Roberto di Alicudi, the Neapolitan that Etna greets from Sicily

The Neapolitan that Etna greets from Sicily

Filicudi Biennal, 2018. The charismatic Contessa di Alicudi Schifanoja or the Countess of “boredom sucks” was exhibiting her extravagant work in public for the first time. It would surprise attendees to learn that, in fact, the architect behind the show was neither an aristocrat nor from Alicudi. In fact, Roberto Longo is originally from Naples, but “I wouldn’t be the same person without my center in the Mediterranean,” he confesses, since he found peace—and love—on this Italian island years ago.

Inspiration also came on its own with the humidity problems of his house in Alicudi, Monachedda, and the solution with a method he had seen in the ancient dwellings of farmers and fishermen on the islands: painting on glass. This is a traditional Sicilian art that has its origins in religious reproductions. Only time and practice have allowed him to expand his knowledge of this artistic technique that is as unknown as it is complex.

“I had to think backwards, starting from the specific, from the nuance, from the detail and then arriving at the final concept,” recalls Roberto, about these first incursions that have derived in a personal and exclusive language. The peculiar canvases, some of which are part of prestigious private collections, form a symmetrical chaos of historical and mythological references, icons, and tradition. In order to understand his work, following his own apprenticeship, we will start from the specific, from the detail of his conversation to try to reach the final concept.

Roberto di Alicudi, your alias on Instagram, clearly defines you, but you are not from there. I am Neapolitan, I was not born on the island. Alicudi was my choice, it became my home because I felt that my soul was at peace there. This is why I decided to call myself “Roberto_di_alicudi”, because I feel a very strong sense of belonging and because I would not be the same person without my rock in the Mediterranean. Alicudi is the center of my artistic creation, it is the center of my life, my home is there and my memories of love are on that sea. It was important to remember that.

Where did Contessa di Alicudi Schifanoja, your other artistic pseudonym, come from? This is a funny story. In 2018 I took part in the small Filicudi biennial. It was the first time I had exhibited art in public and I wanted a name that recalled the aristocratic style of some details of my paintings, but at the same time had a sense of play and fun. “Schifanoja” is the name of an aristocratic palace located in Ferrara. This word meant: “boredom sucks”. I always thought it was a brilliant name for a building as well as a life mantra to be shared. And so my nom de plume was born, I sign my paintings “C.d.A.S”, Countess of Alicudi Schifanoja, I want to evoke the image of an old countess who loves life, color, and fun. Because glass art is above all a way of describing life while maintaining irony.

How did you come across that technique? It was totally accidental! When I bought “Monachedda”, my house on the island, I was afraid that there was humidity and therefore I thought that the only paintings I could hang were those painted on glass. I was already familiar with glass painting because I had often seen paintings of this type in the homes of the old farmers and fishermen of the islands. Furthermore, glass painting was also very popular

in southern Germany, a place I frequented a lot. The beginning was totally improvised, I used colors for ceramics, it was very difficult because they had complicated drying times. Then I switched to oil painting. I immediately understood that, to paint on glass, I had to think in reverse, starting from the particular, from the nuance, from the detail, and then to arrive at the final concept. It is a way of thinking that belongs to me naturally, perhaps because I am crazy.

To what extent is the folklore you represent in your art being forgotten? Folk culture is never completely lost, it is within us. I realize more and more that my language made up of ex-votos, popular religion, magic practiced by women in rural countries, and Greek and Roman mythology, has a very strong ability to communicate with people. This means that folk art, often seen as a minor art, has instead a power and vitality that should not be underestimated. My goal is to keep it alive, to give it new brilliance, respecting it but also re-inventing it.

Is that why you also bring back the Baroque style of Naples and mythology? Being born and living in Naples allowed me to get in touch with a parallel reality. I lived in streets where

Baroque art and architecture were the norm. My mother’s house in the city center was built on a Greco-Roman necropolis. Furthermore, twenty minutes by train were enough for me to get to Pompeii, with an hour by hydrofoil I was in Capri by Emperor Tiberius. Mythology was part of the Baroque culture, the representation of the myth was present in many Baroque frescoes, the aristocratic houses were enriched with stories of gods and nymphs, satyrs, mythological heroes. This whole world had its own decorative aesthetic language and that is what interests me: the use of colors, the re-invention of the ancient style, the fun, and the surprise of the deception.

It is surprising that you add decorative elements stolen from privately owned homes, even churches and votive sanctuaries. This is something that makes me feel guilty. My painting feeds on details that I steal from private homes and churches. I take photographs and catalog details of decorations, frames, shades, and color combinations and then bring them back into my paintings, decontextualizing them. Stealing beauty is an indiscreet act, I often take pictures where it would not be possible. But it is also a way to “save” details that will be irretrievably lost. Now I’m painting a large picture where I’m re

proposing a blue decoration that I found in an abandoned ruin in Alicudi. It is a decoration destined to disappear and I want to save it, keep it alive. The message of that decoration is so precious: in a poor house, where people who had no food to eat lived, many years ago, someone took the time to make the room beautiful. It is a message of love for life that we must not forget.

In the decoration you create there is often a lot of symmetry. My paintings are often characterized by very decorative painted frames. My idea is to create small “theaters”, small windows that open onto the stage. For this reason, I try to maintain symmetry at least in the most marginal part of the painting in order to frame the center of the painting. Symmetry is also a repetition of the movement of the brush on the glass, it is a process of abstraction that allows me to make room in the mind. It is also nice to alternate between symmetry and chaos, beauty also comes from this game of alternation.

And what role do the elements of nature play? Living in a place where nature is powerful, where the first thing I look at when I open my eyes in the morning are seven volcanic islands, two of which are active and Etna that greets me from Sicily, together with the infinite sea, the wind, the silence, the clouds, all this cannot remain outside my art. Even if I paint a different subject, the colors are what I see on the island. It cannot be otherwise, nature is a presence that cannot be ignored. And this is certainly the strongest teaching that this historical period has transmitted to us. Also, telling stories that have to do with popular culture, mythology, and religion puts me in contact with the magical power of nature constantly. The island is full of legends of talking trees, women flying accompanied by owls, goats appearing on the roofs of houses at night. Mythology also tells of the transformations of men into water springs, women into laurel bushes… in short, nature is the language of everything and offers all the answers.

Is there any question you don’t enjoy lately because you have not found an answer to it? I am full of unanswered questions. From the stupidest (“why do I have to die?” “Why does my metabolism suck?”) To the most important ones that have to do with the choices we all find ourselves making in the course of life. Now, after this interesting, tragic, devastating, and saving pandemic, my question is whether I can keep myself focused on being happy. Will I be able to stop wasting my energy in the stupid dynamics of the so-called “consumer society”? I don’t know, the answer is often in a glass of prosecco.