Pinuccio Sciola, Giardino Sonoro / Garden with sounding stones

all images courtesy of Sophie Lepetit, as on her weblog
see documentation

The Giardino Sonoro is a park in San Sperate, a village in southern Sardinia. 

This park can be seen as an art environment, since it contains a collection of stone structures, all made by hand by the same artist. Some of these structures have the special property of producing a musical sound when touched or struck in the right way;

Life and works

These stone structures were created by Pinuccio Sciola (1942-2016), who was born in San Sperate, where he also continued to live once he was an adult.

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He developed as an artist, got training in Madrid, Paris and Salzburg, and participated in the Venice Biennale.

Although this weblog in principle only focuses on non-professionals, it is primarily the unique musical qualities of his stone creations that provide the reason to devote attention in this blog to Sciola's work in stone,

The exception is also appropriate because he was deeply connected to his native Sardinia, and his artistic expressions were modest in nature and related to nature and to his native Sardinia.

This is also evident from the sculptural contribution he made from the 1960s onwards to the Giardino Sonore, a park that was the first in Sardinia to acquire an artistic character.

In 1968 Sciola was in Paris when the student uprising began, which spread to large parts of the population. 

He was struck by the power and creativity of the events, and once back in San Sperate, he wanted to give his hometown the appearance of a museum city by painting walls with white lime and inviting artists to create murals on them. 

He referred to those years as the Lime Years.

In 1996 Sciola began researching how sculptures might produce  sounds. 

So he selected primarily large pieces of basalt and volcanic stone.which are porous and in which a variety of grooves can be carved. These stones, thus processed, can produce special sounds upon touch.

 

The first musical stone that Sciola demonstrated in public was named Jazz Stone and was played at a jazz festival together with a trumpeter and a percussionist..

Pinuccio Sciola died on May 13, 2016. 

Residents of San Sperate hung white sheets and curtains in front of their windows and balconies in his memory.

 Documentation

* .Article (May 2026) on the weblog of Sophie Lepetit

* Article (September 2025) on newspaper Vanity Fair

* Article on Wikipedia

Video

* Video  (published January 2019) with Sciola playing stones and scenes of the garden

Pinuccio Sciola

Garden with sounding stones

San Sperate, Sardinia, Italy 

the public garden with sculptures can be visited freely

Guido Zuliani, Jardin de sculptures / Sculpture garden

images published here in agreement with 
Thierry de Baillon, weblog Tipeek Photos

Ligny-Thilloy is a municipality with over 500 inhabitants (2023 census), located in the department of Pas-de-Calais in the Hauts-de-France region in the northwest of France.

Along the Rue de Miraumont lies a house with a street-facing front garden that is decorated with a number of creations, as can be seen in the image above.

Life and works

These creations were made by Guido Zuliani, who was born in Italy in December 1919 and migrated to France, where he worked as a bricklayer.

As the image at the very top shows, the garden does not include a large number of creations This is also becaue over the years some have been stolen or given away to feature in other gardens

Zuliani passed away in September 1996 and since then the artworks are maintained and regularly repainted by Zuliani's daughter, who does so with attention and love.

Some details of the creations in this site. 

The second image from the top shows a monkey riding an elephant.

The garden features a number of columns of twisted bricks, and a stork is situated on one of those columns, as can be seen in the image above left.

The image to the right of the stork shows a man walking around with a pot of succulents.

The image below shows an animal that looks like a large salamander.

Documentation

* Article (April 2026) by Thierry de Baillon, website Tipeek Photos

* Article (May 2012) by Larent Jacquy on his website Les beaux dimanches

Guido Zuliani

Sculpture garden

16 rue de Micaumont

62450 Ligny-Thailloy, dept Pas-de-Calais, region Hauts-de-France, France

can be seen from the street

Fernand Garanto, Jardin de sculptures / Sculpture garden

all images courtesy of Donminque Clement

The garden with sculptures reviewed in the following article is located in Limoux, a municipality with approximately 10,500 inhabitants in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of France.

Lifen and works

The sculptures are creations made by Fernand Garanto, who was born iin Limoux in the late 1940s.

His career was initially quite remarkable, for when he was only sixteen years old, he became a professional stuntman, part of one of the biggest teams in France at the time.

He would be active there for a long time, but after twenty years and many broken bones, he had to quit.

His next job, which he started in the mid-1980s, was much more subdued, as he became a civil servant at the municipality of Limoux. Although that was a much quieter environment, he could still occasionally express himself as a boisterous character, especially during Carnival.

And as a self-taught artist, he also developed a passion for creating sculptures.

