Calogero Gangitano, Jardin décoré / Decorated garden

this image and the next five courtesy of Tipeek Photos
see documentation

The blue iron gate in the image above, located along a road in the municipality of Fontenilles in southern France, was handcrafted by the resident of the house behind it. 

It's difficult to see in the image, but the supports to the left and right of the gate are decorated with white sculptures depicting storks, also created by the resident.

Welcome to the art environment created by Galogero Gangitano near his house.

a scene with large colorful ants

Life and works

Gangitano, who was born in Tunis in 1941, migrated in 1961 as a young man to France, where he worked as a welder and operator of a milling machine for about 44 years until his retirement.

He was married, had children and his wife passed away some years ago. 

As a metalworker, he began collecting scrap metal to use as parts of the house and the swimming pool he both built himself. 

He used these metallic elements not only in the construction process, but also as furniture, chandeliers and decorative elements indoors. 

a palm tree

It so happened that at some point in his life, he felt inspired to realize all sorts of artistic creations himself. 

This moment came when he and his children visited a nearby amusement park, which featured sculptures depicting figures from the world of entertainment, such as Charlie Chaplin.

His first creations were primarily sculptures depicting this kind of people, which he made from concrete by covering pre-formed mesh models with layers of cement. 

a bird feeder

a bird from metal

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Creations at a spot along a road, no longer existing

These sculptures were notably placed on a site a few kilometres from Gangitano's house, a plot of land which was initially owned by his brother and later inherited by Gangitano.

He was denied a building permit by the mayor for this site, so it became a public exhibition space with a playground, a large treehouse, a carousel and a picnic area.

However, because several sculptures were stolen or damaged, Gangitano closed the site and sold most of the concrete creations to a scrap dealer. Only some got a place near his house.

Creations near the house

For many years Gangitano also provided the space around his house with sculptures, as can be seen in the images in this post. He made these partly from cement, but also started using metal for his creations.

In front of the house there is a scene with an elderly couple seated at a table with grandchildren and a dog, in which Gangitano's grandparents Louis and Marie are depicted.

And then, as the images in this post show, there is a scene of colorful ants, there are sculptures of a stone palm tree with metal leaves, an alumium bird, a birdfeeder and busts of Gangitano and his wife. 

There are deecorations at the swimming pool and a variety of other items. More images are available in the last two articles in the documentation.

a scene with busts of Gangitano and his wife

Documentation

* Article (April 2007) on French newspaper La Dépêche

* Article (September 2021) on website Cartographie des Rocamberlus 

* Article (January 2026) on website Tipeek Photos

Calogero Gangitano

Decorated garden

9 Chemin de Saint-Flour

31470 Fontenilles, dept of Haute-Garonne, region Occitanie, France

can be visited on appointment