The Sleeping Knight Of Siena – Chianti Series Of Charcoal Drawings

The Sleeping Knight Of Siena – Chianti Series Of Charcoal Drawings

Chianti wine from Chianti mountains in beautiful Tuscany is not just an Italian wine, Chianti is the very taste of Italy. Even when it's spilled! Suddenly a drawing has a meaning. You can almost feel the Chianti taste of my "Sleeping Knight of Siena"!

Why the knight of Siena and why is he sleeping? It's an interesting story. Let me tell you... 

Back in 1384, Florence and Siena were very fierce rivals and they constantly expressed the wish to have a clear borderline between them. They decided that on a certain morning at cockcrow two knights would get out on horseback – one from Florence and one from Siena – they ride towards each other and where they meet – it would be the boundary between the cities.

The Sienese chose a beautiful fat white rooster, hoping that it will wake the Knight of Siena with a very loud crow. The Florentines , on the contrary, picked a black underfed rooster.
No wonder that the hungry black rooster began to crow much earlier, long before the sunrise.
Well, while the Knight of Siena was asleep for couple more hours, the Florentine knight was riding the horse and getting almost all of the Chianti region under the role of Florentine Republic. This is also how the Black Cock (Black Rooster) became the emblem (the symbol and the icon) of Chianti... And even know it's still the emblem of Chianti Classico...
If you like and enjoy the good old Chianti the way I learned to love it – all to the last drop, you will understand my wish not to waste any of it but to use the last drops to addd a real historic depth to any paper it's spilled on. 
"The Sleeping Knight Of Siena" drawn in charcoal and Chianti wine by Dimitri Ross
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