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Sculpture Museum

In 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.Gli artisti partecipanti al Simposio di scultura

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.
 

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.

The French sculptress Zoč De L'Isle Whittier and the Peruvian sculptor Meliton Rivera Espinoza (to right). 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.

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.

A view of the park in front of the 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.

The "Homage to the moon" by the French sculptress  Zoč De L'Isle Whittier.

The winged sculpture of the Uruguayan Paolo Atchugarry:

"Dynamic and springing, furrowed by violent signs which determine a strong chiaroscuro ", " searches in the light the possibility of the spring and energy for the flight" (Paolo Giansiracusa)

Sculpture by David P. Campbell (United States).

A big lava block modeled in a sculpture loaded by tension and strength and placed in one of the widest spaces of the park.

Balanced and impressive is the sculpture of the Peruvian Meliton Rivera Espinoza, sculpted a work inspire to south American mythological models of the culture pre-Colombian.
The big monolithic sculpture represents a fanciful bird with clear erotic symbols.


Translated by Sam Di Bella
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