MuseOntani
Luigi Ontani
MuseOntani
5th July 2020
Museum
A journey into the imagination of shapes, colors and references by the artist Luigi Ontani
By the Councilor for Culture Patrizia Gambari
The town of Vergato can boast many artists, including sculptors, painters, poets, photographers, musicians, and singers, but one really stands above all the others: the world-renowned Maestro Luigi Ontani. An eclectic artist, he cannot be categorised under a single artistic style. His art is the expression of an independent nature.
The artist has donated some works to the town, and loaned others for the exhibition, adding real prestige to the local area and town hall, the ground floor of which hosts MuseOntani, and the council chamber with its wondrous windows. Vergato’s town hall was built on the cusp of the 14th and 15th centuries, originally housing the “Captains of the Mountain”, who were appointed by Bologna and ruled these lands from 1414 to 1796.
Works
The museum houses works filled with pictorial, allegorical, folkloristic, mythological, legendary, and literary references. Maestro Luigi Ontani’s artistic language achieves concrete form through his working with artisans skilled in papier-mâché, plaster, glass, ceramic, marble, wood, bronze, and photographic posters.
The stained-glass windows represent the seasons, the ages, the four elements and the four captains, with the artist’s iconological symbolism. There are four windows, with each one depicting the coats-of-arms of the various houses of the Captains of the Mountain.
Works
The museum houses works filled with pictorial, allegorical, folkloristic, mythological, legendary, and literary references. Maestro Luigi Ontani’s artistic language achieves concrete form through his working with artisans skilled in papier-mâché, plaster, glass, ceramic, marble, wood, bronze, and photographic posters. As such, his language becomes like a face mask for identification and citation, and like the globe-trotting folk masks of “VivArte” (his living art).
The Fountain
In 2019, a number of years after creating a model for a potential work and with the support of MuseOntani, the mythological fountain called RenVergatellAppenninMontovolo was inaugurated on the plaza located in front of the town’s train station. The creation of this work owes much to the contribution of the benefactors, including local citizens, banks, associations, the local municipality, and the Emilia-Romagna regional government. The fountain is a true representation of the surrounding area and it is based on two structural sections: a bronze central one, from which rises a Faun, representing the local Reno river, Cupid, and “Amor d’Arte”, symbolising the Vergatello stream; the surrounding structure is characterised by a majestic Triton or merman, which represents the Apennines and how the mountain range ‘contains’ the water. The giant stands on an egg, as a reference to the fabulous Montovolo (literally egg mountain), which is surrounded by an ouroboros snake.
La Fontana
In 2019, a number of years after creating a model for a potential work and with the support of MuseOntani, the mythological fountain called RenVergatellAppenninMontovolo was inaugurated on the plaza located in front of the town’s train station. The creation of this work owes much to the contribution of the benefactors, including local citizens, banks, associations, the local municipality, and the Emilia-Romagna regional government.
The fountain is a true representation of the surrounding area and it is based on two structural sections: a bronze central one, from which rises a Faun, representing the local Reno river, Cupid, and “Amor d’Arte”, symbolising the Vergatello stream; the surrounding structure is characterised by a majestic Triton or merman, which represents the Apennines and how the mountain range ‘contains’ the water. The giant stands on an egg, as a reference to the fabulous Montovolo (literally egg mountain), which is surrounded by an ouroboros snake.
Stay up to date on the Museum’s initiatives and events!
News & Events
Vittorio Sgarbi visiting the MuseOntani in Vergato
The visit of prof. Vittorio Sgarbi in Vergato with a visit to the Luigi Ontani Museum in Piazza Capitani della Montagna in Vergato (Bo)
Vittorio Sgarbi in Vergato meets the works of Luigi Ontani
The visit of prof. Vittorio Sgarbi in Vergato on 16/01/2020. Visit to the MuseOntani and the Faun Fountain but also to Alfredo Marchi's studio house.
