Lett8

LETTOMANOPPELLO

(Pg. 8)

THE STONE-SCULPTING TRADITION

Page 1 (history/photos)
Page 2 (history/photos)
Page 3 (history/photos)
Page 4 (photos)
Page 5 (photos)
Page 6 (photos)
Page 7 (photos: festa)
Page 8 (stone-sculpting)
Page 9 (Iconicella)
Page 10 (people/places)
Page 11 (people/places)
Page 12 (festa 2000)

Page 13 (Marcinelle)
Page 14 (Marcinelle)
Page 15 (people/places 2001)
Page 16 (people/places 2001)
Page 17 (people/places 2001)
Page 18 (people/places 2001)
Page 19 (people/places 2001)
Page 20 (sculpting school)
Page 21 (fonte)
Page 22 (old photos)
Page 23 (history)
Page 24 (street map)

Page 25 (people/places 2003)
Page 26 (new hotel - La Noce)
Page 27 (people/places 2003)
Page 28 (people/places 2003)
Page 29 (Nino Di Pietrantonio)
Page 30 (people/places 2003)
Page 31 (Anagrafe / Stato Civile)
Page 32 (people/places 2004)
Page 33 (people/places 2004)
Page 34 (people/places 2004)
Page 35 (Church of S. Nicola 2005)
Page 36 for future construction

Lettomanoppello and stone. For centuries, the white stone of the Maiella has been quarried, cut and sculpted here. According to tradition, in the 7th century a group of Lettesi stonecutters was called to Byzantium (Constantinople) to work on the restoration of several buildings there, including the Santa Sofia. In recognition of this work, the Lettesi were given an icon of the Virgin Mary, which they venerated until, in 1799, it was destroyed during the French invasion of Abruzzo.

In the 1500s, white stone from Lettomanoppello was shipped to Egypt. The fame of the craftsmen of Lu Lette grew with the passing of time; in the historical archives at Naples is a text dated 1828, which speaks of Lettomanoppello as a place totally devoted to the working of stone (so much so that the town became known as "Piccola Carrara d'Abruzzo"--the little Carrara of Abruzzo). Lettesi stonecutters and sculptors were called to other towns and cities throughout the area to build and restore.

Still visible along the road that winds back and forth up the mountain from Lettomanoppello to Passolanciano are many small abandoned quarries from which the stone was cut over the centuries. With the advent of the 20th century, the tradition of working with stone all but died out in the town, with the exception of a small nucleus of stonecutters and sculptors who remained. Today, with growing interest in restoring the the old historic centers of many Abruzzese towns, the craft is in revival.

Each year, at the end of August and the beginning of September, Lettomanoppello hosts an international sculpting contest called "Dieci Giorni in Pietra," (Ten Days in Stone). While the competitors are international, there are always Lettesi sculptors among them. Some of the works from this annual competition now grace the town belvedere, which is becoming an open-air museum of stone-sculpting.

A stone quarry in Lettomanoppello, located in the section known as Scarapellin'. It is down in the Fossa San Angelo, the ravine which divides Lu Lette from Roccamorice, and the view here is from the Roccamorice side.

On the left, stonecarver Antonio Di Biase, sampling some white stone on the mountainside above Lu Lette; on the right, stonecarver Gennaro D'Alfonso at work.

One of the new statues on the belvedere, by Sandro Aceto; it is a memorial to fallen workers, especially the miners lost in the disaster at Marcinelle, Belgium, in 1956 (see Lu Lette Pg. 13).

Lucia D'Alfonso of Lettomanoppello provided us with this 1997 book, which is a photographic record of that year's Dieci Giorni in Pietra competition, and a source of additional information about Lettomanoppello's tradition of working with stone.

The photos below are from this book and were taken by photographers Dino Di Cecco and Marcella Mariani. They show works by Lettesi sculptors, and one by a neighbor from Roccamorice.

The photos in the block above show Lettese sculptor Gennaro D'Alfonso creating a symbolic work on the theme of peace, titled Metamorfosi (Transformation). The figure is a mythological "man-dove," symbolizing mankind's hope, not yet attained, to achieve peace.

Above is an abstract sculpture of Maiella white and black stone, glass and iron, which is titled Geoplano. It is the work of Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo, and it is part of the open-air museum on the town belvedere.

Another competitor in the 1997 stone sculpting competition was Japanese sculptor Toshinko Minamoto, whose abstract work titled Mistra, top left, carved from Maiella blackstone, is now on the town belvedere, as can be seen in the top right photo. Below those photos are pictures of him working on the sculpture.

Lu Lette Pg. 7

Lu Lette Pg. 9