NASHVILLE RESEARCH TRIP

Time passes quickly and I needed to finish writing the profiles for Gromignana image makers Raffaello Mattei and Giovacchino Mattei (1889-1964). G. Mattei Statuary was established in Nashville, Tennesse by Giovacchino in 1916. According to family oral history Giovacchino and his workers contributed ornamental plaster and cement works at some of the most iconic Nashville sites. Giovacchino, as told by family contemporaries and descandants, shared that G. Mattei employeed Raffaello, a known gifted sculptor, to sculpt the models for the ornamental plaster at the Hillsboro Theatre and Cheekwood Estates, as well as many other sites.

As for the research results from the trip, you will have to read Book Two - Gromignana Image Makers - Profiles. Here I want to share some very DELICIOUS MEMORIES experienced with my cousin, Rick and Deb Waters, in Nashville. How wonderful both were to host me on my research adventure. Arriving the first night Deb had made a huge Italian inspired fruit, cheese, olive and meat platter we enjoyed with what seemed like an endless stream of red wine. After chatting and catching up, we waddled down the street in their Sylvan Park neighborhood to a wonderful BBQ restaurant.

Rick and Deb live in Sylan Park, a vary quaint area of Nashville founded in the 1880s. According to Deb the park was designed independent from downtown (some saying it was the first Nashville suburb). It is a self-contained area with all its own businesses,home, schools, grocery stores, churches AND restaurants. We dined at Edley's Bar-B-Que. I had a slab of the best ribs I have ever eaten. The place was packed on that Thursday night and we all had to take home half our dinners. Rick ordered chicken, Deb, brisket tacos and their daughter, who joined us, ordered burnt ends. The food was out of this world. Check out Edley's website below and be sure to add it to your list of place to eat in Nashville.

https://www.edleysbbq.com/locations/sylvan-park?utm_source=extnet&utm_medium=yext

Rick took two days off work to escort me around the city and on Friday we exhausted ourselves visiting some research sites and the Parthenon Museum (see below). When we returned to the house in the late afternoon we collapsed for a bit, waking up refreshed for another culinary adventure to the Loveless Cafe where I had a pile of fried chicken livers that were amazing. The sides of grits and cole slaw were a perfect match. Again, I left with a doggie bag wishing I had left room for dessert as their pies looked really good. I plan to return for dessert someday!

The history of the cafe is as follows from their website...

"Our story starts in 1951 when Lon and Annie Loveless opened their front doors to serve fried chicken and biscuits to hungry travelers on Highway 100. Their homemade Southern dishes became so popular that they converted their home into a restaurant and built a 14-room motel for overnight guests. Lon stayed busy managing the motel and curing and smoking country hams, while Annie whipped up made-from-scratch biscuits and preserves in the kitchen."

And REALLY, the reason none of us could finish our dinners was that they brought out a huge basket of hot, homemade biscuits with house-made jellies and we were all full before the dinners even arrived at the table. They also brought extra bisquits for us to take home.

https://lovelesscafe.com/

Just a visit to this cafe is worth a trip to Nashville!

Turned out the highlight of the visit was a tour Rick treated me to of the Parthenon Museum. I was just totally blown away! A full scale replica of the Parthenon sits in Nashville's Centennial Park. The full size statue of Athena resides inside, built just the way the Athenians would have experienced her; it is remarkable and beyond words. Originally the Parthenon was constructed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. The city of Nashville designed the building in honor of it's moniker, the "Anthens of the South."  Initially a temporary exhibition building, later restored and is now a permanent structure.

My cousin Rick had previously worked at the museum and he gave me a VIP tour. He was also commissioned to build a 1/10th scale of the crane used by the Athenians to construct the Parthenon (see below). The crane model is exciting to see as it was constructed with the artistic senses and skills Rick inherited from his Gromignana image maker ancestors!