Inauguration of the Square Charles Minetti
By: Frans Toors
On a cold, but sunny morning last Saturday, December 6, the long awaited inauguration took place of the Square Charles Minetti, in the municipality of Le Bar-sur-Loup, North of Chateauneuf-de-Grasse, harbouring some 3000 inhabitants at close to 600 meters altitude. Minetti (1932-2005) was a local poet, philosopher and painter. This centrally located part of the village, also referred to as Le Pin d’ Aval had for many years, since the collapse of a building in 2010, been a sore to the eye. Its reconstruction took15 years of scrupulous planning, deliberations, approval by several committees and boards, local as well as on a national level. Several geo-technical studies had to be made and local residents were consulted in order to make it functional and appealing, while preserving the historic character of this mediaeval village.
Mayor, François Wyskowski explained the many hurdles which had to be taken to arrive at this aesthetically pleasing result. A group of primary school children took part in the opening, one of them helped by the mayor cut the ribbon for the symbolic opening.
The murals trompe-l’oeil style, adorning a number of surrounding buildings and walls are really the cherry on the cake, adding to the intimate atmosphere of this historic place. The wall paintings are the work of one of our members – Märta Wydler and Ben Vignot. They won the assignment in a contest among a small number of competing artists, voted by the locals with overwhelming majority.Their creations, requiring extensive scaffolding were completed in October/November. Weather conditions were mostly favourable. Rain, the greatest enemy of the artists was mostly absent. A very nice video of this project can be found on https://youtu.be/-tb7iLmzJos
The traditional buvette, at the end of the ceremony, soft drinks and appetizing small bites were highly appreciated, especially the school children.
