Sculpture Museum I n front of the Dukedom Nelson entry there is a luxuriant park, divided by a central avenue which, in the middle of centuries-old
plane trees and the eucalyptus (the first introduced in Sicily), and a
museum of sculptures in lava stone exposed in the open. The sculptures were directly realized in the park, from September 27 to
October 7 of 1990, in opportunity of an International Sculpture Symposium
having for theme "The Freedom", developed they in the premises
of the Nelson Castello. Tenacious author of the initiative, sponsored from
the Province and the Council, the brontese Prof. Nunzio
Sciavarrello what he made use of the cooperation of the Ce.p.i.s. and
of the Institute for the Culture and the Art of Catania. The symposium had "the purpose to constitute the
initial core of the only outdoor museum of modern sculpture in Sicily"
and of "supporting the revival of the stone cutters handicrafts who
had left signs and forms of extraordinary beauty in the old city
center" (sen. Pino
Firrarello, president of the organizing committee). Under the careful eye of the numerous visitors, during the
ten days of the symposium, sculptures were realized from big blocks of
lava stone transported from the quarries of Nicolosi, Belpasso and Bronte,
directly on the lawns to the rich park vegetation, true open air
laboratory.
The outdoor museum, in the green of the brontese flora and with the
sculpted works obtained with stone of our volcano, is open to public and
is of great interest to visits by scholars, students, cultural and tourist
operators.
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In the photos, some moments of the "International Sculpture
Symposium", views of the Park in front of the Nelson Castle and one of the sculptures in
lava stone of the outdoor museum: The "Stair of columns"
or "Tribute to the moon" of sculptress Zoč De L'Isle
Whittier.
Among the general indifference it was partially destroyed by the
usual vandals: it lacks the first "step" and the last two
were broken. On the last column (the highest) the French artist had positioned a
crescent (half moon) in white marble.
It was constituted by a group of big lava prisms of varied height,
on the last column (the highest) a half moon made of white Carrara
marble was put. The sculpture is placed alongside the central avenue of the park. |
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Some history of:
Horatio Nelson The
Maniace Abbey
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Changing the former collocation, the sculptures in May 2004, have been
placed again according to a new exhibition arrangement emphasized by
an opportune lighting for nocturnal vision. Some works (for instance
the “Butterfly” in polished basalt by Giuseppe Private), was placed
inside the new “lava stone, artisan and agricultural traditions of
Etna’s Museum” opened the same month.
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The French sculptress Zoč De L'Isle Whittier
and the Peruvian sculptor Meliton Rivera Espinoza (to right).
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Simon Benetton |
Giovanni Migliara |
Among the 19 works realized there are sculptures by
successful and well known Italian and foreign artists. Realized their work the Italian artists Simon
Benetton (Venetian), Raffaele Biolchini and
Domenico Difilippo, Nello Bocci, Antonio
Portale (from Randazzo) and the Sicilians Gaetano
Arrigo, Giovanni Migliara, Gianni Pasotti,
and Giuseppe Pravato. The international artists who took part to the Symposium were
Pablo Atchugarry (Uruguay), Miguel Ausili
(Argentina), the American David Campbell, Toshihiko
Minamoto (Japan), Nčlida Mendoza (Paraguay), the
Peruvian Meliton Rivera Espinoza, Zoč De L'Isle
Whittier (France),
David Jacobson (United Kingdom), Heidi Locher (Swiss),
and the Dutch Karin Van Omeren. |
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The "Homage to the moon" by the French sculptress Zoč De
L'Isle Whittier. |
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Since May 2004 the museum was enriched
further. Another exposition was prepared inside the castle: “The lava
stone, artisan and agricultural traditions of Etna’s museum”, where
are also placed some sculptures originally exposed outside, as the
delicate “Butterfly” of polished basalt made by Giuseppe Pravato. |
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