04 Rusca Gardens and Rossi's "Toro" Sculpture

Texts by Rodolfo Huber

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The public garden in which we stand is dedicated to Giovan Battista Rusca, mayor of Locarno for more than forty years, from 1920 until his death in 1964.

Rusca had the honor of welcoming top European diplomats to the 1925 Conference. Rusca's role was that of master of ceremonies. Memorable was the short speech he gave in French at the opening of the diplomatic conference, in which he said:

"And allow me to express a wish: may success crown your efforts! This is the voice of a humble person speaking to you. But sometimes the humble have the privilege of being the echo of the secret aspirations of the great human family: which with its eyes on you asks that its dream of justice and peace be realized."

The personal relationships Rusca forged at the Peace Conference fortified his liberal-democratic, pro-European and anti-fascist spirit: values he defended with great determination throughout his political career, which also saw him for many years a National Councilor, that is, a member of the Swiss federal parliament in Bern.

In 1975, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1925 Peace Conference, sculptor Remo Rossi donated the "Toro" statue to the city. The work has no direct reference to the 1925 Conference, but according to the sculptor "expresses to the city the wish for a life always harbinger of fertility and progress."

The sculptor's gift stems from the idea that art is a universal language capable of spreading a discourse of peace and understanding among peoples.