CULTURE: GENERAL INFORMATION
According to a2zcamerablog, Georgia is a country located in Europe. Georgia is a country with a rich and ancient cultural past, open to the influences exercised by the great peoples who gradually alternated in the domination of the territory and by the religious traditions of which these empires were bearers (Christian, Orthodox, Muslim). In some areas, particularly in the literary one, the artistic manifestations expressed in the course of the tradition remained enclosed within national borders for a long time, as evidenced by the epic-literary works dating back to the XII-XIII century AD. C. spread and translated in the West only at the beginning of the century. XX. This isolation, made more marked by a fascinating but difficult national language, and, during the twentieth century, by an internal retreat caused by Russian domination and by the socio-cultural impositions dictated by the Soviet regime, polyphonic singing in the musical field, the art of miniature in the figurative field and religious constructions in the architectural field are some of the happiest examples. As evidence of the cultural richness and heritage preserved on the Georgian territory, we also recall the sites considered by UNESCO as a world heritage: the Bagrati Cathedral and the Ghélati Monastery (1994), the historic churches of Mtskheta (1994) and the Alto Svaneti (1996).
CULTURE: LITERATURE
Georgian literature owes its origins to Christianity, introduced in Georgia around the century. IV-V. At the beginning it consisted almost exclusively of translations of the Scriptures, to soon pass to a vast hagiographic production: the Life of Saint Šušanik, a document of the Armenian influence on Georgia, is very well known. An important date is 980, the year of the foundation of the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos, which brought monastic literature to its apogee. With the Bagratidi dynasty, Georgian literature reached its “golden age” (11th-13th century). Alongside the exclusively ecclesiastical production, in this period it presents some of his most significant works, especially in the epic, which, while drawing on the Indo-Iranian tradition, reveals a purely national characteristic in spirit and form. Amiran son of Dareǧan by Moses Koneli begins the series of poems illustrating the epic chivalric tradition of the Georgian people. The masterpiece of the time is The Man in the Tiger Skin (or The Knight with the Leopard Skin) by Šota Rustaveli (lived between the 12th and 13th centuries), a vast representation of Georgian society under the Bagratids. After a period of decline (13th-16th centuries), new periods of literary flourishing took place in the 12th century. XVII and XVIII, dominated by history and short stories. At the beginning of the century. XIX dates Georgian romantic literature, of which the greatest exponents were Alessandro Čavčavadze (1786-1846), bridge between traditional and European poetry, and Nikoloz Baratašvili (1817-1845), called the “Georgian Byron”. The vast movement of ideas that led to that awakening that ended with the political independence of Georgia is due to the intellectual fervor of this period. One of the most significant personalities of this national revival movement is Ilia Čavčavadze (1837-1907), who in poetry is inspired by European models, and in prose describes the difficult social situation and moral decay. Alongside him we must remember Akaki Cereteli (1840-1914), Alessandro Kazbegi (1847-1893) and Važa Pšavela (1861-1915). After the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks (1921), literary life still underwent intense development. Among the greatest poets we should mention G. Tabidze (1892-1959) and T. Tabidze (1895-1937), P. Iašvili (1894-1937), G. Leonidze (1899-1966) and, among the narrators, G. Robakidze (1884-1962) and K. Gamsakurdia (1891-1975). After World War II, in Georgian literature (even in the dramatic one) the main themes dealt with are the past, war, the construction of peace and the new society and the description of contemporary life according to the canons of socialist realism. Among the authors, the prose writers Š. Dadiani (1874-1959), D. Šengelaja (1896-1980) and A. Beliašvili (1903-1961), who made his debut as a futurist poet to later devote himself to historical fiction and cinema as a screenwriter. Starting from the 1970s, a certain renewal in themes can be seen in the poem, which focuses on the sentimental and spiritual problems of modern man thanks to I. Abašidze (1909-1992), A. Kalandadze (b.1924), O. Čiladze (b. 1933), who also devoted himself to prose, and M. Mačavariani (b. 1929). For the narrative, which aims to describe contemporary life, we remember N. Dumbadze (1928-1984), O. Ioseliani (b. 1930), A. Sulakauri (b. 1927). Among the most famous Georgian writers of recent years we still mention B. Akunin (b.1956), pseudonym of G. Tchkhartičvili, the successful and appreciated author of detective novels in Russian, the historian and novelist A. Morčiladze (b.1966) and D. Turašvili (b. 1966).
CULTURE: CINEMA
From a cinematographic point of view, Georgian production has always been particularly intense: among the best-known directors in the West, also known for their intent to satirically represent daily life in Communist countries and the distortions of dictatorial regimes, remember T Abuladze (1924-1994), author of Pentimento (1986), special jury prize at Cannes. The most famous contemporary director is currently O. Ioseliani (b. 1934), who, despite having chosen to elect France as the center of his activity, is the author of works covered by themes linked to Georgian identity.
CULTURE: THEATER
In the rich Georgian artistic panorama, among the greatest exponents of the 20th century theater, on the one hand, the directors K. Marjanishvili (1872-1933) and S. Akhmeteli (1886-1937), active in the 1920s and 1930s, subjected to strict Russian control and denounced on several occasions as activists opposing the Soviet regime; on the other, the authors M. Tumanishvili (b. 1935) and R. St’urua (b. 1938), active between the seventies and nineties. Having become famous for Shakespearean productions (in particular, Richard III), these directors have been able to represent in their reinterpretations pungent parodies of modern dictatorial regimes. Another very popular form of theater in Georgia is that linked to puppets; among the names, one above all, that of the acclaimed R. Gabriadze.
