Panel 4: A Difficult Dream to Capture At age 15, Simon was sent to Pennsylvania to work in the coal mines with his brother. Why did Rodia Build a Boat? A stylized boat is included in the Gigli Festival, representing the one that brought the bishop back to his people. The Watts Towers resemble the icons used in the festival so closely that they are considered the likely inspiration for his work. Organized by craft guilds, the festival featured a procession of tall, pointed towers made of wooden rings covered with paper and carried through the town on the shoulders of the village men. It’s likely they visited the nearby village of Nola, where he would have witnessed a unique celebration called the Gigli Festival, held there since the late Middle Ages., Gigli Festival An annual religious festival held in Nola, Italy, historically celebrating the return of a well-loved bishop after his travels. Panel 3: Lasting Memories of Childhood A native of Ribottoli, Italy, “Sabato” Rodia was born on February 12, 1879, into a farming family. Nuestro Pueblo Italian for “Our Town.” This phrase is spelled out in glass pieces and was also scribed directly into the mortar. When Rodia stopped work on the Towers in 1954, he named them Nuestro Pueblo., Tile Setter A person skilled in precisely, and quickly, placing decorative tiles in wet mortar. He began his towers in 1921, working by himself on evenings, weekends and holidays for the next 34 years. A self-taught laborer from Italy, he had a singular goal in life: “I had in my mind I’m gonna do something, something big.” He made his living as a cement worker and tile setter on construction jobs by day. Panel 2: Unconventional Life, Unconventional Art Simon Rodia has been referred to as a visionary and a man of great passion. Panel 1: Watts Towers California Historical Landmark No.
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