ARCHITECTURAL critics often talk about the sculptural qualities of buildings. Nowhere is the interchange of architecture and sculpture more enjoyable than at Peralta, a hamlet which lies near Lucca in Tuscany (close to the marble quarries at Carrara).
Some 40 years ago, Peralta was a series of overgrown ruins. Its restored and revived form has taken on a sculptural quality, and at its core lies the Italian retreat and studio of Chelsea-based sculptor Fiore de Henriquez. Her sculptures populate the spaces between the buildings, which also accommodate six holiday apartments—the perfect base for touring Tuscany.

The ruins of Peralta were discovered in the 1960s by Miss de Henriquez when she was staying nearby with her mentor, the American sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, who lived for a while in the valley below. She restored the hamlet, selling sculptures and lecturing in the United States to pay for the work. Although she is in her eighties, Miss de Henriquez still spends a substantial part of each year here. She brings her work from London, portrait-busts modelled in clay in her studio, to be cast in the foundry of Massimo Del Chiaro, Pietrasanta.

In medieval times, Peralta served as a fortified stronghold (the steep road is still not for the faint-hearted). The stuccoed tower is partly used for studio space. The main studio, with its panoramic views, is filled with the works of half a century: busts, studies, thematic, abstract pieces and a series of graphic black and white sketches made in the 1960s. The main sitting room, every-day dining table and kitchen are adjacent to the studio. A more formal room, with spectacular views of the valley below, is across a courtyard. There are many busts in this room, including that of J. F. Kennedy (who was between sittings when he was assassinated). There are also several smaller bronze figures depicting composers.

Miss de Henriquez, who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, began bronze casting in the 1940s. In 1948, a sculpture she had made of the humanist Don Giovanni Cuomo was blown up. Being the daughter of an officer in the Hapsburg army (who had been confined for political reasons in the 1930s), she decided to leave Italy. She had herself fought with the Partisans.

She arrived in London speaking no English, but by 1950 she was exhibiting at the Royal Academy and soon became a British citizen. In 1953, through Sir Jacob Epstein, she cast three statues for the Festival of Great Britain. In the same year, she met Augustus John and executed portrait busts of Dorelia. She instructed John in the techniques of sculpture and clay modelling, which he took up in his later years. From 1961 to 1963, she worked closely with her mentor, Mr Lipchitz (who has a room devoted to him in the new Tate Modern).

However, during the late 1960s, she suffered a period of withdrawal after the death of her mother, and it was not until she began the restoration of Peralta that she recovered from this and renewed her artistic contacts with her native Italy.

Sculptures in marble, clay and bronze can be found throughout the restored hamlet, and the holiday houses range from the grand to the more modest. Guests are a mixture of crisply-blazercd Americans and modest travellers. Our apartment (Casa Nuova) adjoined the studio complex and had a wonderful view over the valley. It also had its own large kitchen and a sitting room which opened onto a private terrace. This was filled with sculptures, drawings and prints and felt totally secluded, despite the fact that there must have been at least a dozen other guests around. The apartment proved to be the perfect base for exploring Pietrasanta, Carrara, Lucca and Florence. There is also a warm swimming-pool, with yet another remarkable view.

These apartments help to pay for the upkeep of Peralta and arc often used by groups of artists. In addition, many art courses are run from here. There is a bar, a breakfast room and a vine-clad terrace, while for other meals visitors are directed to one or other of the many excellent, local restaurants in the surrounding villages and cities. My favourite was Leo's in Lucca.

Every corner and every wall bears some figurative or abstract sculpture, which merges with the stone of the buildings, the worn steps, the olive groves, the lemon trees and the jasmine—which themselves blur the edges of the buildings. On the principal terrace stands a large, fluid bronze called the Phoenix. This represents the rebuilding of Peralta and the renewing qualities of the human spirit, for which Miss de Henriquez has aimed, successfully, during her creative life.

Jeremy Musson - Country Life - Winter 2002.
Photos Courtesy of Country Life Photographic Archive