Mediterranean: the Master of Pebble tells us about the marine environment

We are talking about Mario Gavotti, the Italian artist from Marino in the province of Rome, who has been able to transform rigid magmatic rock into floating, harmonious works that tell of the sea, of watery worlds, forms that sometimes make us think of our first cradle: of amniotic fluid. Precisely in the territory of the municipality of Marino are the quarries of  lapis albanus, as the Romans called peperino, but this stone has a history dating back as far back as Palaeolithic times, and then gradually the Etruscans used it for their sarcophagi, the Romans for public buildings, until it became the dominant building material for medieval and Renaissance constructions.

The incredible thing is right here, such a special material used for building purposes was moulded like water by this incredible master of art. Mario had a very peculiar family history, he did not know his parents; this created in him an emotional storm and a need to continually search for that one world that brought him back to his mother's womb, which drove him to challenge the hardest, most resistant material, like his pain, to make it watery, soft, welcoming, a source of life like the sea. Today Mario Gavotti is ninety years old and has much to tell of his life dedicated to teaching, making each student a masterpiece because of his uniqueness, something he has been recognised for not only with the affection he still receives today. His artistic life was reinvigorated in 1947 when he was awarded the diploma of Master of Art, and then by working at the 'Medici' Gallery and other marble workshops acquiring a complete mastery of the various techniques of plastic work.

In 1993, he ended his career as a teacher and devoted himself solely to artistic production. From peperino he began to range over Carrara marble, until the recognition of a disabling retinal disease in 2003 prevented him from giving vent to his creativity through sculpture. However, Mario Gavotti is stronger than all evils, he has not lost heart and, with the help of experts, has embarked on a path, with the little visus at his disposal, of Art as Therapy, producing a considerable number of drawings using various expressive techniques that have enabled him to overcome the inevitable moments of darkness and depression resulting from the ascertained disease.

Today, his marvellous works remain to tell us about that marine world, infinite but at the same time welcoming and protective, where life forms are moulded. Mario Gavotti left us at the beginning of 2024.

The peperino of Marino, originates from the activity of the Albano Volcano (or Latium Volcano), which is located in the Castelli Romani area, between the towns of Albano Laziale, Castel Gandolfo and Marino, also touching the towns of Grottaferrata, Rocca Priora, Genzano di Roma and Velletri. After the eruptions, the solidification of the lavas emitted from the volcanic cone gave rise to different types of minerals, from tuff to peperino.
The peperino of Marino has been defined by experts as 'hardened muddy lava', because by excavating the rock in the subsoil of the Castelli Romani municipality, moist rock strands, still in formation, are brought to light. Its colour is grey, changing from light to dark, and it contains other crystallised mineral materials such as zeolite, pieces of wood and bone fragments, which characterise it and make it unique.
Many craftsmen have created with Marino peperino, architectural works, walls and immense staircases, made special by its dotted conformation, which gives it a regal appearance. The sculptures created by Gavotti Mario make the observer want to touch them, caress them, to receive sensory perceptions also from touch and not only from sight.