The House of the Wind is one of the oldest buildings of San Benedetto del Tronto and stands as an architectural work that contains within itself the works of the artist from San Benedetto Marcello Sgattoni. Here are exhibited some of his creatures born during the over 50 years of his long artistic career. In particular, the House of the Wind is located in the old house, the so-called “High Country” (sudéntre (for the people of San Benedetto) which represents the reference point and the heart of the ancient center. Furthermore, the House of the Wind has a double view: one on Via del Consolato which leads to Palazzo Piacentini, the original home of the beloved dialect poet Bice Piacentini Rinaldi. While the other side is in the square dedicated to the writer.
The wind is the most active visitor
The House of the Wind hosts works that showcase humble materials. In fact, bundles of wood, stone, terracotta, and cement are what, in the skilled hands of the peasant-sculptor Marcello Sgattoni, become works of art. These sculptures are particularly appreciated in a place strongly desired by the artist, where the wind is the tireless visitor of the house. In fact, the wind passes through the windows open all year round and passes through the rooms to exit from the opposite side, that is, from one side of the house to the other, then spreading throughout the city. In this regard, the Master maintains: "My name is in the purchase contract, but the true owner is the wind. It enters through the windows, always strictly open, caresses the works inside, and moves the smells and perfumes of this house.".
Marcello Sgattoni's art against contemporary society
The tiny House of the Wind represents a real atelier of the sculptor who also allowed the birth of the Pietraia Museum of Poets, located on a hill a few kilometers from San Benedetto del Tronto. Born in 1935, Marcello Sgattoni (also author of the monument dedicated to Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, created for the Municipality of San Benedetto del Tronto) proposes with his sculpture a criticism of today's world through a personal interpretation of the faces created from wood stolen from the fireplace or from another fate. And the characters are drawn solely from nature, who tell and are witnesses to the distressing spectacle of life. In fact, he claims: "These are sculptures I've created throughout my life. Many are made of wood; I couldn't leave them at Pietraia; they needed a closed space to prevent deterioration. Women I've loved, Jesus, memories, emotions, men. Each work is a piece of my essence.to ".
The House of the Wind
However, the House of the Wind is a small and old four-story building among the oldest in the cityThe two facades of the building, the one on Via del Consolato and the one on the square, have the shutters of an intense blue color and a double French window, one half made of wood stained the same blue as the shutters, and the other half made of glass, through which you can peek inside. Evocative and moving is the fact that the blue windows, perpetually wide open, some sculptures "look out" Intrigued by the city, they appear bustling and seemingly awaiting the arrival of some visitor. Like that of a smiling Bice Piacentini who appears to welcome visitors in the square that bears her name. Furthermore, the 17th-century building it hides a secret passage which led to the sea.
The works hosted in the House of the Wind
In the House of the Wind you can go from works such as “the Clods” conceived in the 70s, to the sculptures created in 2004 dedicated to the San Benedetto navy. Furthermore, one of the most frequent themes is the sacred one, with the sculpture of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. And the latest creation: the “Marciti”The latter are politicians, the man of today, represented by suffering and delirious human figures, whose bodies are stuck in the trunks of trees eaten away by worms.
Therefore, the House of the Wind collects over fifty years of work by Maestro Sgattoni who proudly opens to citizens and the community his soul as a farmer by day and an intellectual by night.I hope the house always remains open, to testify that I existed. It's a form of my personal selfishness towards San Benedetto, a city I love with all my heart. I've never left here.".
Thanks for the cover image: Patrizia Cicconi
