Homage to Salvo Monica

This week Sicily lost one of his greatest contemporary artists, Salvo Monica, a gentlemen admired by everyone for the beauty of his work and for the kindness of his heart.

He was born in Ispica in 1917 and studied art in Rome at the Scuola d'Arte della Medaglia and at the Accademia di San Luca. After the war, he returned back to Sicily and devoted his life to teaching at the Art School in Siracusa and in public schools.
As an artist, he worked hard to enrich our cities with wonderful masterpieces allowing Sicily to add contemporary work of arts to the historical art heritage of the island.

>His sculptures can be seen in Siracusa on the facade of the bank Cassa Centrale di Risparmio and in the cloister of Saint John's convent, in Catania on the facade of the Chiesa del Seminario and in Saint Martha's Hospital, in Ispica in the square Maria Jose' and in the town hall Palazzo Bruno(currently closed and under restoration), in Noto and Recanati in the respective local museums.

One of his masterpieces, is a graphic collection of 71 indian ink drawings about the Holy Scriptures that he started working on in 1978 and finished recently. The full collection is an amazing achievement and shows the development and progression of his style.

We are no art critics, we can only say that we love his work because it combines simplicity, precision and attention to detail. The pictures here say more than anyone could ever write.

He won several prizes during his career, and he was often celebrated for his work in Sicily, but we are left with the feeling that Sicily has not paid enough attention to Salvo Monica's general contribution to art and culture, and to his beloved island in particular. Let us all hope that his legacy will now get the due attention and respect.