ﺣﻛﺎﯾﺔ اﻟﺑﻧدﻗﯾﺔ اﻟﺧﯾﺎﻟﯾﺔ وطرﯾق اﻟﻠﺑﺎن THE FAERIE TALE OF VENICE AND THE INCENSE TRADE ROUTE
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A PROJECT BY LUCA MORETTI, LUCIA OLIVA AND LUCA RAJNA
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ﺣﻛﺎﯾﺔ اﻟﺑﻧدﻗﯾﺔ اﻟﺧﯾﺎﻟﯾﺔ وطرﯾق اﻟﻠﺑﺎن THE FAERIE TALE OF VENICE AND THE INCENSE TRADE ROUTE
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A PROJECT BY LUCA MORETTI, LUCIA OLIVA AND LUCA RAJNA
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رﺣﻠﺔ ﻏﺎﻣﺿﺔ ﻋﺑر اﻟزﻣن A mysterious space-time journey
ﺑﺣًﺛﺎ ﻋن ﻋطرًا ﻗدﯾﻣًﺎﻣﻔﻘود Looking for an ancient lost fragrance
ﻓك اﻷﻟﻐﺎز اﻟﻐﺎﻣﺿﺔ Solving arcane riddles
ﻗﺻﺔ ﺧﯾﺎﻟﯾﺔ ذات ﻗﯾﻣﺔ أﺑدﯾﺔ A fairy tale of eternal value
روت ﻣن ﺧﻼﻟﮭﺎ ﺻور ﻓﻧﯾﺔ وﻗﺻﺎﺋد © Narrated through artistic images and poems
ONCE UPON A TIME, IN A FAR AWAY EPOCH TO THIS VERY DAY SHROUDED IN MYSTERY, AN ECLECTIC COUPLE OF SCHOLARS AND TIME TRAVELLERS EXPERIENCED THE ENCHANTMENT OF BREATHING A SUBLIME SCENT, SO AS TO CHARM THEIR SENSES AND BECOME UNFORGETTABLE. PLOT
BEING AN INSTANT SENSATION LIVED DURING ONE OF THEIR SPACE TIME JOURNEYS, THEY COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHERE AND WHEN THIS ALLURING MARVEL CAME FROM.
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VERY REFINED CONNOISSEURS OF ESSENCES AND PERFUMES, THEY REALISED THIS WAS THE LEGENDARY PERFECT FRAGRANCE, MENTIONED IN OLD BOOKS THAT HAD BEEN LOST, A SORT OF MYSTICAL GOAL: IT IS SAID IT WAS CREATED USING THE PUREST DROPS OF THE MOST PRECIOUS FRANKINCENSE. FASCINATED BY THE INEFFABLE CAPTIVATING EXPERIENCE, THEY WANTED TO FIND THAT TREASURE
THUS THEY STARTED A SERIES OF NEW VOYAGES THROUGH TIME, AROUND CENTURIES AND LANDS
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ONE DAY, BACK FROM THEIR LATEST USELESS JOURNEY, THEY REACHED THE LAND WHERE THE MAJESTIC CITY OF SUMHURAM AND THE MITHYCAL UBAR, ALSO KNOWN AS IRAM OF THE PILLARS, WOULD BE FOUNDED.
THIS REGION WAS ONE OF THE LANDMARKS OF THAT VAST AREA THE ROMANS WOULD LATER ON CALL “ARABIA FELIX”.
ASTRONOMER AND GEOGRAPHER CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY WOULD HAVE SPECIFICALLY INDICATED THIS RICH TERRITORY AS "OMANUM EMPORIUM“ .
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HERE THE TWO TIME TRAVELLERS WERE BLOWN AWAY BY BREATHING AGAIN THAT SUBLIME PERFUME THEY HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR SO LONG ALL AROUND THE WORLD AND ERAS. THEY UNDERSTOOD THIS WAS, AT LAST, THE RIGHT PLACE TO CONCENTRATE THEIR INVESTIGATIONS. THIS HAPPENED IN AN ARCHAIC AGE WHEN FRANKINCENSE WAS NOT KNOWN YET NOR HARVESTED, BUT WHOSE SCENT WAS EVERYWHERE IN THE AIR.
EXPLORING THE LAND AND LOOKING FOR THE SOURCE OF THE MYTHICAL ESSENCE, ONE DAY THEY CAME ACROSS AN ARCANE ENIGMA, CONTAINING A SEQUENCE OF FAMOUS ALCHEMICAL MOTTOS AND PUNSENDING WITH AN ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY: THE TEXT WAS WRITTEN IN A CORRUPTED LATIN FORM AND ENDED WITH A FASCINATIING ARABIC INSCRIPTION:
"SOLVE ET COAGULA - VIGESIMO PRIMO - QUAERENDO IN VENETIIS - UNUS FIT DUO DUO FIT TRIBUS AC PER TERTIUM QUARTUM FACIT UNITATEM“ - اﻟﺑﻧدﻗﯾﺔ
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WELL EXPERIENCED IN ALCHEMY AND RIDDLES THE TRAVELLERS COULD EASILY DECODE THE FIRST PART OF THE WRITING BUT SOME QUESTIONS REMAINED STILL OBSCURE. ONE THINGWAS CLEAR: IT INVITED THEM TO START A NEW SPACE-TIME VOYAGE HEADING VENICE, WITH A STRONG PROMISING SIGN OF THE SUCCESS OF THE MISSION.
