CHIMAERAS OF AREZZO

Arezzo is, or should be, the quintessential city of the Chimaera. It is the place where, on November 15^th 1553, workers digging near the porta San Laurentino discovered, nearly intact, this curious bronze "lion" which at the beginning nobody recognized as being a Chimaera. That Chimaera statue was not the first Etruscan work of art discovered in Arezzo, nor in Italy, but it was perhaps the most beautiful and impressive object that the earth has given back to us from that remote age.

In Etruscan times, starting from - roughly - 7^th century BC, Arezzo was one of the largest towns in Tuscany and one of the main cultural centers of the Etruscan civilization. Later, Arezzo became a Roman town and in the middle ages it was an independent city until it was conquered and subdued by the Florentines in the late 1300's. From that point onwards, Arezzo's history merges with that of Tuscany and Italy. We may ask today what is left in Arezzo of its ancient Etruscan tradition and in particular of the myth of the Chimaera.

In general, very little has directly survived of the ancient Etruscan traditions in Italy. With the disappearance of the Etruscan language, back perhaps to the 7^th-8^th century AD, there remained of the Etruscans only the massive walls of their cities and ruins of temples and buildings. In Arezzo, it does not seem that any modern tradition can be linked back to Etruscan times, just too remote to have left clear traces. It seems also that there didn't exist any memory of the city being the home of an especially important Chimaera statue before it was actually excavated in 1553. But even though the Etruscans had disappeared as a living tradition, their memory was never lost in the literary record of Roman historians. In addition, during the middle ages, Etruscan artifacts were being unearthed everywhere and Arezzo was one of the main centers for these excavations. Giorgio Vasari, in his vite (1562) explicitly reports that Arezzo was a center of excavation for Etruscan ceramic vases and he reports how his grandfather Giorgio Vasari (also painter and writer) at the time of Lorenzo il Magnifico (late 15^th century)

had discovered in a field near the Calciarella bridge, place so named, underground some three feet, three arches of ancient furnaces and around those, of thick mixture many broken vases and four intact, which, being in Arezzo the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici, from Giorgio, by introduction of the bishop, had as presents.

This discovery is described also by the Aretine writer Attilio Alessi, who cites the year 1492 for the most important discoveries at the Calciarella bridge. (As reported in Pignotti, Storia della Toscana, Livorno 1820). Vasari specifically identifies the manufacturer Marco Perennio who operated in the Augustean Period, he was not necessarily Etruscan, but his production had some Etruscan character. Indeed, the Aretine vases were famous in Roman times, the Roman poet Martial had described them in his Marcii Valerii Martialis Epigrammata, book XVI.

These excavations were all part of a wave of interest in everything Etruscan sweeping Tuscany in Renaissance times. The first important expression of this Etruscan fashion was perhaps the work of a Dominican monk, Annio da Viterbo (1432-1502). Cabalist and orientalist, he published a book titled Antiquitates where he put together a theory where both the Hebrew and Etruscan languages were said to originate from a single source, the "Aramaic" spoken by Noah (of the ark) and his descendants. Annio had something to say about Arezzo, too, and his interpretation was reported by Giovanni Rondinelli in his relazione to the Grand Duke Francesco 1^st about the state of Tuscany in 1583. (as reported in G. Cipriani "il mito Etrusco nel Rinascimento Fiorentino", Firenze 1980)

It is said by most that Arezzo, the very ancient and very noble city, would take her name at her birth from the daughter of Noah who, among many other names, was called Arizia, which in the Aramaic language meant fertile land, from which name Ianus made Arezzo in Tuscany one of the first and major cities he built and this opinion has more of the creditable than any other.

This interest in everything ancient, and Etruscan in particular, had also some political effect in triggering a wave of Tuscan "nationalism" that was used by the Medici dynasty to complete the submission of the whole region under their rule. But the main discovery in Arezzo, and the one that had a profound effect in Tuscany and all over Italy, was that of the Chimaera, the bronze statue unearthed in 1553 near the porta S. Laurentino. From what we can say from the sources of the time the impression that the discovery made at that time was enormous, something as if today a Martian spaceship had been discovered buried near one of our cities. Even the Grand Duke himself, Cosimo 1^st, took a keen interest in it.

