Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Twice in a lifetime...

I was honored, thrilled and extremely grateful to have been chosen for the 2013 Astra Zarina Fellowship by the Northwest Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy (NIAUSI). Here's the drawing I did in 1984 as a student in Civita di Bagnoregio that was the seed of my proposal to document the remarkable collection of properties that my late professor Astra Zarina and her husband Tony Costa Heywood assembled and renovated over the last 50+ years.
 


When I was here for two months as part of the University of Washington Italian Hilltowns Program 29 years ago, I remember thinking that it was a once in a lifetime experience - and it was. But now I have an amazing opportunity to spend another two months in this tiny town, perched precariously on a promontory of volcanic tufa, reached only by a footbridge and built on layers of Etruscan, Roman and medieval inhabitations.  
 
The drawing above depicted the "existing conditions" of my project site in 1984, known as "Il Ruderone" - the big ruin, which is what it was at the time. It is now the home of Tony Heywood and one of five homes he and Astra Zarina acquired and renovated in this part of Civita, including the one I'm staying in these two months.
 
I returned to Civita just over two weeks ago for the first time since 1984, except for a couple of day trips. In these two weeks I've been acclimating myself to the heat and culture, reconnecting with people I met 29 years ago, delving into the archives and starting to document the properties, which were transferred to NIAUSI (also known as The Civita Institute) just this spring. In the remaining weeks of my fellowship (and following my stay here) I'll be sharing my observations, discoveries, photos, videos, sketches and drawings (some of which I've already posted on my Facebook page and  NIAUSI's).

2 comments:

  1. Dave, this is awesome. Thanks for posting this blog. As vicarious experiences go, this one promises to be exceptional. What a cool place. Fantastico!

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  2. Incredible site. Great drawing circa 1984. Time to get those soft pencil skills flowing. Absorb my friend. V'dya

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