Arabic Inscriptions of Saluzzo’s Salone Baronale
The fascinating story of Arabic in Italian art
Castello della Manta is a castle located at La Manta near Saluzzo in the Province of Cuneo, part of Piedmont in northern Italy. The Salone Baronale (Baronial Hall) has a cycle of fresco decorations on the walls with a rare masterpiece of Late Gothic paintings.
The artwork of the Baronale is attributed to the anonymous Master of Castello della Manta. It was commissioned by Valerano of Saluzzo, the illegitimate son of the Marchese Tommaso III between 1411 and 1416. He succeeded his father in 1416, as Ludovico I. This fresco contains a beautiful and delicate flowing script. A closer look reveals that it is actually Arabic.
Arabs and Italy
In 711 AD, the Arabs reached Europe through Southern Spain. Moving northwards, their troops entered France and within a few years, they were close to Paris. During the 10th century, the history of South France was dominated by large groups of Arabs who controlled the whole area of the French and Swiss Alps from a point at the coast near Saint-Tropez. Medieval Arabs had a presence on the French-Italian border. Provence and parts of Piedmont (which borders Piedmont Switzerland to the north) were under the nominal control of the Umayyads in Al Andalus. Arab-Islamic coins were found in Piedmont. They introduced Medieval vegetation such as Lemon.
In 827 AD, the Arabs started conquering Sicily, the biggest island in Italy. The Aghlabids, vessels of the Abbasid Caliphate in Iraq, and Kalbids, vessels of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt ruled Sicily (Saqaliyya) and other regions in the South for around 2 centuries and a half. Venice was the major center of trade with the Arabs. After Sicily’s fall, the Arab presence was prolonged by the Norman conquerors. The newly formed Crusader states in the Levant, particularly the Tripolean county opened new trade routes. The Tripolean society was diverse with Arabs, Italians, and Franks. The last countess arrived from Italy in Tripoli. Many Crusaders expelled from the region by the Mamluk conquerors settled in Italy. This led to significant cultural exchange between the Arabs and the Italians.
For more than two centuries, Italy’s principal trading partner had been the Mamluk Sultanate. Italian states were particularly tied to Egypt and the Levant and their greatest metropolis cities- Cairo, Alexandria, Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, and Beirut. Italians present in Mamluk lands bought several high-quality products and sold them in Venice with great profit.
The Fountain of Youth
The Arabic cursive thuluth script common in Levantine and Egyptian works captured much attention in Italy. This script is clear in the Fountain of Youth in the audience chamber of the Castello della Manta. The myth of the fountain of Youth is part of the dream of eternal life or eternal youth. It appears in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, whether in frescoes in castles and aristocratic courts. It echoes many passages in both the Old and the New Testament. Painters of the late Middle Ages portrayed Christ crucified above the fountain. His flowing blood spilled into a symbolic fountain of life, where Adam and Eve were sometimes shown bathing. In the della Manta fresco, travelers are shedding their clothes and stripping off their stockings. On the side, some figures are climbing into the water. Inside the basin, three rejuvenated couples are engaged in erotic games. On the top, a small Cupid is shooting his darts down among the happily rejuvenated figures.
The Wandering Knight
The people to the right of the fountain, young and handsome, are busily putting on new, more attractive, and colorful garments. They are proceeding on their way, either on foot or on horseback. Loving couples, aristocratic gentlemen, and ladies on horseback fill the foreground of this scene. The subject is the legend of The Search for the Fountain of Youth, part of The Book of the Chevalier Errant (Knight Errant), a chivalric romance written by the late Tommaso III. The Chevalier Errant is written as a long allegorical prose with many autobiographical details in the declining Middle Ages. It describes a Knight’s quest as he wanders first to the court of the god of love, then to the Palace of Fortune, and finally to the dwelling of Dame Knowledge.
Golden Arabic script beautifully decorates the saddle of the black horse, a sign of status and rank. This pseudo style imitates Arabic letters, emphasizing straight and angular strokes which were common in Mamluk decorations. It was used by Europeans to decorate religious halos, clothes, or frames. Medieval Europeans were not only interested in Arabic ornamentation. Many mistakenly thought that Arabic was the language of early Christianity since Christianity came from the Arab world. The Knights Templar believed that the Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was the location of King (Prophet) Sulayman’s Temple. They were fascinated by the Arabic inscriptions inside but were unaware of the inscription dates. Europeans also associated Arabic and imported goods from the Arab world with luxury. The presence of fake Arabic to decorate the saddle shows that the local artist might have worked based on imported ceramics or textiles from Egypt or the Levant. Gazing at the Knight and his saddle calls to mind the Near East and the sense of the Holy Lands, a link between the Earthly and Heavenly worlds.
Many Renaissance works feature pseudo-Arabic decorations such as Giovanni Bellini’s Le Christ Benissant, Gentile da Fabriano’s Adoration of the Magi, Jacopo Bellini’s Virgin of Humility, and many more. The many Arabic strokes of the Italian brushes are a rich symbolic visual language that tells the silent story of the historical blend of the Near East and the West. For many centuries, the legacy of Arabs and their language remained alive in Italy. In modern times, signs written in Arabic, Italian, and Hebrew were set in various Italian streets to honor their Arab past.
References
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Beautiful Gibberish: Fake Arabic in Medieval and Renaissance Art. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Dobson, C. (2017, Aug 07). Surprising Piedmont: A Medieval Jewel in the North.
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