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Il Guardiano Delle Acque designs and manufactures corten steel sculptures in his atelier in Zibido San Giacomo, on the banks of the Naviglio Pavese.

There are drops of light engraved in the metal, trees ruffled by the wind, flocks of swallows, small horses, human figures, braziers, thrones, signs, and then several creations made with stone, marble, wood, terracotta, bronze and corten steel by Anna Maria Miglietta and Giacomo Sparasci. These two artists are capable of evoking fairy tales, mythology, and the indestructible bond between man and nature.

They are both from Salento (Puglia Region) and extremely skilled and talented; they usually work with terracotta, stone, marble, wood, bronze and weathering steel: the results always speak of all the poetry and the historical heritage of their homeland, where Greek influence, peasant traditions, fairy tales, and mythology have always been intertwined. For example, some typical Olympian gods can be easily identified in many works of art including women with wind-blown hair, young mothers, bearded kings about to throw arrows, as well as thrones, braziers, decorative screens, banners, and carved cones to hide the light: you may even visualize them in ambrosia-based banquets.
Then, there are also several exquisite trinkets: running horses, flying birds, darting fish, and rattle pigs which remind us of toys from ancient Rome. There is also a collection of small terracotta trees, marble figurines, and miniature motherhood statues that seem to come from a very long gone past. And, again, bookstands and panels in bronze or weathering steel, engraved with the sculptors’ poetic or playful quotes.

All these beautiful and most original creations, large or small, would perfectly fit into any garden, merging with the colours of nature; but they would appear just as glamorous also indoor, because, quoting Annamaria: “There cannot be a house without a sculpture”. And she’s absolutely right.
When people meet Annamaria and Giacomo, they immediately fall in love with their naïve ingenuity, their children eyes, and their enchanting and mesmerizing fairy tale masterpieces.
Their atelier-abode, incidentally, looks like a dream: it’s an ancient river tollbooth along the banks of the Naviglio Pavese, on the outskirts of Milan, which regulated the flow of the water and the passage of freight boats until the 1960s.
It’s a true “nowhere land”, called “The Guardian of the Waters”, frozen in time, despite the nearby city. Right there, anybody can stop and escape the noise and the frenzy of today’s lifestyle.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)