Segantini 01: Hotel Pianta

Segantini's arrival in Savognin

"On a summer day in 1886, a rather questionable-looking horse driver stopped in front of the Hotel Pianta in Savognin. A lean, dark-curly and long-bearded man of about twenty-eight years and a blonde graceful, a few years younger woman soon emerged from the vehicle. The strangers [...] were simply dressed and appeared modest and sympathetic. But there seemed to be something strange and unusual in her nature [...]. Finally it came out: the man was a painter from Milanese named Segantini and the blonde young woman was his partner. [...] Mr Segantini asked Mr Pianta if he could stay in the hotel with his family for a longer period of time. [...] So Segantini stayed with his wife in the Hotel Pianta for some time, [...] then went on to fetch the children – because he now wanted to stay completely in Savognin."

Aus «Giovanni Segantini – Sein Leben und sein Werk», Franz Servaes, Klinkhardt und Biermann, Leipzig 1916

The hotel and the Pianta family

Domenico Pianta came to Savognin from Poschiavo around 1840 as a policeman. In 1870 he dared to build the new Hotel Pianta. Three of his five children became hoteliers. Victor and Anton Pianta ran the Hotel Pianta in the second generation. Alfons Pianta became co-owner of the Grand Hotel in Venice - at that time the most magnificent and modern hotel in Venice. Today, the Hotel Danilo Pianta is managed by Clarita Klee-Pianta in the fourth generation.

Listen to the audio about Giovanni Segantini in Savognin. The audio file can be found at the back of the pictures. (Speaker: Gian Rupf).