César Dapena Pichel

Stone masonry, Stone carving, Vaults and arches made of stone,Stone roofs, Dry stone, Cobblestone pavements, Stone, ceramic or other types of flooring, Furnaces and kilns, Training, Rubble masonry walls

NAME:

César Dapena Pichel

ADDRESS:

Polígono dos Airios 40 – 15320, As Pontes

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK

César Dapena Pichel carries out both masonry and ornamental stonework as well as sculpture. For both purposes he uses as raw material a wide range of granites from Galicia, even if he also uses other characteristic stones from the surrounding areas of Cabo Ortegal, such as the toelo (serpentinized Peridotite), ollo de sapo (geological formation of northern Spain), quartzite or marble from Mondoñedo, depending on the requirements of each project. After having spent the past 27 years carrying out the craft, he lovingly remembers his grandparents, who were also stonemasons: Manuel Dapena Bértolo and Manuel Pichel López. They were only able to show him very little but were able to grow within him a strong passion for the art of masonry.

APPRENTICESHIP

He trained to become a stonemason at the Escola de Canteiros in Pontevedra (1990).

TEACHING

He currently works in his workshop although he spent several years training as a master in stone work at the school-workshop of As Pontes and Viveiro and in the workshops for employment in Ortigueira and Castro de Rei. He also taught the craft in the Masonry Course of the Universidade Rural do Eume.

SELECTED WORKS

He has taken part in the restoration of the Cathedral of Santiago, doing stone works for the balcony of Fonseca and in the towers – North (Carraca Tower) and South (Bell Tower). He has carried out both disassembly and assembly works. There is a reference to him in the Gran Enciclopedia Gallega, volume 34.

Other works worth highlighting are:

Pedras Armeiras (coats of arms): Almudebar (Zaragoza), Agro de Bazán (Vilanova de Arousa), Modia (Miño), Centro Galego in London, Real Coro Toxos e Froles (Ferrol), etc.

Cruceiros: San Pedro de Eume, Aparral, Praza do Carme (As Pontes); Covas (Ferrol), Cachafeiro (Forcarei), etc.

Sculpture: Uxio Novoneyra, Praza Lesneven, Praza Carmarthen, Sr. Eladio Pico, etc.

Stone works, buildings and rehabilitations: façade in Meloxo (Ogrove), dwelling in a Zapateira (A Coruña), restoration Muiño de Severiano (As Pontes), façade Cipriano Abella (Cariño), stone works and restoration works at the Casa do Cabido (Compostela).