I discovered this special place by chance in 2002.

From the very beginning, this experience with MARIA left a lasting impression on my heart, and I could never have imagined that, the following year, I would be invited to welcome visitors… a grace for me!

To speak about MARIA while placing Her image in their hands, but above all, in their hearts.

It was only the beginning of wonderful years filled with encounters with special people and intense emotions!

I will never forget my first meeting with Guido.
I must admit that I was very emotional. I was finally going to meet the artist who had created MARIA, a work of astonishing beauty, perfect in its simplicity, capable of touching so many hearts.

I found myself face to face with a radiant, affable person, with an unmistakable smile, who knew how to put everyone at ease, and who was surprisingly discreet and reserved.

I was very struck by the fact that he did not want us to introduce him to visitors as the author of such beauty.

He preferred to remain in the background, observing, listening, and taking in the feelings and emotions that visitors expressed as they held MARIA in their hands.

Over the many years I spent here, we developed a mutual esteem that grew into affection… Guido had become part of our family, and sometimes he spoke to me like the father I no longer had.

It is difficult to sum up, in just a few lines, years filled with intense emotions, a journey we travelled together with “MARIA” as our guiding light, a journey that also included difficult moments.

On several occasions, it seemed that the MARIA EXHIBITION would have to come to an end, but he never lost heart!

He would always say: “MARIA guides us, sustains us, leads us on our journey, and always knows what is right.”

And invariably, just as he had foreseen, for he was a visionary, the solution would come, as he placed EVERYTHING in MARIA’s hands.

Another unforgettable memory for me is our wonderful conversations; he was a volcano of ideas and always managed to surprise me.

I ADMIRED him so much!

Many years ago, during one of our conversations, we dreamed of bringing a project to life:
GIVING FORM to the CANTICLE OF THE CREATURES through a workshop — MANI-MATERIA — centred around the great TAU, listening to the words of Saint Francis and modelling wax in blindness, to discover the forms that would later be transformed into the images of the elements of the CANTICLE itself.

Incredibly, just last year, this project, which he had dreamed of and longed to realise for so long, became a reality, thanks to his determination and also to the invaluable collaboration of his daughter Ida and of so many special people present here today. Without them, what would undoubtedly have been his final work of art would never have come into being.

It is also one last gift from him to me.
I personally took part in the CANTICLE WORKSHOP, creating a wax form shaped to fit my hands.

From this simple form of mine, he was able, through his distinctive and multifaceted artistic talent, to create the SUN of the CANTICLE!

He said to me: “See what a beautiful gift I’ve given you?
Your SUN is everywhere and has become the symbol of the CANTICLE!”

The emotion and gratitude I felt were profound, and now that he is no longer here “physically”, they take on an even deeper meaning.

Now, when I think of this SUN, I see you in it, dear GUIDO, because through your art and sensitivity, you brought LIGHT and warmed the hearts of so many people who had the opportunity to encounter your works.

Thank you for this shared journey and, quoting the words of CARLES DUARTE, for this JOURNEY OF LIGHT that we will continue to travel, certain that you will accompany us and sustain us, just as you always have.

You, who brought the MADONNA YOU FOUND into so many hands, will now surely be in Hers.
Thank you for everything, Guido.

A warm embrace, as you always used to say to us.