picture from a touristic website (no longer extant)
Life and work
Francisco del Rio Cuenca (1926-2010) was that man living nearby. It was 1960 and recuperating a truck load of shells became a lifetime project, that kept del Rio Cuenca active for the rest of his life.
this picture an the next one
courtesy of el jardin de jacinta (Flickr, 2008)
He decorated the outside walls of the house, all three patios and most of the interior, arranging the shells in colorful patterns, or assembling them into texts with information about who made this environment and when.
In 2008, when del Rio Cuenca was 82, he had reached the limits of what the house could bear in terms of decoration (reportedly he has processed some 115 million shells). But his creativity had no limits and the local authorities gave him permission to continue his decorative activity on a public plot in the vicinity of his home.
His creative activity was appreciated by the people of Montoro and there a lot of people around who supported the project by providing shells.
The house became a touristic must see, sometimes called the seventh wonder of Cordoba.
Actual situation
Del Rio Cuenca died in 2010. A grandson took care of the house and welcomes visitors. As far a I know no decision by public authorities has been made about ensuring the future of the site.
Autumn 2013 the house was offered for sale by Del Rio Cuenca's heirs.
Documentation
* A scholarly review of the site and its author in: Jo Farb Hernandez, Singular Spaces. From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments, Seattle (Raw Vision, SPACES, San José State University), 2013. A short version of this review is available on SPACES website
* A video on Elmundo.es, published july 2008
Francisco del Rio Cuenca
Casa de las Conchas
Montoro, Cordoba, Andalucía, Spain
can be visited on appointment
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