By then he was married, and the couple lived outside the center of Limoux in a house with a garden of about 3,000 square meters, which,certainly after his retirement around 2014,  began to be filled with his creations, as in part can be seen in part in the surrounding images.

They show sculptures made of terracotta, plaster, and white cement with marble dust.

Garanto's  studio is completely filled with all kinds of sculptures and he gladly accepts requests from friends to create sculptures displaying specific types of people.

As a self-taught artist, he is sometimes amazed by what comes from his hands, such as his ability to capture certain gestures in his creations.

He has also established himself as a writer by now, like in March 2024, he published a book entitled Entre Action et Passion: mémoires d'un cascadeur professionnel (Between Action and Passion: Memoirs of a Professional Stuntman), that reveals the secrets of the techniques and methods stunt performers use to achieve breathtaking feats safely.

Documentation

* Garanto on Facebook

* Article (Januarfy 2019) in French newspaper l'Indepandant

* Article  (October 2024) in French newspepr Le Petit Journal

Video

On YouTube Fernand Garanto has a collection of some eight short videos that give an impression of the kind of creations he makes.

* Here is a video (3.03 minutes) from this collection, made in 2018 at the occasion of the Carnaval de Limoux

Fernand Garanto 

Sculpture Garden

17 Chemin de la Serre de Cournanel 

11300 Limoux, dept Aude, region Occitanie, France

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

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 aluminium 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

Juan Muñoz Benítez, Casa de las Piedras in Dílar / House of Stones in Dílar

images are screenprints from a video by Serflac on YouTube

In the municipality of Dílar in Andalusia, Spain, there is in the front yard of a residential house a modest art environment named Casa de las Piedras (House of Stones).  

The internet has some articles that refer to this creation, but none of these mentions the name of the one who made it, like there is also no information about the date this art environment came about.

However, the website of SPACES Archive has the name of the one who created this art environment and a series of pictures of the site by Jo Farb Hernandez, but these images are not accompanied by a review.

So, relying on the information mentioned in the documentation, here is a brief description of the various components that shape this art environment. 

The very first picture above shows that the garden is located in front of a house and is separated  from the street by an iron fence. This fence has about twenty stone pillars with a variety of shapes.

 

In the middle of the gate is the entrance to the garden that opens to a path that leads to the entrance of the house.

As the picture above shows, the entrance of the garden is crowned by a large cordovan hat and a guitar, which could be a reference to specific qualities of the site's creator (guitar player and costume lover?)

To the right of the central path is a large stone structure, consisting of a circular stone mosaic on the ground, on which are four stone chairs with butterfly-shaped armrests around a stone column, which is surmounted by a stone bird with outstretched wings.

Behind this structure, at the left and the right, there are two more creations of birds with outspread wings on top of a plinth.

 On the left side of the access path, on an equally circular mosaic base, there is a round, low wall.

The space within this round wall has a number of V-shaped retaining walls, which serve as supports for two columns that support a large round bowl. There are also a number of sculptures of young people who lend a hand in carrying the bowl. As far as can be seen, the bowl is not filled with water.

To complete this short description, below is an image of a porcupine-like character that is part of the decoration at the entrance. The depicted character jumps out of the guitar. On the other side of the entrance, a similar figure emerges from the hat.

Documentation

* Website Nevasport with photos of a bike ride that led past the art environment

* Website Wikiloc with a walk through Dílar, which also leads past the art environment (some photos and a short sketch of the decorations in the garden)

Video

* Video on YouTube by Serflac Andalucia Trip 2022, fragment about the site starts at 12.56

Juan Muñoz Benítez

Casa de las Piedras

Dílar, dept Granada, region Andalucia, Spain

the site can be seen from the street

Fittie Quarter in Aberdeen, Art environments

all pictures courtesy of Sophie Lepetit
see Documentation

The cottage pictured above is located in a district officialy named Footdee district, but locally known as Fittie Quarter. in the city of Aberdeen, located along the North Sea in Scotland.

It is a district close to the coast, near the entrance to Aberdeen's harbor and it was once known as a place with houses occupied by fishermen, harbour personnel and pilots who guide ships.   

The district was built in the 19th century by the municipality of Aberdeen, which sold the houses around 1870, giving residents more opportunity to customize their homes. 

This happened indeed, many houses were extende upwards, but the character of the district, which only has a few streets, has been preserved and has even developed in a distinctive way, particularly in terms of the houses' decoration.

another decorated house

Today, the relatively small Fittie neighborhood has a unique atmosphere, with its many colorful small houses, some of which are made of wood.

The most striking feature of the neighborhood is that many houses have decorated front gardens or facades, some simply, but in some cases so elaborate that they could be classified as art environments.

