Nereo Costantini: Verona Sculptor of Juliet Statue and Artistic Legacy
On August 5, 1969, the sculptor Nereo Costantini passed away in Verona at the age of 64. To most Nogara residents, this name doesn’t say much. Only a few in the town know something about him.
Most Famous Works and Collaborations
Yet, his last work, known worldwide, has become one of Verona’s symbols beloved by tourists: we are talking about the bronze statue of Juliet, in the courtyard of what is believed to be her house, immortalized by Shakespeare.
Nereo Costantini, before moving to Verona in 1938, lived and worked in Caselle di Nogara, where he was born on December 13, 1905. His family had cultivated the land for generations. At 17, recognizing his skill in modeling the damp clay torn from the marshland surrounding his town, he was sent to Verona to study at the Accademia Cignaroli, funded by Mr. Milani, the owner of the land where the Costantini family worked.
Artistic Career
Here, he quickly became one of the most brilliant students, demonstrating remarkable artistic talents and earning the admiration of his teachers for his vigorous yet innovative approach to portraiture. During this period, he founded, in Nogara, with the painter Rolando Colombini, the Circolo artistico nogarese, which enlivened local culture through various initiatives for several years.
At 33, Costantini was invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale, one of the most prestigious art exhibitions in the world, a destination dreamed of by painters and sculptors. He soon gained attention from critics by participating in national shows and winning numerous awards.
His studio, frequented by leading Veronese artists, was located on the side of the church of San Procolo, near the basilica of San Zeno. Costantini dedicated his entire life to his work as a sculptor, enriching Verona, Italy, and many foreign countries with commemorative and funeral monuments, bronze statuettes, and portraits.
Works and Locations of Creation
In Verona, among many works, he created a “Via Crucis” in bas-relief for the church of Santa Maria Antica, a baptismal font, a bronze statue depicting the Madonna, a crucifix, and marble bas-reliefs for the parish church of Golosine.
In Dachau, Germany, in the votive temple, he crafted a frieze whose subject urges not to forget the atrocities committed there during the last world war. Some of his works are part of private collections in America, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden.
Works in Africa and Local Testimonials
Costantini left his artistic mark also in Africa, where in 1961 he executed some works in the Addis Ababa cemetery in Ethiopia. In Nogara, where his sister and other relatives still live, many of his works can be admired: two bas-reliefs in the San Rocco small temple, depicting the Unknown Soldier of World War I and missionary Reginaldo Giuliani; the bust of Gaetano Terzo Franceschetti, located in a garden at a crossroads; two cherubs in plaster placed on the altar of the main church in Caselle, as well as numerous portraits, bas-reliefs, and decorations created for private citizens in the local cemetery.
Nereo Costantini was also a distinguished medalist. His production in this particular technique is almost entirely dedicated to the history of his adopted city. In the fall of 1972, the Municipality of Verona hosted a commemorative exhibition of his works at the Castelvecchio museum.
His native town remembered him about twenty years ago by dedicating a street in the city center to him.