Pebble mosaics are the speciality of Gabriele Gelatti. They are also known as risseu, which is the Genoese term for the rounded pebbles dragged by the current of a stream or the surf of the beach. “The technique of pebble mosaics is very specific and differs considerably from that of the more well-known tesserae mosaic, which developed much later,” explains Gabriele. “In our work we aim to recover the historic techniques while experimenting with new materials and applications.” Gabriele was trained by Armando Porta, the last Ligurian master of this ancient craft. “Maestro Porta taught me the rudiments of my profession, which I put to profit for the first time with the creation, in 2001, of a risseu garden for the 10th Festival des Jardins of Chaumont-sur-Loire.”
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