CREMONA – Teach girls and ladies how to decorate Easter eggs with beeswax, passing down a tradition from his homeland, Bucovina, in the north east of Romania. There the eggs “are a symbol of the Christian resurrection celebrated in the upcoming Easter”. Unique pieces, works of art, his. They call him almost everywhere. Last March 21st, even from Solbiate Olona (Va), in the headquarters of the NATO Rapid Reaction Army Corps. Ciprian Ilie Zancu, 48 years old, in Cremona since 15, worker at Magic Pack in Gadesco, tA talented self-taught artist, he held a workshop for military wives. Twenty-three students: French, Spanish, American, Canadian, two Italian. And three children.
Souvenir photo for Ciprian Ilie Zancu (second from left)
«It was an honor, a unique experience». It all started because at the Romanian Consulate in Milan, Ciprian is registered as an artist, already known for the exhibitions of his icons and his decorated eggs.
«In Solbiate Olona they hold workshops for the wives of military leaders – explains the artist -. They called the Consulate: ‘Do you happen to know anyone who makes hand-painted eggs?’ ‘Yes, a person from Cremona'”. Ciprian was contacted by Mrs Mioara Sarb «whom I thank, together with her husband Florin for this opportunity. And I thank the Consul Gabriel Ungureanu and his wife Lucica Tudoran for the trust placed. Last but not least, thanks to Silvica Simoncafounder of the Orizzonti Latini association for support”.
Married and father of two children, the 13-year-old girl and the 10-year-old boy, a maniac for precision, Ciprian left at six in the morning with his daughter: two hours of lessons, from 10.30 to 12.30. “I made a good impression.”
Born and raised in Fălticeni, high school diploma, passion for football (he played and supports Inter), Ciprian has good feet and, above all, golden hands. His natural talent was put to good use after graduating in a factory that produced glass objects. He painted them. And always in Bucovina he began to paint icons on glass: masterpieces. He also continued in Italy: before arriving in Cremona, “my second cradle”, he was in Sicily. After the icons, he came up with the idea of trying Easter eggs.
«For 150 years, our grandmothers decorated them on the Thursday before Easter. It is a custom that originates from a legend: it is said that the Virgin brought a basket of eggs to Calvary so that her soldiers could free her son. The eggs were stained with the blood of Jesus and since then, to remember the death and resurrection of Christ, we have the custom of painting and giving eggs as gifts.”
One summer, Ciprian was in Bucovina, famous for its Orthodox monasteries with external frescoes declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In one of those monasteries he purchased two chisites, wooden utensils for decorating eggs with beeswax. He put them in the car, in the drawer where the booklet is kept. And there they stayed for a while. Until Easter five years ago he took them and “for fun” he tried his hand “step by step and with difficulty: a few times I asked the ladies of Bucovina for help on Facebook”.
Complex technique. «I use the chisita to trace the design with heated beeswax. Then I apply the colors in successive layers.” The decorative motifs range from the cross to geometric and naturalistic elements, from celestial bodies to the symbols of the Monasteries of Bucovina. His fame has crossed the borders of Cremona.
«If I have reached this level, I owe it to father Doru Fuciuwho unfortunately passed away about a year ago.” Father Fuciu led the Romanian Orthodox community in the church of Borgo Loreto. There he kept Ciprian’s works on display.
