PIETRASANTA MOURNS ADOPTED ARTIST BOTERO
The town of Pietrasanta in Versilia (Lucca, Tuscany) is in mourning for the death of its honorary citizen, Colombian artist Fernando Botero.
Botero, celebrated for his exuberant outsize figures of people and animals, bought a house in Pietrasanta in 1983 and set up his studio near the Piazza del Duomo.
The town, which is near the marble quarries of Carrara (where Michelangelo obtained much of his material), as well as the fashionable beach resort of Versilia, is an open air museum of the maestro's works, including the frescoes “the Gates of Paradise” and “The Gates of Hell” at the Church of Our Lady of Misericordia, his celebrated “Warrior” in Piazza Matteotti and many other works that he donated to the town.
The Botero family is believed to have emigrated from Italy and established itself in South America in the 18th century. The artist was born in Medellin, Colombia, in 1932. The town of Pietrasanta made him an honorary citizen in 2001 and held a major exhibition of his work in 2022.
According to the artist's last wishes, his ashes will be buried in the cemetery of Pietrasanta, next to the grave of his last wife, Greek artist Sophia Vari, who died in May 2023.
