Artistic cribs by Toni Nardon in Cembra

      Go to the main page

A pleasant attraction in Cembra consists of the cribs by Toni Nardon.

To carry out his works, Toni uses composite materials: little branches, pieces of root, tools, parts of barrels, several kinds of seeds, pine cones, shells of walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds…
With such poor objects he gives life to people and animals with a remarkable expressive force.

Some of the cribs are animated by works, also these partially built with recycled things: parts of bicycles, of motorcycles, old umbrellas…

A crib is entirely realized with sculpted stumps.

Some of the wooden sculptures of the cribs

Besides the cribs, Toni prepares several decorative objects and ornaments (for instance shaped as cakes and small fountains) using seeds, shells, slanting slices of elder tree branches…

Particular are the multiple face branches; moreover Toni has started to deal with the stone-carving.

Toni Nardon at work on one of the expositions

To visit his cribs, in permanent exhibition at Sottoportico Costanzi 1 in Cembra, it's enough to ring the bell and Toni, if he is at home, will personally guide you (the offering is free.) After all this artist is a singular character who's worth to be known.

Note: the pictures in this page are taken from the postcards number 7523 and 7527 of «Hermes» edition (Trent).

      Go to the main page


Cembran nicknames

Toni Nardon (see above) may be also called Toni Comaréta: in the Cembra Valley, indeed, it's common practice to distinguish the various families via nicknames; the people belonging to his family are just called Comaréte (i.e. little gossip mistresses).
To give another example, the members of a different branch of the Nardons, again in Cembra but with ramifications in Sevignano, are nicknamed Cagnoti (small dogs ).

Here is a very little selection of the many nicknames:
Bàfi [moustache]
Baràca [hut]
Ciacera [chatter]
Cioc [stump]
Cioldi [(metal) nails]
Croźi [rocks]
Culón [big arse]
Diaolini [little devils]
Fadanèi [from the town of Fadana]
Francia [France]
Frati [friars]
Gòbi [hunchbacks]
Gràśi [fat]
Lònghi [tall]
Magnacarboni [coal eaters]
Molinari [millers]
Mufa [mildew]
Onti [oily]
Paltegane [mice]
Scódeghi [maybe from scódega (rind)]
Tofoloni [probably augmentative of Tòfol (Christopher)]
Tràpola [trap]
Zòrzi [from Zòrz (George)]

The use of the nicknames isn't limited to single family groups: they often refer to the inhabitants of whole towns. Below there are shown some Cembran places and the corresponding appellations.
Sevignano: Béghei [owls]
Lona: Gati [cats]
Faver: Magnagnòchi [dumpling eaters]
Cembra: Magna muśe marce [rotten donkey eaters: yuck  ]
Segonzano: Talteri or Tangheri [louts]

It seems that the nickname of the Faorani (the villagers of Faver) derives from a rhyme which reminds the rivalry with the near inhabitants of Cembra:
I Cembrani i’à fat i gnochi:
     i l’à scondudi sota tèra.
I Faorani i’à fat la guèra
     par poderseli magnar.

(The Cembrans have made the dumplings: they have hidden them underground.
The Faorani have made the war to be able to eat them.)

Or, maybe, it's the rhyme that's inspired by the nickname  

      Go to the main page


© 2005, Fabio Vassallo