Page 21 Occhiatana 6511 O.gomez Occhiatana
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Occhiatana
In Ochjatana, water has shaped daily life since time immemorial. Fountains, washhouses and water points dot the maze of narrow streets, bearing witness to the era before running water from the tap.
Fed by cool springs flowing down from the hills, these structures served a purpose far broader than mere domestic use: they naturally became places where people gathered and chatted.
3682 O. Gomez Occhiatana
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7639 O. Gomez Occhiatana, Damaso House
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Born in Occhiatana in 1888 and trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, Damaso Maestracci left a lasting mark on his home village. The church still houses several of his bas-reliefs and sculptures, such as this depiction of Saint Teresa from 1930and the war memorial donated to the town in 1921.
But the artist’s most personal work remains his own home. Crafted from a mixture of sculpted cement, mosaics and engraved inscriptions, the house displays a promise of tranquillity on its loggia – ‘My rest’ – and sums up his philosophy above the lintel: ‘Art embellishes life’. The artist even designed his own tomb in the local cemetery, permanently inscribing his style in the relief.
Today, creativity continues to flourish in the plain, in other forms. In the Reginu valley, at a place called A Tesa, Julien Fauconnier grows and distils organic aromatic plants. Everlasting, myrtle, rosemary and mastic are transformed into essential oils and hydrosols to extract the very essence of the maquis.
