Verliebt in Calvola

We have since moved to the mountains on the north shore of Lake Garda. Right by the lake, in Riva del Garda, it is not very charming, but here it is very nice. The roads are steep and lead to lovely places like Calvola. In the Agriturismo of the same name, you can dine under old stone vaults and enjoy exactly the kind of Italian cuisine that you will never find in Vienna: deliciously cooked without any fuss. Carne salada (the fine salted beef that is typical of this region) served raw as an appetizer with homemade sottaceti, Pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta with cheese, cabbage, and potatoes), Tagliatelle with a sauce made from olive peels and olive puree, polenta with rabbit (if only I could cook meat that well), and finally homemade raspberry ice cream. We would have loved to stay in Calvola, but the beds were too short for Roby.

Our Baschenis program is progressing quickly. Today, we visited seven churches, and all the pre-arranged appuntamenti were fruitful. We now realize that there is little research available on the itinerant painter family. The frescoes are more often unsigned than signed, and there are few written sources. Therefore, it is also difficult to assign the individual frescoes to their creators. One stands out for sure: Simone II was the best. Some of his paintings are truly excellent, while others are careless and somewhat loveless (due to being painted quickly, perhaps). Some of his relatives were not very talented, such as Cristoforo I, who painted an Antonio Abate (see yesterday's blog) on the facade of a church near Pelugo, which - well - did not turn out very well. Or even the one (seemingly Cristoforo II) who allowed the Infant Jesus to pick dates while fleeing to Egypt in the same church - cute, but somewhat shallow.