Walter S. Arnold, Sculptor/Stone Carver: Classically trained in Italy. Custom hand-carved stone sculpture. Made in the USA and Italy.

Walter S. Arnold Sculptor/Stonecarver: Classically trained in Italy. Custom hand-carved stone sculpture. Made in the USA and Italy.Classically trained in Italy. Custom, hand-carved, stone sculpture. Made in the USA and Italy.    Call for an estimate:  (847) 568-1188  or  Fely@stonecarver.com
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The Gargoyles and Grotesques of Orvieto, Italy:



Orvieto is an ancient Italian hill town about one hour North of Rome.
Wandering the narrow streets you will come across many wonderful architectural details.
Many of the buildings are built of the local Tufa stone, a porous volcanic rock.

Bacchus arch keystone

door handles from the Antico Trattoria Etrusca

Wrought iron dragons

arguing with a gargoyle

I'm arguing with a gargoyle fountain to figure out who is uglier. Guess who lost.

Bronze door knocker with a cross-eyed tiger

three faces appear in this crest

very strange face on a carved stone bracket

Wrought iron dragon

wind god on a ceramic pot

dolphin column capital

This unique dolphin column capital shows that there is more to life than just Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.


The Cathedral of Orvieto

The Cathedral took 300 years to build, starting in 1290.
The front of the cathedral has incredible carved marble with very elaborate mosaic inlays.
Gargoyles protrude from the walls, parapets and spires. Inside are the famous frescoes of Luca Signorelli.

Cathedral spires with gargoyles extending out from the corners


True gargoyles drain water from the cathedral roof and parapets,
jutting out from the base of the spires and from the walls of this church.

a dog or lion gargoyle on the cathedral facade


Looking up the cathedral you see gargoyles jutting out from all sides and from the roof.

Looking up the front of the cathedral, gargoyles jut out at the top

Elaborate twisted marble columns

These marble columns were carved with precise twist forms and inlaid with geometric mosaics.
The math and measuring required for these elaborate shapes is quite impressive.
This cathedral displays a vast range of creativity examples of stone work.

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