Thanks to the exacting care and attention paid it by artist Pat Moran, our iconic Canio’s Books shop sign has been given new life. This past fall when the weather was fine, Pat would climb a ladder and set to work on the 10 by 3-foot swinging shingle that has come to symbolize literary Sag Harbor. Its signature marine blue background is now brightened to match the blue of sun-saturated bay waters nearby. Pat worked painstakingly to first clean and protect the wood surface, then went in with matching colors and highlights to accentuate our Old English lettering. Our beloved logo, first created by artist Nohra Barros, the Pagliacci clown is once again beating his drum atop a pile of books. As we enter a new century of bookselling with much uncertainty about the future, we’re delighted to see our sign spruced up and ready for whatever weather is headed our way. And we’re eternally grateful to Pat Moran for helping us look our best.
As a complement to our newly restored sign, we’re flying a brand-new authentic Earth Flag. Designed by John McConnell, the man who also gave us Earth Day, the Earth flag helps raise consciousness about our precious planetary home. The Earth flag not only symbolizes our love of and reverence for planet Earth, it is truly beautiful. To gaze upon this image, is to experience awe. Come see our new sign, our new flag and browse our special selection of literary books on nature, spirituality, the environment and more.
Posts Tagged 'Pagliacci'
Who’s that cute little clown?
Published July 3, 2008 Uncategorized 4 CommentsTags: Bookstore Lore, Canio Pavone, Commedia Dell'Arte, Opera, Pagliacci
If you’ve seen our logo, an adorable clown banging a large drum and standing atop a pile of books, you may have wondered who he is….Opera lovers likely will recognize the billowing costumed figure as Pagliaccio, a character from the commedia dell’arte. The great Enrico Caruso is perhaps best known in the role in Leoncavallo’s popular opera, Pagliacci. Stepping further into the story, the actor who plays Paglicaccio in this play- within- a- play is named Canio. From here we direct you to read a bit of our shop history at our website’s homepage, http://www.caniosbooks.com. Our founding owner is Canio Pavone! Ecco la! There it is! Canio’s wife, the artist Nohra Barros created the design back in 1980 when the shop first opened. While we often have opera playing in the shop, and sometimes even Pagliacci, particularly on Sundays…there’s always good music in the shop, as well as our hand-selected collection of books. We have a particular interest in books by Italian authors, Italian history, literature and culture, keeping the best of that tradition and heritage alive. That little clown, Pagliaccio, reminds us of the source of much of our inspiration.
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