Documentary delves into Italian cave frescoes
Local filmmaker takes camera to caves of southern Italy to show frescoes fixup
In a history-laden area of Italy, local shepherds and cheesemakers mingle with international archeologists and art restorers on the site of ancient caves. The caves are home to centuries-old religious frescoes. Shepherds in the Cave, a new documentary by Vancouver filmmaker Anthony Grieco, looks at the work of the art restorers, and the traditions of the locals who use the caves for their own purposes.
Originally, Grieco was more intrigued by the restoration of the frescoes than the local population. The Byzantine and Latin era frescoes, located in the Fornello caves, range from 12th to 14th century AD.
“Once we arrived we realized the initiative was more than just the restoration of the actual paintings,” the director said.
“It became about the conservation initiative and local citizens who are devoted to the antiquity that is there, but that had been left to decay. It was a real true honestto-goodness grassroots movement of people trying to do something. And they were attracting these international citizens devoted to the same ideas and philosophies.”
Shepherds in the Cave is screening as part of the 2018 Italian Film Festival. The festival runs Jan. 5-11, with screenings taking place at VIFF Vancity Theatre. The festival features classics from Italian filmmakers like Bernardo Bertolucci and Federico Fellini, as well as examples of new Italian cinema like Tulipani: Love Honour and a Bicycle, the opening gala film. Shepherds in the Cave is one of a few documentaries screening as part of the festival. Another is Libera Nos (Deliver Us), about a modern-day Sicilian exorcist.
Making Shepherds in the Cave required only one trip to Italy. While familiar with the country, Grieco had not been to the area, near the town of Altamura, in southern Italy.
“It was certainly a learning curve in terms of getting to know the local culture,” he said. “Once we got there, we realized that while there was this international team of people that were working on the cave sites, around the caves themselves were these shepherds and farmers that have lived a very traditional lifestyle. They use the caves for their own purposes — for drying cheese in, and as wine cellars, and even to corral their livestock.”
The area is becoming more popular, he says.
“The secret is no longer a secret. I think that area is being visited more and more by tourists and travellers.” A nearby town called Matera, where homes have been carved out of the limestone caves, is a tourism hot spot. A 2017 story in The Guardian quotes a report by the University of Siena that says more than 25 per cent of Matera’s housing stock was available to rent on Airbnb, “more than anywhere else in Italy.” In 2019, the town will be Europe’s capital of culture.
“The whole cave culture of that area of Italy is a pretty magical place,” Grieco said. “It’s an example of a place where people’s relationship with the land is integral not just to their lifestyles but to the houses they live in.”
The area’s caves and frescoes have suffered from neglect, Grieco says, but not necessarily mishandling.
“In a country like Italy, where there’s a tremendous amount of antiquity, the question is where to spend the available funds,” he said.
“Everywhere you look there are pieces of potential antiquity that are thousands of years old. The layers of history are everywhere. The frescoes are medieval, so they’re about a thousand years old. There’s a whole Roman and Hellenic era of antiquity that’s 2,000 years old.”
In 1993, in an Altamura cave, archaeologists discovered a skeleton that is estimated to be up to 170,000 years old, he adds.
“So the layers of history are quite prominent. It’s amazing to be hit by so many levels of history and pre-history in one place.”