Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, the creator of the bronze globe outside the Boland library, has died one day before his 99th birthday.
Granted an honorary degree from Trinity in 1992, College is in the possession of several further works by the artist, including a series of nine prints at the School of Genetics, and a scultpure in St. James’ Hospital.
Hailing from the northern region of Emilia-Romagna and known as ‘Il Maestro’ by his colleagues at the Fondazione Pomodoro in Milan, his work features in the Vatican, the Guggenheim, the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and the Vatican.
The Sfera represents the ‘ideal city’, and alongisde the sculpture at the entrance to the Boland library, there are 44 additional globes, which are dotted across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the US.
Preparations are underway to commemorate 100 years since the birth of Pomodoro, with the celebration to take place in 2026.
Catherine Giltrap, the curator and head of the Universioty Art Collections expressed her sympathies following the news, noting that the Sfera con Sfera “quickly became the embodiment of the modern era and a significant outward expression of the vitality of the connections between the historic and the contemporary at our University.”
“Il Maestro was delighted to know that his work formed part of the everyday life of students at Trinity as he was a great advocate of fostering educational links to the visual arts.”