But what was the effect of the discovery in Arezzo? It seems that it was very small. The time of the discovery, mid 16^th century, had coincided with the height of the politics of expansion of Duke Cosimo in Tuscany. Arezzo was by then a vassal town of Firenze. 1553, the year in which the Chimaera was dug out, was also the year of the start of the war against the republic of Siena, one of the last rivals of Firenze in Tuscany, which was to be subdued in 1555. Arezzo had ceded to the Florentines much earlier. It had been defeated first at the battle of Campaldino, in 1289 and had been finally conquered and subdued in 1384. At the time of the discovery of the Chimaera nobody in Arezzo could even think to oppose the Grand Duke's will to take the statue to his palace in Florence.

Of the brief time in which the Chimaera remained in Arezzo, we have only a few lines in the city archives which report about the discovery and how everyone was impressed by the antiquity and the elegance of the "lion" and of the other statues (nempe hoc qui viderunt omne admirati sunt et operis antiquitatem et elegantiam). Only at a later time, about one year afterwards, a note written by a different hand reports that since the snake-shaped tail was missing, nobody had recognized the lion as a Chimaera (serpentis in hoc leone signum erat nullum: non fuit ideo arbitratum esse Chimaerae Bellerophontis simulacrum). The sources do not say exactly when the Chimaera was taken away from Arezzo, it may have been just a few weeks after the discovery, certainly no more than a year later, since both Vasari and Cellini in mention the Chimaera statue as being in Firenze in 1554.

After the Chimaera was taken to Firenze over the centuries under the Florentine domination nobody seems to have dared to express in public the idea that, perhaps, the Chimaera really belonged to Arezzo. After the unification of Italy, in 1861, a lot of things changed and the dominance of Firenze over Arezzo became a thing of the past. However, there is no evidence of any debate at that time about bringing back the Chimaera to where it had been discovered. To see something stirring in Arezzo we must wait until early 20^th century, when some consciousness that the Chimaera actually belonged to Arezzo started to surface. The political ideas of the time, with Mussolini's Fascist government ruling Italy, involved valuing everything that was Roman. In this general rediscovery of Togas, Fascis, Legions and Caesars, the Etruscans shone of a reflected light: enemies of the Romans, yes, but worthy enemies and hence to be re-appraised too.

In this general climate, in the 30s, the Podestà of Arezzo, a mayor appointed by the central government, must have had some political influence. Not enough to have the Chimaera back to Arezzo, but enough to have a mold taken from the original. It was relatively common to make replicas this way in 19^th century, but in the 20^th this was rarely allowed since the original may be damaged in the process. It was done, however, for the Chimaera of Arezzo and two copies in bronze were made and placed in front of the train station. Later on, the idea of "bringing back the Chimaera" reappeared in Arezzo many times and in many forms, the last one perhaps in the 1997 movie "Piovarà'" made by group of Aretine actors (their names are Rossi, Cherubini and Lisi, and their group is known as the "Avanzi di Balera" or "leftovers from a dancing club"). The movie is all based on a comical search of the protagonist for a way to bring the sculpture back to Arezzo and it is great fun to watch if you can understand Italian. In spite of all that, however, by now the Chimaera has been in Firenze for almost 5 centuries, and it is unlikely that it will go back to Arezzo very soon.

And we arrive to the 3^rd millennium. If you go to Arezzo in 2001, the time when I am writing these notes, what Chimaeras are you going to find? If you arrive by train, the first thing that you will notice are the two original size replicas in front of the Arezzo train station. About these two copies, it must be said that the Chimaera is a relatively small statue and that it needs some focussed attention to be appreciated. In its time it was probably part of a larger group, including also Bellerophon, the hero on his winged horse. It is also possible that - being a "votive offering" to the God Tinia - it was placed inside a temple. Near the train station, alone, and in the open space of a busy intersection, it is difficult to appreciate the Chimaera for what it is. This problem was perhaps realized by the Podesta' or by his architects when it was decided to place two statues in the square, maybe trying to make up with a larger number what was missing in size. Unfortunately the result has been less than impressive These two Chimaeras look - well - how to say?

