Italian history, on a roll

An enormous but fragile scroll can now be unfurled - online

January 27, 2008|Eric Tucker, Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Garibaldi Panorama tells a story of dedication and Italian pride, of bloody battles and acts of life-threatening bravery.

The 19th-century artwork, painted on a 136-foot paper canvas, is meant to be slowly unspooled before an audience as a narrator explains the action. But it is so fragile and large that seeing it from start to finish is a cumbersome endeavor.

Now, Brown University is bringing the panorama into the 21st century, putting the painting online so that the Internet-viewing public can view it with a simple mouse click. The project allows historians and others access to a unique art form that was once used to convey current events to the public.

"Had we lived in the 19th century, this would have been state of the art," said Peter Harrington, a library curator at Brown, which received the panorama as a donation in 2005. "This would have been the news of the day."

The watercolor panorama was painted on both sides of the 4 1/2-foot-tall canvas, and spans 273 feet. Painted in 1860 or 1861, it chronicles the life of Giuseppe Garibaldi, regarded as one of modern Italy's founding fathers.

At the time, panoramas were a popular art form, particularly in Europe. Some panoramas, like the one installed at the Gettysburg National Military Park, were designed to surround the audience as stationary paintings. Others were portable and could be moved from town to town.

The Garibaldi Panorama was designed as a "moving" artwork, cranked out piece by piece along with a running narration. The name J.J. Story, written on the inside cover of a manuscript that accompanies the panorama, is the sole reference to an artist.

Harrington said it's hard to know for sure where the panorama was displayed, but the manuscript suggests it was exhibited in Nottingham, England.

Garibaldi, a revered Italian icon, made a logical subject.

Born in Nice in 1807, he is best known as a military leader who helped unify the Italian peninsula, which at the time was divided into small states. Years earlier, he escaped to South America after being sentenced to death for participating in a failed insurrection. He returned and, in 1860, led an army of roughly 1,000 volunteers - known as the "Red Shirts" - that conquered Sicily, then victoriously marched north to Naples.

"In 1860, he was the number one guy, because he was sort of taking on the big guys - Austria and France and so forth - and showing them up," said Harrington, curator of the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. "Everybody wanted to read about this guy."

The first scene shows Garibaldi, at 13, rescuing friends from a boat in a storm. That's followed by scenes of fiery explosions, arduous mountain treks and fierce battles so intricately rendered that blood is seen oozing from the heads of fallen soldiers.