Girolamo Ricci, I santuari in pietra / The shrines of stone

view from the road

click to enlarge

Girolamo Ricci (1931-2023), a retired farmer who lived in the small community of Pievelunga, a hamlet of Parrano (Umbria, Italy), in the late 1980s decided to create a sanctuary in honor of Our Lady, to thank her for the many times she had shielded him from making accidents with his tractor.

Once begun, he could not stop and so gradually an art environment came into being, situated in the area outside of his house, separated from the road by an iron-wired fence.

this picture and the next one by Costruttori di Babele

Ricci created a lot of sculptures from wood, stone or concrete, which he displayed in that outside area, which runs down along a rather steep slope.

Part of the art environment is covered by a simple wooden shed, but in general the site is an outdoor event.

Ricci's sculptures represent various male and female personalities, full-length or as a torso, rather often appearing as a duo. 

the site as seen from below, the road is 

upper right, in the background left the living house 

Later on, after his wife Liliane died, Ricci also transformed the part of the garden in front of the living house into an art environment,  rearranging it in the form of a spiral with various colorful elements.

this picture and the next one by Pavel Konečný

Ricci has also been active in making paintings, working on board and tiles, and he also decorated exterior and interior walls of the living house with frescoes and wooden items.

In these paintings the idea returns to represent people as a duo.

facade of the living house around 2011, with decorations, 

as seen from the road

Girolamo Ricci passed away in 2023. It is not clear if there is someone who will take care of the site.

Documentation

* Article on the Costruttori di Babele website
* Series of pictures on Facebook by Pavel Konečný
* Giulia Pettinari, "I santuari in pietra di Girolamo Ricci", in: Rivista Osservatorio Outsider Art, nr 8 (October 2014), pp. 58-68

Video
* Video, nr 3 in the series presented by Costruttori di Babele (September 2018, YouTube, 8'37")

Girolamo Ricci
I santuari in pietra
7 Localitá Pievelunga
Parrano, Umbria, Italy
can be seen from the street