People
A prolific painter, Father Bruno Segatta often captures the cities and countrysides of Italy.
Man on the Move
Father Bruno, Va Piano and the Art of Carrying Everything You Own in a Backpack By Gillian Frew / Photos by Joe Tierney Maverick. atypical. Renaissance man. these are just a few ways friends and former students describe father Bruno segatta, the italian-born priest beloved by generations of students who studied under his tutelage at Gonzaga University’s campus in florence, italy. even after parting ways with Gonzaga, segatta has remained in close contact with many of these former students, traveling from seattle to spokane to san francisco to perform marriages and baptize babies. “i have students all over the country,” he says. “i go where they need me.” an artist by trade, segatta is a prolific paint-
er, with many of his colorful expressionist landscapes and cityscapes depicting his native italy. he’s also a master chef (he calls himself a “blue collar chef”), artisan-bread baker and roaming humanitarian who speaks five languages and has no fixed address. Born in trento and raised in a Catholic orphanage, segatta attended seminary in Germany before moving to Boise, idaho, where he stayed with a host family, picking up english from soap operas and country music. he says joining the ministry was a “byproduct of growing up in an orphanage.” now 70, segatta has backpacked the Gaza
strip to teach art classes for palestinian kids and founded a charity to support an orphanage in nairobi. he’s known for trading in his vestments for jeans and a t-shirt, and his teaching style draws on art as a form of therapy. “i want to discover where my students are coming from and build on that,” he says. “so i just give them a brush and let them go at it.” a few times a year, he makes his way to walla walla, where he stays with Justin and liz wylie, owners of va piano vineyards. Justin met segatta when he was studying abroad in florence, and the experience prompted him to Continued on pg. 34 > Wall a Wall a Lifest yLes 33