Padova—a Cradle of Culture

Today the director of Varna International and I spent the morning in Padova to plan side tours for the musicians who will join the festival tour next summer.

Home to a prestigious university built in 1222, Padova contains some of the most remarkable artistic treasures in the world, such as the famous 14th-century frescoes of Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel.

Located about 20 kilometers west of the Venice lagoon, Padova is an ancient city, which dates back to the 11th century BC.

During the Roman times, the city was known as Patavium, which, at that time, was inhabited by the Veneti people.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Padova passed through many powers during the Medieval period, from the Huns (5th century) to Gothic kings (6th century) and onto the Lombards and then the Franks (7th century).

Interestingly, these Goths wore knee-length tunic over trousers with a cloak that was knotted in the front. Distinctly Gothic, these garments were cut at the edges in long points.

The Lombards were a Barbarian tribe from Germany that wore tunics, large mantles, and strips of cloth that was attached to the legs through gartering (crisscrossing strips of cloth). The Lombards also wore pointed shoes!

The city fell under the rule of Venice in 1405, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire 1797 and the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.

Numerous significant events took place in this magnificent city: Mozart composed there; Shakespeare wrote “The Taming of the Shrew” there; and Galileo was chair at the university for a decade.

Photos Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.

Tonight is the Knight by Ontfront

Yesterday I posted an article entitled Naples, Normans & Nabbings, in which I discussed menswear inspired by the medieval knight.

Well, here is an example of the contemporary knight that will be charging down the spring and summer streets of 2010, courtesy of Ontfront.



Slideshow 2010 s/s lookbook Copyright Ontfront.

Naples, Normans & Nabbings

By the twilight of the first millennium, the isles in the Bay of Naples had become demonstrably Greek at heart and passed over to the jurisdiction of Naples, which at long last had declared independence from Byzantium.

Naples’ autocratic rule, however, was short lived on account of the expansionism of the Normans (short for ‘Northmen’), a Scandinavian tribe and descendents of the Vikings, who had settled northern France.

The first exposure that I had to a true-to-life Norman was in my senior year of college, during which time I roomed with a brilliant exchange student from Normandy. His ancestors were valiant warriors, who, in the 12th century, gained a foothold in all of southern Italy through the mediation of the duke of Naples, who had solicited the Normans to exact revenge on an enemy and drive out the Arabs from Sicily.

But the duke’s scheme backfired. In 1139, Naples was annexed to the Norman monarchy whose capital was conveniently set up in Sicily on the remains of an eroding society, which the Normans imbued with new economic vigor. The Kingdom of Sicily, which comprised the southern half of the Italian peninsula, was born.

Every component of civil life, including customs and language, had long been fused to the religious life that the Greek Byzantine Church had propagated in Naples and its island-specked bay.

Thus, when Naples pledged allegiance to its new landlords, who were the land tenants of the Roman papacy, a vibrant campaign to Latinize the Church and religious life was set on foot. Clashes on doctrine and debates over the theology rocked the established order, spinning off liturgical and monastic reforms.

With the disembarkation of every intruder, a renewed wave of decimation, punishment, and torture (retribution for our ancestors’ loyalty to the previous regime) crashed on the shores of the islands.

Such was the case in 1194 when the scepter was then conferred to the Swabian emperors, better known as the Hohenstaufens of southwest Germany. The Italian peninsula was torn from the top to toe over the issue of authority as the Pope and the “Germanized” Holy Roman Empire competed for power.

Under both the Normans and the reign of Germanic kings, the Kingdom of Sicily, Naples, and the isles were imbued with various Gothic influences. Gothic men wore tunic-like “cotes” with tight sleeves. Knee-length and party-colored, these garments sported belts with elaborate buckles. Hats consisted of hoods or conical caps.

Eventually the tunic gave way to the doublet, a snug-fitting buttoned jacket. A shorter version of the tunic also developed, the cotehardie, which was buttoned down the front and covered the buttocks.

A square male silhouette was introduced through cloaks and mantles of the times. Tights were worn on the legs, while shoes were low cut. Hair was cut in a jaw-length bob with bangs.

2010 Trends & Takeaways from the period:
Several designers have looked to the medieval knight for their 2010 inspiration, creating tops that resemble a coat of mail—the cumbersome armor that was formed into a mesh with thousands of tiny metal rings. Adapted versions for 2010 include chunky-knit sweaters, mesh shirts and tees, and perforated garments.

Eventually the mail was replaced by the coat of armor, which consisted of full-body plates of metal. For more reading on these influences in 2010, please refer to my articles Tonight is the Knight I and II with Ontrfont and Knights in Armor by Asger Juel Larsen.

Although developed in later periods, hose were worn by men in this period, just like the leggings that are gaining popularity for 2010! It so turns out that, what we consider feminine today, was not feminine at all in the past!


Photo top left, Ruggiero II the Norman, Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.
Photo middle right, Knights in Armor, Copyright Asger Juel Larsen.
Photo middle left, Frederick II Hohenstaufen Duke of Swabia, Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.
Photo bottom center, Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino, port of Naples, Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.