Italian painter and sculptor Ugo Attardi died in Rome last night at the age of 83. Only a few weeks ago he was honoured by the Italian President Carlo Azeglia Ciampi for his artistic merits and for his commitment in the dissemination around the world of the Italian genius and creativity.

He was called to Rome from Sicily by Consagra and Guttuso. Together with these renowned artists and other colleagues, in 1947 Attardi founded FORMA 1 the first Italian abstractist group after the second world war until he developed his personal existential expressionism. He participated on several occasions in the Biennale di Venezia and in the Quadriennale di Roma and organised a number of personal exhibitions in some of the most important exhibition spaces in Italy.

Attardi also had a good pen and a prolific scalpel. In 1971 he won the Premio Viareggio for his romance L’Erede selvaggio. He also gave birth to a number of works in wood and bronze, most of which are exhibited around the world.

One of his latest works in bronze, the Enea, was presented to the Maltese people about three years ago, through his connections with the Società Dante Alighieri. The statue was placed in a prominent position at the Lower Barrakka Gardens right at the entrance of the Grand Harbour welcoming all those who reach Malta by sea. “A loss in the universe of creativity and of a true friend of Malta”, said Martin Micallef, president of the Malta Committee of the Società Dante Alighieri. “The ‘Enea’ statue will remain as a living monument of an artist who chose to offer to Malta one of his jewels, which will remain for ever in memory of a unique artist”, concluded Mr Micallef.