Ladin Art

Picturesque scenery, strong colours, and changing seasons: all sources of inspiration for painters and artists

From the early 19th century, the valley was home to a thriving carving industry. For the most part, this consisted of wooden toys that were then sold cheaply in the nearby Val Gardena, where they were finished off and sold. During the long winters, people would work the wood that covered the stue and they would also decorate the furniture in their homes. However, the true artistic heritage of the valley is to be found above all in its religious works, such as the frescoes of holy scenes on the exteriors of some homes and in the churches, the decorative votive capitals and the Ways of the Cross. The picturesque scenery, deep colours of the sky and meadows and the changing seasons have always inspired local artists. Some time around the 1940s, Professor Giuseppe Soraperra, with a great sense of forward thinking for the period, opened a State School of Art in Pozza di Fassa. Many young people from the valley were thus lucky enough to learn the arts of painting, of decorating using refined techniques and of sculpting. Many of our best artists from the past and present grew up attending this prestigious school, which remains the pride of the entire valley community.

The valley is home to the workshops of numerous local artists who depict the scenery and culture of Fassa in their work. Mention should also go to the valley’s theatre activities. In the past there were various amateur theatre activities and actors’ companies formed by simple village folk. Today, the most active are to be found in Soraga and Campitello.

The Val di Fassa’s most important artist was painter from Moena, Valentino Rovisi (1715-1783), a pupil of Tiepolo, who left many interesting works throughout the region. Worthy of mention for the 19th century is painter Franzeleto Bernard di Pera (1875-1948). The many contemporary artists include Anes Maurizio from Vigo, Francesco Rizzi and Alfonso Desilvestro from Moncion, Luigi Pederiva from Soraga, and Vito Chiocchetti from Vigo. Sculpture is well represented thanks to the work of Tita Pederiva, Cirillo Dellantonio, Jelico and Feliciano Costa from Moena and Rinaldo Cigolla from Canazei.

We should also point out the local wooden masks, the so-called “faceres” which are greatly used during the Ladin carnival period. In particolar there are two types of mask or “faceres”: the “faceres da bel” and the “faceres da burt”.