They look fully out of place, two alien creatures in the center of two fountains with those water streams pouring on them (needless to say, this is hardly the way the Etruscans would have placed them). They look, I'd say, as animals taken from a merry-go-round. This is not to say that they are not of good quality as pieces of statuary, they are actually excellent replicas, but their placement is a disaster.

If you visit Arezzo, you can also see another replica, which was placed under the arch of Porta S. Laurentino in 1998 to commemorate the discovery of many centuries before. Also here, the esthetical results of the work are questionable. First of all, why make a reduced size replica? The city administration of Arezzo had the two casts from the original, out of which they could have obtained a third, perfect, replica. True, an original size Chimaera would not have fitted inside the vault of the door, but was it really necessary to place it there? Nobody knows where exactly the original Chimera was found, but it is unlikely that it was exactly in the middle of the door. This small Chimaera, about one third of the original, is - no doubt - well done, as well done as a reduced size replica can be. But it is not the same thing, reduced replicas never perfectly maintain the proportions of the original. It must be said that the S. Laurentino Chimaera is better placed and better thought out than the Chimaeras of the station. There is a certain logic in placing it there, there are no ridiculous water sprouts, and on the inner walls of the door the administration has placed posters explaining the history of the discovery and of the Chimaera myth. Still, the "merry-go-round" impression is there: this poor little Chimaera, right in the center of the arch, it looks uncannily out of place.

But, you may ask, who am I to criticize? Correct: I have no authority to play the role here of master of Chimaeric things. Besides, I am sure that the people who set up these Chimaeras did their best. It is just that after so many centuries the Chimaera has become almost an alien creature. It is nearly impossible to have it fit anywhere in the spaces of a modern city. Arezzo is partly medieval and partly modern, but definitely not Etruscan. Even though Arezzo is the Chimaera's "home town", my impression is that these pieces of statuary it would have been given much more of a chance if they had been placed either in a real Etruscan space (say, the Roman theater in Arezzo) or in a closed space, such as the archaeological museum. Oh, well, this is my opinion anyway. Give a look to the

pictures and, if you have a chance, go to Arezzo and judge by yourself.

What other Chimaeras can be found in Arezzo? At least one: it is another reduced size Chimaera which is kept at the Chamber of Commerce of the city. Since Arezzo is known for its gold industry this replica has been gold plated all over. Here, too, the results do not seem to have matched the intentions, and the gold is peeling off everywhere. Yet, even in these conditions this Chimaera maintains a certain air of dignity. Near the Porta S. Laurentino, on the city walls, there is a wooden Chimaera placed by someone who clearly wanted to commemorate the discovery, even though with limited means. I don't know when it was placed there, but by now it is weather worn and in bad shape. There may well be other Chimaeras I don't know about.

Then there are Chimaeras in Arezzo which are not pieces of statuary. Places which take the name from the myth even though they may have little to do with the concept of a lion with a snake tail and a goat head on the back.. In the year 2000, perusing the Arezzo phone book, I found 13 commercial

establishments with the name "Chimera". Of these one was a travel agency, one a gas station, one a Pizza place, others various kinds of shops. This may not be much, but it is nevertheless better than what I could find in Firenze (where the Chimaera statue has residence) where I found only one shop with that name (actually spelled "Kimera", another travel agency). It may be somewhat uncanny to think that in Arezzo you can have a pizza at a restaurant named "Chimera": the implications of such a concept are perhaps beyond the capability of understanding of the average student of mythology. Who knows what would the ancient Etruscans have thought.

Some 2500 years have gone by after the Etruscan Chimaera we know as the "Chimaera of Arezzo" was cast in bronze by an unknown artist in a world (and an Italy) that was enormously different than the present one. An Italy of city states fiercely battling each other. An Arezzo rich and independent which fought the Romans and later on is said to have provided them for their fight against the Cartaginese with thirty thousand shields, fifty thousand spears, provisions for forty ships, and more. Of that ancient time, little is left today, except for memories and for those two funny cats standing on top of these fountains in the square in front of the train station. Modern Aretines know very well those Chimaeras, but nobody can say how it came that the original was buried and forgotten near the old city walls so many centuries ago. Time goes by, names are forgotten, but still the Aretines of today are the descendants of the Etruscans of old. Something always remains and it looks like we'll never run out of Chimaeras.  

This page was created in February 2001. e-mail to author, Ugo Bardi
 
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