The stained glass windows of Franca Ghitti at Costa Volpino
The Church of Saint Anthony Abbot
In the heart of the Valle Camonica, the Church of Corti in Costa Volpino is houses works by Franca Ghitti, one of the most significant sculptors of the 20th century. The combination of Ghitti's contemporary art and the simplicity of the 20th-century concrete church is truly striking. Her work is evident in the stained-glass windows, created using a glass-concrete technique she first employed in Kenya in the late 1960s.
Who Was Franca Ghitti
Franca Ghitti was born in Erbanno (a hamlet of Darfo Boario Terme) in 1932 into a family of artisans and farmers. From a young age, she displayed a keen interest in the art and culture of the Valle Camonica, an area rich in history and traditions, especially its famous rock carvings. After studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, she moved to Paris, where she furthered her studies and began developing her unique artistic style. She attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and also spent time in Salzburg, taking engraving courses under Oskar Kokoschka.
Ghitti's works are characterized by her use of simple, natural materials such as wood, iron and stone. Her sculptures often draw on forms and symbols from Camonica traditions, reinterpreted in a contemporary way. Among her most notable works are the "Maps," wooden tablets combined with metal nets and nails.
Ghitti passed away in Brescia on Easter Sunday in 2012, leaving behind a significant artistic legacy that influenced many contemporary artists. Her works are displayed in major museums and private collections and her life and art continue to be subjects of study and publications.
The Church of Corti in Costa Volpino
Costa Volpino, in the province of Bergamo, preserves some of Franca Ghitti's most appreciated works—her devotional stained-glass windows created for the Church of Saint Anthony Abbot in the Corti district.
The 20th-century church was designed by architect Luigi Cottinelli beginning in 1960. Construction took place between 1971 and 1973 and in 1977, Ghitti completed the vibrant and imposing stained-glass windows that adorn the otherwise concrete structure of the church. The windows depict scenes from Genesis, the Apocalypse and the Beatitudes and are particularly notable for their technique.
The technique Ghitti employed, known as glass-concrete, was developed at the end of the 1960s for the Church of the Italians in Nairobi, Kenya.
Franca Ghitti in Kenya
Ghitti’s time in Kenya deserve attention, as she spent two years there on assignment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From the tribal and indigenous cultures, she learned the value of sediments as "other alphabets" left by past societies.
The sacred art narrative cycle she created for the church in Nairobi exemplifies this research. Ghitti involved the local community, collecting their testimonies in tribal sediment form, a code she later brought back to her native Valle Camonica.
The stained-glass windows in the Church of Corti in Costa Volpino are both artistic expressions and powerful tools for meditation and prayer, as well as social inquiry and popular storytelling. Their presence in the church offers an opportunity for reflection on faith through art.
