Set up inside Scontrone’s municipal palace, the Mountain Museum brings together some 130 works including paintings, sculptures and photographs created by artists who participated in the National Poetry and Literature Prize named after Teofilo Patini, established in 2003 by the Alto Sangro and Altopiano delle Cinquemiglia Mountain Community. The works, which are the result of the first and second editions of the prize, deal with themes related to the difficult living and working conditions of mountain people, returning an authentic and touching fresco of high-altitude culture.
The museum also houses significant works by Fabrizio Sclocchini, including pieces from the “Walls as History” collection, and works from the various cultural events that have enlivened the village. Indeed, some sculptures and compositions enrich the streets of Scontrone, making the walk through the alleys a unique artistic experience.
The Prize is dedicated to Theophilus Patini, a great master born in Castel di Sangro in 1840, a painter who knew how to recount the misery and strength of Abruzzo’s peasant civilization at the end of the 19th century, transforming painting into an instrument of social denunciation. In nearby Castel di Sangro, the Pinacoteca Patiniana houses many of his works, including the famous “Bestie da soma,” a masterpiece of inestimable historical and artistic value.