Trabaccolo all’Annunziata

85 Trabaccolo all’Annunziata, 1954, oil on cardboard, cm 40 x 30

In this vertical work, Catarsini experiments with a “full-on” composition, where every inch of space is occupied by architectural or nautical elements, leaving no empty spaces. The lower section is delimited by the canal’s water, on which a moored boat rests, its bow facing left. The body of the boat is greenish, but its large red sail dominates the scene: the mainsail, stretched upward to the right, cuts diagonally across the canvas and partially covers its center. Behind the sail, a whitish stripe formed by the dock and a surrounding wall can be seen. Beyond this boundary, several buildings stand out: a yellow house with a red roof on the left, a shorter brownish building in the center, and a green tree on the right, partially obscuring another building. At the center of the painting, in the background, the light gray outline of the bell tower of the Sanctuary of the Santissima Annunziata emerges. The space is punctuated with an almost geometric rigor: cubic shapes, vertical and horizontal lines are all clearly defined by black outlines, lending solidity and order to the vision.

INSIGHTS

The Sanctuary of the Santissima Annunziata is the ancient heart of Viareggio, guardian of the city’s memory between the Matilde Tower and the Burlamacca Canal. A place of waiting, prayer, and hope for the wives and families of sailors, the church was spared by the bombings, but the altarpiece, which had been moved elsewhere, was destroyed. After the war, Catarsini was commissioned to make a copy of the original painting, which was inaugurated with a grand procession in 1948 and placed above the altar, a symbol of post-war rebirth. The profile of the bell tower, a feature in many views of the canal painted by the Maestro, is not only an architectural element, but the spiritual center of gravity that “orders” the Viareggio landscape. Inside the Sanctuary, now a stop on the “Places of Catarsini” trail, a sculptural high relief, a gift from the Catarsini Foundation to the Archconfraternity, will soon be installed. This tool will allow the visually impaired to “read” the volumes of the Angel and the Virgin with their hands, following the lines of force and the sacredness of the artistic gesture. Thanks to the Experiential Workshop, the altarpiece ceases to be a mere object to be contemplated and becomes a bridge between maritime history and art. The visit transforms into an inclusive sensory experience, allowing each visitor to physically perceive the emotional power of a community’s rebirth.