentle style, and his delicate choices of colours, perfectly matches the aura of peacefulness embracing the Florentine countryside.
An Exhibition was held, between May and September 2005, with the goal to tighten the bond between the Artist and the Florentine surroundings region; the Exhibition Folon/Firenze (www.folonfirenze.it) hosted about 250 artworks. Many other sculptures and pictures were laid out in Forte Belvedere and in the Sala d’Arme in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, while ceramics and terracotta artworks were displayed in many locations in the area of Impruneta, Bagno A Ripoli and Greve in Chianti.
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