Calling All Creatives

On last Thursday morning, I had the pleasure, and I do mean "pleasure" of sharing time and space with a young woman who I met here for the first time in 2018 during the International collective exhibition of Literary, Visual and Performing Arts, an exhibition that she puts together several times a year at the Palazzo Dei Priori in the Piazza del Comune. The exhibition showcases the work done by people from all over the globe who come to her residences in pursuit of the atmosphere  for their creative work.

Not only did I want to find out more about the residency programs for myself and for sharing with other Creatives, but I wanted to know more about Marina Merli, the hows and whys of her venture. A nicer and more refined young woman, you will never meet.

Over coffee, she explained that she and her parents are native Assisiani. She's an only child and is happily sharing her life with her retired parents now. Her education, at the University of Perugia, was in Economics with a focus on tourism. From that, she built her dream. Tourism in a very niche market. Her first venue, in 2008,was in the part of Assisi that is away from the old center, up in Mount Subasio Regional Park. There, she created a "community" known as "Arte Studio Ginestrelle", catering to groups of artists and writers. In 2012  It became difficult for the family to continue operating such a large property so she scaled it down and now runs a small private Writing and Arts Residence.  The first of the two, built in the early XIV century, t is located on the first floor of a building that is adjacent to the Church of Santa Maria delle Rose, in the most ancient part of Assisi, a few steps away from the Cathedral of Assisi, San Rufino. One can only imagine the bliss that comes from sitting down to write here, where once a Roman Temple (I century B.C.) stood. Can it be more ideal? The whole apartment is "empty" of objects. Walls are bare. Minimal furnishings, all made by Italian craftsmen, create an atmosphere that allows creatives to focus and slowly immerse into what Marina refers to as "the authentic spirit of this ancient site". 

After showing me the residence at Santa Maria della Rosa (which, by the way, is the location of the now defunct church of the same name that houses the beautiful collection of wooden Madonnas for which it has become famous, we went on to her second residence on the Via San Rufino. This one, located off the main (narrow) street, is accessed through a set of door off of a flower-lined ascending pathway. It could not be more fitting a place for artists with the shop "A.Gallo Colors" located just downstairs. "A.Gallo" is the little flagship store that sells watercolor paints that are mulled by hand, in Assisi, using a traditional recipe of raw pigments, gum arabic from the acacia senegal tree, local honey from Umbria and essential oil. The result is a highly pigmented and exceptional range of colors. Needless to say, I am the proud owner of a few already. 

When it was time to part, we promised each other that we would keep in touch and of course, I asked for more details on applying for a residency and......is there a "Friends and Family" place on the list. You know that book I might just write someday?????