The people of Vasto have always enjoyed surrounding themselves with beautiful things. This is evident in the stunning mosaics of the Roman baths, as well as in the paintings by Veronese and Titian that the d’Avalos family donated to the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.
In the 18th century, Vasto was called the “Athens of the Abruzzi,” precisely because of Marquis Cesare Michelangelo d’Avalos’s passion for art and literature. However, the love for the visual arts has always been strong, so much so that in the 19th century, Vasto contributed several painters to the Neapolitan academy. The most important of these, Filippo Palizzi, became the leading exponent of the Verismo movement.
In Vasto, the relationship with art is not limited to the “passive enjoyment” of past works. The city’s scenery—a true balcony over the sea—is so beautiful that many locals paint or sculpt in their free time.
Visual art in Vasto, therefore, is a daily experience. To share this aspect of our local culture, at Best Vasto we have given space to what we consider today to be the most significant artists of our region.
In our breakfast room, you can admire the magnificent ceramic mural “…e farò un sogno di mare” by Michela Monteodorisio. This Vasto-born artist, together with her husband Giuseppe Buono, runs the “Creta Rossa” studio and has, in recent years, carried out several redevelopment projects in the medieval Santa Maria district, creating wonderful views that are now among the favorite spots for both locals and tourists.
If you visit our restaurant “Taverna del Vasto”, housed in two rooms converted from workshops of an early 19th-century building, you will find a collection of works by the artist Paolo De Giosa, a masterful creator of portraits made on historical papers: notarial notes from 1801, newspapers from the 1960s, magazine clippings, and more.
In our other restaurant, “Osteria del Vasto”, you will find a collection by the dean of contemporary Vasto painters, Giuseppe Muzii, a skilled assembler of textured elements and color signs that evoke the nature of the city and, in particular, its coastline.
