CELTIC MOSAIC IN SYDNEY
by Elizabeth James
In
St. Mary’s cathedral, Sydney, there is an outstanding and beautiful mosaic
of immense dimensions. This was the accomplishment of a craftsman of true
ability, Peter Melocco, who after fifteen years of great perserverance, completed
the work in 1958. Many of his mosaics adorn some of the largest public buildings
within the city of Sydney but his last work was his masterpiece — the story
of Creation covering the floor of the Crypt of St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Beside Hyde Park,
far below the bows of living trees, there is a colonade standing like a petrified
forest with its branching arches supporting the massive structure of the cathedral.
The immense space created by the foundation pillars, is a dark silent vault,
but switch
Then, as the full
length of wall—lights illumine the Crypt, a long sweep of overwhelming color
spreads like a carpet of flowers. Stunned amazement grows to wondering delight
as the eyes focus on a multitude of scenes, intense in clarity and hue.
The
huge Celtic Cross extends from the Sanctuary to the door under the Cathedral
This
creation of beauty from materials hewn from the earth, was Peter Melocco’s
gift to his church. Melocco was a man of vision and one who achieved his dreams.
When he arrived in Sydney from Italy in 1908, he was a young man with only
two pounds in his pocket. As he sailed into Sydney Harbour past the lovely
bays and headlands, a fine piece of bushland caught his attention. At that
moment, he decided with a certainty and optimism that was characteristic of
him, that one day he would live there. In 1930, Peter Melocco moved into a
house which he built on that harbourside land.
Shortly after his
arrival, he heard that plans were being made for an Irish Saints Chapel in
St. Mary’s Cathedral, and that the mosaic work was to be imported from Italy.
He immediately offered his services to Cardinal Moran.The Cardinal demurred.
Before him was
a short, boyish young man with penetrating brown eyes, looking much younger
than his twenty five years. The proposed job was immense. Within a few weeks, Peter returned to him with
sketches and plans completed These were a Celtic design because he knew that
most Catholics in Australia were of Irish descent.(see footnote).
His execution of intricate detail so impressed the Cardinal that he commissioned
Peter for the job. Working on his own with limited breaks for meals and sleep,
he finished the Chapel within three months. The Cardinal was delighted by
the perfection of his work, also by the cost which was exactly half that of
an imported Italian mosaic.
From that time,
Peter Melocco was recognised as the expert in ancient Irish decoration, in
Sydney. Having proved his ability and improved his finances, he set up a business
of his own. Later the firm became Melocco Bros. when he was joined by his
younger brothers
Anthony
and Galliano. The whole family was reunited when their mother came to Australia
in 1925.
In the next twenty
five years, the Melocco brothers each working in his own specialized field,
beautified the interiors of many buildings in Sydney. Among these were large
banks in Martin Place, the State Theatre and the Interstate Booking Office
at Central Railway Station. Peter Melocco’s special pride was the terrazzo
and marble map of Abel Janszoon Tasman in the entrance hall of the Mitchell
Library.
All these works
were considerable achievements but St. Mary’s was Peter Melocco’s chief interest
it had given him a start and he longed to do one major work in mosaic for
the Cathedral. Following commissions to complete the bapistry and the font,
Cardinal Gilroy asked him to do the Crypt’s Sanctuary, the resting place of
some of Sydney’s Archbishops. For this, solid White Carrara Marble was used
in the altar and & local Wombeyan for the floor, Peter designed a most
delicate Florentine Mosaic set of slabs, in memory of each Archbishop. It
was while on this work that he realised the potential of the vast sandstone
floor stretching away for a hundred and fifty feet under the foundation pillars.
The cavernous roof loomed twenty—one feet above The Crypt was an empty colourless
vault waiting to be transformed.
When the Sanctuary
was completed, he approached Cardinal Gilroy describing his vision of a huge
Celtic Cross depicting the Seven days of Creation, to cover the full length
of the floor. The answer was the church had no money for such a work; all
savings would have to go towards the Cathedral spires.
Peter’s dream became
an obsession. Through his own efforts, the money was obtained from donations,
and he decided that his work and
time would be a gift to the Church. “There is no such thing as
impossible, it only takes a little longer,” thought Peter and this belief
sustained him in his quiet perserverance for sixteen years. Throughout the
l95Os he carried out the work in sections as funds became available. The whole
Crypt floor 11,850 square feet, was laid in Australian Cream Wombeyan Marble
and in a central position the design for the Cross, 140 feet long by 70 feet
wide, was marked out. Celtic designs were traced onto slabs of marble; marked
areas were sandblasted out and by the unique Scagliola technique developed
by Melocco from the old art called Scagliola Terrazzo the designs were filled
in with coloured chips mixed in cement these chips were made by artisans in
the workshop, using special hard cement and oxide colours. In this
way, it was possible to produce the bright colours, such as blue, which are
not found in marble. For every colour used in the designs, the process of
sandblasting and filling was repeated, sometimes as often as ten times in
a panel three feet by two feat, until the right colour shades were achieved.
Melocco was often
heard to quote a saying of Michelangelo’s “Trifles make perfection and perfection
is no trifle". This belief was so strongly held, that he maintained a
high standard in all his work. Even after the whole floor of the Crypt was
completed, he would relay sections if the colours did not entirely satisfy
him. He never rushed things, but always worked in a quiet, patient way. When
Peter Melocco died in 1961, the Cathedral was crowded, well beyond its doorways
by those who loved and admired this gentle dedicated man.
As
a work of inspiration, chiefly Celtic, the mosaic floor of St. Mary’s Cathedral
has no rival. It is as vivid today as when completed twenty years ago. There
are few churches even in Europe that have such a beautiful floor. It has been
compared with the amazing pictures of Prophets and Sibyls in the Cathedral
of Siena, but these are represented in black and white. The fine mosaic work
in the floors of some Roman churches, is hardly as ambitious as the floor
of the Crypt of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney In 1972, the work received international
recognition when a top award was given by the United States National Terrazzo
and Mosaic Association to Melocco Bros. in Sydney.