Times Union: The donkeys’ tale

It was Friday night during Upstate Art Weekend and Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring was hosting a kick-off party. An array of guests, including museum co-founders Giorgio Spanu and Nancy Olnick, enjoyed platters of prosciutto, Parmesan and pickled vegetables under a large white tent as DJs played Italian dance music.

But many guests strayed from the festivities, some carrying Prosecco, to visit a barn atop a nearby hill, where a herd of 14 Sardinian donkeys munched on hay or stood silently on the dusty ground.

“They’re so cute,” exclaimed one partygoer, waving her hand inside their enclosure to encourage them to walk over for scratches.

The donkeys were not impressed.

Donkeys are an integral part of life in Sardinia, and Spanu, who was born and raised there, remembers them fondly. When Spanu and Olnick established Magazzino to share their enthusiasm for postwar Italian art, they did not plan to share their enthusiasm for Sardinian donkeys as well. But therein lies the tale.

“The donkeys have become as famous here as the artwork,” Spanu said.