Not far from us, Gualdo Tadino, of pre-Roman origins, perches like a silent sentinel on a forested hilltop. A few buildings miraculously survived the devastating 1751 earthquake: one was the frescoed 13th-century church of San Francesco, dedicated to the beloved Saint of the nearby hill town of Assisi.
On the road from Assisi to Gualdo Tadino
Gualdo Tadino, perched on a forested hilltop
Gualdo Tadino, a little-know charming Umbrian hill town
The pale pastel colors of the medieval frescoes – many depicting San Francesco and other Franciscan saints – now gently backdrop the dazzling colors of another artist, Antonio Ligabue (1899 – 1965). Often called “Italy’s Van Gogh,” Ligabue’s tormented life screams out in his fulgent paintings, like the anguished, feral howls of the animals he often paints.
In the San Francesco churches, medieval frescoes in pastel tones backdrop the Ligabue show
The dazzling colors of Ligabue, often called “Italy’s Van Gogh”
….and Ligabue did not just paint oils…
The show on Ligabue (and painter Pietro Ghizzardi) – called Arte e Follia (“Art and Madness”) ends in late October. Madness not to go.
Read about Gualdo Tadino’s medieval festival here
Read about our favorite eating spot near Gualdo Tadino
See more on Ligabue on Youtube
See his works here:
http://www.wikiart.org/en/antonio-ligabue
Click here for more on his tormented life
Read more on the artist