HOPEFULLY AT LAST THEY WOULD GET THE ANSWER TO THEIR SEARCH THANKS TO THE MEETING WITH A “THIRD” AND THEN A “FOURTH”, WHO WOULD LEAD THEM TO REACH THEIR GOAL, SYMBOL OF UNITY, BEAUTY AND PERFECTION.
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A LAST MYSTERY WAS STILL PENDING: WHY WAS THE NAME OF VENICE MENTIONED ALSO IN ARABIC (“AL BUNDUQIYYA”)? NO DOUBT THEY SHOULD HAVE REACHED AL BUNDUQIYYA FOR THE ANSWER, WHICH WAS HIDDEN IN ANOTHER SPACE - TIME DIMENSION AND WAITING FOR THEM EXACTLY IN THAT MYTHICAL CITY.
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THE TWO SCHOLARS ARRIVED TO VENICE AT NIGHTFALL, ON A GONDOLA. THEY WERE WELCOMED BY ONE OF THOSE THREE WISE MEN WHO ONCE, FOLLOWING THE STARS, MOVED ALONG THE INCENSE TRADE ROUTE BRINGING THE PRECIOUS GIFTS: GOLD, INCENSE AND MYRRH.
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SO IT WAS HIM THE "THIRD" MENTIONED IN THE ENIGMA: THE WISE INCENSE BEARER! TO THIS VERY DAY THE MEMORY OF THE "MAGI" IS CELEBRATED IN VENICE IN AN ANTIQUE MONUMENTAL STATUE... THE MYSTERIOUS REASONS FOR THIS PARTICULAR NEW JOURNEY WERE BEGINNING TO BE UNVEILED. THE WISE MAN LED THE TWO VOYAGERS TO THE “FAERIE TALE GATE OF VENICE ” , A LEGENDARY SITE THAT APPARENTLY LOOKED LIKE A BRICK WALL BUT THAT, FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO CROSS IT, ALLOWS TO TRAVEL THROUGH TIME AND LIVE IN NEW ERAS AND SPACE TIMES REALITIES, WHICH NEVER EXISTED BEFORE.
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WHAT A DISCOVERY! THIS WAS WHY THE ENIGMA HAD GUIDED THEM TO VENICE FROM THE LAND OF FRANKINCENSE AND WHY THE NAME OF THE CITY WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN ARABIC: THEY SHOULD HAVE MET THE WISE MAN THERE AND WITH HIM ENTER THAT ENCHANTED DOOR TO REACH THE CORRECT FAIRYTALE, KNOWN BY HIM ONLY. CROSSING THE MYTHICAL GATE THE WISE MAN GUIDED THE TWO SCHOLARS ON THE RIGHT WAY. THEN HE DISAPPEARED.
FOLLOWING STEP BY STEP THE DIRECTIONS CODIFIED IN ANCIENT ALCHEMICAL MOTTOS TRACING THEIR PATH, THE TRAVELLERS WENT AHEAD IN THE NEW DIMENSION CREATED BY ENTERING THE FAERIE TALE GATE, THEREBY LIVING EXTRAORDINARY MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES THROUGH HISTORY, LEGEND AND ART. THE RESEARCH GOT TO ITS TURNING POINT WHEN, COMING OUT OF THE DIMNESS, THE TIME TRAVELLERS FOUND THIS WRITING: “REGINA ANTIQUORUM VIAM TIBI DEMONSTRABIT” (THE QUEEN OF OLD TIMES WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY).
...AND SUDDENLY, AT A CERTAIN MOMENT, THEY MET THE ANNOUNCED LEGENDARY QUEEN: SO IT WAS HER, ICONIC SYMBOL OF BEAUTY AS POETICAL METAPHOR OF PERFECTION, THE LAST AND LONG WAITED FOR GUIDE, THE "FOURTH" MENTIONED IN THE ENIGMA.
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THE TWO SCHOLARS WERE TOUCHED WHEN THEY KNEW THAT IN AN ANCIENT UNKNOWN ERA SHE HAD BECOME THE EXCLUSIVE GUARDIAN OF THE PERFECT FRAGRANCE, WHICH A WISE OLD MAN FROM UBAR HAD BESTOWED UPON HER WITH ITS ALCHEMICAL FORMULA, AS AN INVALUABLE GIFT TO BE KEPT FOR CENTURIES AHEAD, TILL THE RIGHT MOMENT. ©
AS IT ALWAYS HAPPENS IN FAIRYTALES, OURS TOO HAS A HAPPY ENDING.