Two of these art environments are presented below.

The Blue House

First, the blue house.

On the roof ridge stands a weather vane, and on the right side a large owl. The facade is decorated with various maritime objects, such as a lifebuoy and an anchor, while the two large rectangular images depict ships.

The low wall separating the front garden from the street, is filled with a series of small sculptures depicting various people and birds

And then, both the man in the green sweater and red trousers, situated at the right, and the large seagull in the center foreground are eye-catching creations.

The name of the one who created this art environment, is unknown.

The white house

This last point also applies to the second series of creations. 

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They show a small house with a white facade and a tiled floor between house and street. The design of this white site is somewhat more modest than the blue one.

The front wall of the house is decorated with all sorts of birds, and on the steps leading to the front door a man and a woman are seated, he dressed in green and she in red.

On the threshold of the front door stands a pot of flowers between two small sculptures.

The space between the front door and the street is completely filled with flower pots and on the right side -as seen from the street- it is sheltered by a high wall with all sorts of decorations.   

The low wall between the outdoor area and the street is filled with potted flowers, between which all sorts of small sculptures are on display, that wave to passersby.

The image below gives a good impression of the street where the house is located. 

This same atmosphere is also present in the few other streets in the Fittie neighborhood, which is now classified as a protected cityscape.

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Documentation

* Article  (October 2018) on Scotland Travel Blog by Susanne Arbucle

* Article  (Augusr 2020) on the website Globe-Trottine

* Article  (November 2025) on the weblog of Sophie Lepetit

Video

* Video (13'33", YouTube,  August 2023) by Brummie in the Highlands.The two art environments in this post are close to each other and appear in the video at 4'50" .

Art environments

Fittie Quarter

Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

can be seen from the street

Zdzisław Syczewski, Ogród bajkowy / Fairytale garden

images are screenprints from the video in the documentation

The garden with all kinds of decorative elements, as shown above, is located in Hodyszewo, a village with about 140 inhabitants (2011) in the south of Poland, which is part of the municipality of Nowe Piekuty.

Life and works

This art environmend is a creation of Zdzislaw Syczewsk, who started the project in 2011.

He initially worked as a smelter, then as a steelworker, and after a few years, he started working at a factory that manufactured heating systems.

Meanwhile Syczewsk has retired.

Currently he has created a large variety of works, primarily fairytale figures, as can be seen in the surrounding images.

Syczewski doesn't consider himself an artist.

As he has said, he has been decorating the garden to pass the time. Although he also started working for the enjoyment of his grandchildren, that's no longer a motive now that they're grown up.

To make the creations, Syczewski uses willow wood as a material, which is easy to work with and readily available in the area.

Some of the fairytale characters he created are well-known, such as Pinocchio and the Smurfs, while others are primarily known in Eastern Europe, such as Masha and the Bear, the Wolf and the Hare, Matołek the Goat and Gargamel.

Documentation

* Article (November 2021) by Radek Łabarzewscy on his website Znalezienie

Video

* Video  (0'54", YouTube, November 2021) by Znalezienie

 

Zdzislaw Syczewski

Fairytale garden

Hodyszewo, municipality of Nowe Piekuty, dept of Podlaskie, Poland

can be visited

Anonymous, Art environment on Rousay Island

all pictures (2024) courtesy of Sophie Lepetit

The island of Rousay, part of the Orkney Islands, lies in the North Sea /Atlantic Ocean northeast of Scotland, approximately 53 kilometers away. from the mainland. 

tt covers an area of ​​46 square kilometers and has approximately 230 inhabitants.

Amidst the island's natural beauty, there are more than one hundred ancient archaeological sites. 

And then there's also a site, depicted in the surrounding images, that can be considered an art environment.

Thia art environment is located along the southern coast of Rousay, near a house called Giord.

It's quite possible that it was created by the owner of this house.

However, the house is currently for sale, and the advertisement for it doesn't mention the owner's name.

It does mention that Giord House has an outdoor space with a 1.37-hectare plot and a sheltered garden and this indicates that there was sufficient outdoor space to create an art environment.

The images in this post show that the creations in the art environment often include depictions of all kinds of animals.

But there are also other items on display, such as above left a figure made of iron bandages and above right a large anchor and a small-scale lighthouse.

The image below shows a ship on dry land, and it's questionable whether this ship is part of the art environment. 

In any case, the image gives an impression of the beautiful view one can have from the coast of Rousay Island.

Documentation

* Article and a variety of photos by Sophie Lepetit on her weblog

Anonymous 

Art environment on Rousay Island

Located along the southern coast of the island

Island of Rousay, part of the Orkney archipelago, Scotland, United Kingdom