In Search of Pinnochio

In Search of Pinocchio... Anyone who has been in my house knows I have a quirky design flair. Either you like the monkeys on the chandelier or you don't. Either you love the Pinocchio paintings or you hate them. I happen to love both with all my heart. Many years ago, I happened upon the work of Eugenio Taccini, an artist working in Montelupo Fiorentino. He had a shop brimming with a variety of ceramic wares, from traditional pharmacy jars to ultra modern representations of Tuscan landscapes painted on tiles. I acquired a jar and a plate for my mom, a mirror as a wedding gift for my brother and sister-in-law, and two Pinocchio paintings done on tiles and mounted on rough wood. Whenever anyone came to visit me in Castel del Bosco, I always put Taccini's workshop on the regular tour route. His work is so exceptional and he is so open as an artist. When I took the Shaw-Bowdring family to visit Taccini about 6 years ago, Eugenio not only personalized one of the paintings, but he took a picture with Kathy. It is that sort of contact with the artist that makes the work that more meaningful. When I moved to Siena, I didn't have occasion to come this way much, other than to visit Vivetta. The guests I had coming were very short term guests and there just wasn't time to visit Montelupo. However, three years ago, when I was in Italy for Christmas, quite by accident, I happened upon Taccini's work again. He had opened a small sales space in the Coop shopping center in Empoli. I bought one piece (Pinocchio and Mangiafuoco) and saw another: Pinocchio and the Carabinieri. It was rather large, much larger than my suitcase and I knew it would never in a million years fit in the overhead compartment on my British Airways flight home. I stood and weighed my options... how could I get this piece home? I could get to DHL and ship it... but not during Christmas week. Everything closes intermittently and without prior notice. Could I really buy this painting without any real assurance that it would get home? I decided to leave without it. But, it bothered me. It gnawed at me for literally years. When I redid the curtains in the living room and rearranged, I took the brass rubbing down from over the couch. I knew that the Pinocchio needed to be there... but every year I went to Italy, I never made it to Montelupo. Other things came up along the way and it just never materalized. Until yesterday. I decided yesterday would be the day I ventured to Taccini. I looked on the internet to see if his website had an updated address. I knew that they would be leaving the shopping center; his wife had mentioned they were about to move back to their original spot as the rent was simply too high in Empoli. I found the address and google mapped it. (Google directions had done me right going to Villa Romana, why not try again?) I was a little less successful with my directions this time. I drove through the center of town, I drove around the western part of town, I drove through the northern part of town... it was on the fourth (and what I had decided would be my last) attempt that I happened upon the spot. In fact, what had happened was that the way I was used to going had been turned into a pedestrian, one way system, so google was sending me on an alternate approach. As soon as I saw the Arno and the parking along the river, I knew I was in the vicinity. I headed down the road into the little borgo and immediately saw the maestro at work in the street in front of his studio. I asked him where the shop was. He grabbed the keys and led me down the block and unlocked the door. He said, "have a look around" and started to leave, to return to his work. I interrupted his departure with, "Excuse me, but I am actually looking for something rather specific. I was in your shop three years ago and saw a painting of Pinocchio and the Carabinieri. I don't suppose you still have it?" He chuckled and said, "Ahhh... I had two of them. One broke. One is in Collodi." I clearly looked disappointed. I explained how this image has been haunting me for years and how I was fascinated by his Pinocchio images and how I had three already at home, and I even had a picture of one as a background on my iPhone... (I tend to babble in Italian once I get started. I feel sorry for whatever Italian finds himself in the direct line of fire of my verbal barrages...) I then went on to explain how I was here all summer staying in Castel del Bosco... at this point, the maestro interrupted me. "Wait... you are here for a while?" "Yes! I am here until August. I am going to France for a few days at the beginning of August, but I am leaving from Pisa on the 8th of August, or the 7th of August..." He interrupted again. "I can recreate the painting for you if you are here for several weeks. I am in the middle of preparing for an exposition in Florence on the 15th. I will be in and out of the studio after that. But I can definitely have what you want before you return to the United States. (At some point, I mentioned that I was a Latin teacher from Washington D.C. and that I used to live in Siena... as if he was interested in my life story...) He proceeded to fish through a paper bag of pictures, looking for the image of Pinocchio and the Carabinieri, so that we could agree on what he would paint, that it would be the same one I had in mind. He fished through that bag for a good long time without being able to find the image. Finally, he said, "I will just sketch out what I had in mind and you tell me if it was you saw..." and with that, he began sketching, "How big was it?" I pointed out a painting next to us which as about the same size. "So, 8 tiles... ok..." And the next thing I knew, he had perfectly recreated the image of Pinocchio being hauled away by two policemen. Overjoyed, I approved the design. The maestro and I exchanged email addresses, and he vowed he would get to work on it when he could but that he would have it done in plenty of time for me to organize the shipping home. He would send me a photo of it as soon as it was done so I could see and give the final approval. I could hardly believe that I was having a painting done specifically for me! It is one thing to go in and buy a piece and have the artist sign it to you, (which is what I did yesterday... I picked up a nice Pinocchio with the fox and the cat done on a pinkish mauve background which will be great in my new bedroom). But to have a painting done specifically for you, that is something special. You can find an entry on Taccini's Ceramics Shop in Fodor's. But, you would never know it by the lack of foot traffic in Montelupo. It is definitely a hidden gem of a place. This is the Italy I love. The secret, "I know a place..." or "I have a ceramics guy..." or "My jeweler is just terrific..." It is only by spending a long time in a place that you really get to know not just where things are, but where you can get the best panorama photo, or where the best onion marmellata is, or who can get you the best deal, or what artist is the best kept secret. The best kept secret artist is most definitely the maestro, Eugenio Taccini. For the other secrets, you will have to come visit to find out...