THE QUEEN CHEERFULLY WELCOMED THE TWO PERSEVERING SCHOLARS AND IN HER GENEROSITY SOLEMNLY BESTOWED THEM THE NOBLE ESSENCE WITH ITS SECRETS TO MAKE IT, FROM THAT MOMENT ON, AVAILABLE TO ALL FOR THE EPOCHS TOCOME.
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… AND A NEW FAIRYTALE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN
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by Lucia Oliva “THE SCENT”
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A project by Luca Moretti, Lucia Oliva and Luca Rajna
Filmmaker Tommaso Giusto Photos Luca Rajna Production Director Luca Moretti
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Script and Storyboard Luca Moretti and Lucia Oliva The Scholars and Time Travellers Luca Moretti and Lucia Oliva The Queen of Old Times LauryDiaz
The Wise Man Mohammed Al Rawahi
The Young Scholars and Time Travellers Aylah and Ahmed Ibrahim Narrator Hussain Ali Hamed Al Rashdi Story Creation Lucia Oliva and Luca Rajna Texts Luca Moretti, Lucia Oliva and Luca Rajna
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Venetian Backstage Photography Saeed Riyami
Omani Backstage Photography Erfan Arafat Art Direction for Venetian and Atmosphere Scenes Tommaso Giusto , Luca Moretti, Lucia Oliva and Luca Rajna Art Direction for Omani Scenes Sarah Ahmed Farid Al Aulaqi and Lucia Oliva Omani Footage Sohail Noor, Saleh Al Moqiemi, Said Saif Said Alkhanbashi, Shihab Hamed Al Shandoudi, Jamil Said Al Yaqoubi Voice Overs Abdullah Ismail Al Riyami (Luca Moretti), Sabra Suleiman (Lucia Oliva), Ihsan Kharouf (Luca Rajna)
Calligraphy Mohammed Al Rawahi
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"THE SCENT" - Artwork by Lucia Oliva
Alchemical Consultancy Arianna Gambirasi Alchemical Latin Mottos Consultancy Catherine Dalimier Omani Historical Consultancy Sarah Ahmed Farid Al Aulaqi and Dalia Al Bassami Arabic Translations, Dialogues And Subtitles Hassan Hakeem, Hussain Ali Hamed Al Rashdi, Mohammed Ali Hussein Italian and English Poetical Texts Lucia Oliva and Luca Moretti
English Poetical Texts Supervision Giovanna Mannino, Abdulrauf Wood, Ihsan Kharouf, Maggie Jeans, Maggie Norris, Joe Sopala Venetian Style and Etiquette Supervision Giulia Carli
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Baroque costumes Ludica Antiqua & Starlight Masquerade
Outfit for the Queen of Old Times Amal Al Raisi
Omani Heritage Clothes Omani Heritage Gallery Jewels Maurizio Manzi - Laboratorio di Oreficeria Manzi, Genoa The Fragrance Amouage Frankincense Hojari by Marsoliel Gondolier Nicolò Ruzzene - The Gondoliers of St. Mark's Square, Venice Italian & Omani relationships’ coordination Luca Moretti
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Project recognised of high cultural value by
Ambasciata d’Italia a Mascate
Ministry of Information - Directorate of Electronic Media
UNESCO International Action Art – Italian Department
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The production would like to thank
Amouage
Oman Cables
Amal Al Raisi
EGO’ Boutique Hotel Venice
Hojari Frankincense by Marsoliel
Laboratorio di Oreficeria Maurizio Manzi
L’Esedra di Santo Stefano Sestri Levante
Il Mercante d’Olio
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Muscat Royal Philharmonic Orchestra a and its Manager Leon Frantzen-Malesani – Resident Conductor at Muscat Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Ekaterina Tchakarova - General Manager at EGO’ Boutique Hotel The Silk Road Muna Ritchie, Ibtisam Al Bulushi and Sarah Ahmed Farid Al Aulaqi - Omani Heritage Gallery Raffaella Rimassa - General Manager at L'Esedra di Santo Stefano Valeria Finocchi - Director of the Museum of Palazzo Grimani Guido Jaccarino - Technical Director of Uni.S.Ve. (Union of Venetian Plasterers) Uni.S.Ve. Union of Venetian Plasterers - fitters of the Tribuna Grimani Luca Storelli - Photoshop consultancy @juliet.in.venice for a relevant insight about the alchemical Venice
Giorgia Framenti Director at Imola Historical Pharmacy Jamal Mohammed Ali Trad., Mutrah Souq, Muscat, Oman
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