He disappeared suddenly. Funeral on Saturday at 11am in the Cathedral
by Cristiana Vallarino
From now on Civitavecchia will shine less. There will no longer be the thousand lights that Manlio Midio composed and enriched in his creations, original lamps of all sizes and shapes and made with the most varied materials. From egg containers to cans of peeled tomatoes, from pieces of glass to wrought iron, from plastic bottles to Vienna straw.
Manlio passed away suddenly at the age of just 71 (he had turned 27 on March 27). His passing moved hundreds and hundreds of people who wrote messages of condolence and esteem on social media for an artist more than a craftsman. A good person, an animal lover and always available to collaborate with others for the good of his city, for which he had created several works. Like the one in Via Trieste in memory of the victims of the bombing of 14 May 1943 or the mosaic with the Zodiac on the sundial in Piazza Fratti.
After attending the Art Institute, in the early 1970s he opened his first workshop (in via Cialdi, then in Lungoporto Gramsci). The older citizens of Civitavecchia will also remember the Biba’s shop. He spent his days among tools and work tables, when he wasn’t dedicating himself to his great passion for the sea and windsurfing boards of which he was one of the very first skilled practitioners in Civitavecchia, together with Cinzia Ceccarelli, then his life partner and mother of son Alessandro, who has lived in Sweden for some time.
In his long career Manlio Midio has built frames, set up shop windows and set designs (his collaboration with the stylist Franco Ciambella was fruitful, but also with the Municipality for events such as “Un fiore sul mare” or the Padellone). He also enjoyed making costumes for children’s theater shows. He has held various exhibitions, the one hosted by the Cittadella della Musica a few years ago was very beautiful. He did not fail to participate in the Rome Fair, in the annual edition of “Arti e Mestieri”, as “Manlio Midio. When art shapes light”. He was always present at TolfArte, bringing the wonderful lamps that still fill his current workshop in via Bernini.
In recent days he was busy with other local artists and writers in the creation of an original initiative “Art’è Parola”, which combines the creativity of painters, sculptors, photographers with that of authors of short stories. He was very active and ready to lend a hand in everything and for everything, as well as liaising with the author who had been assigned to him. The event, with the final exhibition in September, will take place. Naturally it will be dedicated to him.
The funeral on Saturday 18th at 11am, in the Cathedral.
Published Thursday, May 16, 2024 @ 16:22:19 © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
