Time, Nature and Marcello’s Story
Sorrento is a sight to behold: the blue depths of its sea, the dense emerald foliage that grips its towering cliffs, the cliffs themselves whose colors alternate along the coastline - from ecru to pearly grey, and back to ecru; there are its perfumes, a bouquet of citrusy aromas that emanate from its countless gardens and lemon groves and blend harmoniously as the sea air rolls across the peninsula.
When faced with pure unfettered beauty on such a grand scale it’s difficult to imagine that it could ever be improved upon. Time and nature have collaborated over millennia to produce these wonders. Their synergy is so perfect that any additional contributor would disrupt its harmony, especially if that contributor were to present itself in human form; our hand tends to be so imperfect and crude when compared to the steadfastness of time and the gentleness of nature.
There is one exception, though, that over the course of two decades has displayed such a delicate touch and such an unwavering approach to his work as to join ranks with Sorrento’s ancient creators. His name is Marcello Aversa, a sculptor that produces breathtaking works of art from one of the Earth’s most ordinary and seemingly unremarkable resources: clay.
Marcello was born in a small village of Sorrento called Maiano, whose porous clay is well suited to making terra-cotta tiles for Neapolitan wood burning pizza ovens. His family ran a kiln that produced these tiles according to an ancient process that entails withstanding very uncomfortable working conditions, like kneeling for hours at a time and rinsing molds by hand in ice cold water.
When he was a boy, Marcello was ashamed of the humble nature of his family’s craft; it seemed less glamorous than the office jobs held by his classmates’ parents. As he grew up, however, he began working alongside his father, and his view soon changed. He appreciated the tremendous skill and sacrifice that practicing this ancient craft demanded. When he was only19, Marcello inherited his father’s share of the kiln, and with it, the title of “mattonaio”.
Marcello kept the family business going and, in the process, earned more than he might have had he opted for a more conventional career path. However, despite his success, Marcello didn’t feel entirely fulfilled. He had developed a passion for the Neapolitan presepe (crèche, or nativity scene) and felt a profound impulse pushing him to cultivate it. During his free time, he applied his skills as a mattonaio to create terra-cotta renderings of Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Three Kings. As Marcello matured as an artist, and the scenes he portrayed became more nuanced, he developed a personal style considered to be historically unique in the landscape of Neapolitan presepisti (presepe-makers): he sculpted small terra-cotta blocks, upon which he would place figures no larger than 2cm. Such an innovation permitted Marcello to condense the drama of a scene that would otherwise fill a room onto a sculpture that rarely measured more than 2ft x 1ft x 3 ft.
Marcello found himself at a crossroads: should he continue working at the family kiln, a job that guaranteed an income at the cost of tedious manual labor, or should he risk everything to follow his heart and share what he perceived to be a gift from God with the world? Looking past voices of concern from his friends and family, Marcello decided to give way to his passion.
2020 marks the 20th year since Marcello opened the Marcello Aversa Studio d’Arte workshop and art gallery in the historic center of Sorrento. The essence of the craft that his father passed on to him remains a central part of his daily practice as he bakes raw clay into intricately decorated baroque forms that recount various scenes from the Old and New Testament traditions: The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, The Nativity, or even the Crucifixion. Throughout Europe, a host of exhibits have been organized in his honor, he has personally presented his work to Pope Francis, and his most important work to date, Vita Semper Vincit, will soon be permanently installed in the Duomo of Milan.
The harmonious collaboration that has evolved between time and nature over the course of millennia has certainly given birth to a truly breathtaking place. For me, its beauty was accentuated even further after meeting Marcello. He has joined these creators in the age-old task of making the world more beautiful by acutely observing and adopting their methods: given the right time and attention, magnificent things of beauty can result from the manipulation of the simplest raw materials, such as clay and water.
Most remarkable of all, beyond his innate talent and unrelenting dedication, is that Marcello feels that his success can be attributed to his decision to simply respond to a calling:
I believe that we are all puppets. It’s up to us to feel the vibrations of the strings moved by the puppeteer. Since I’m Christian, I believe that the puppeteer is God. This is the only way that we can expect to best carry out our role in the grand theater of life. It’s up to us to decide if we want to be protagonists, or simply be part of the chorus.
Over the past 20 years, Marcello has emerged as a protagonist, and his example can inspire us to do the same.