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The Fundación Centro Cultural Altos de Chavón is very sad to announce that Roberto Coppa, the designer of Altos de Chavón has died.
The Fundación Centro Cultural Altos de Chavón regretfully announces the passing of Roberto Coppa, at the age of 87 years, on the 1st of August 2010, in Gallipolo, Italy. Roberto was born in Rome and spent most of his professional life in Italy and the Dominican Republic.
His great talent as a designer and set designer of films will stay conserved in many Italian films, opera and ballet productions. Coppa worked for many years with the famous Italian directors Federico Fellini and Luciano Visconti.
The designer arrived in this country to decorate the house of his friends Silvana Mangano and her husband, the cinema producer Dino De Laurentiis. Here he met Charles Bluhdorn, then president of Gulf & Western, and so began his involvement in the project Altos de Chavón.
During the construction of the ‘Villa de los Artistas; he worked with hundreds of local artisans. The process of building Altos de Chavón was extended for a full decade, during which time Coppa’s vision and obsession with detail, his perfectly balanced designs and excellence influenced Dominican artists and artisans, who are still today very successful.
The influence of his style will forever remain in La Romana; those who knew him and worked with him recognize that it was with his unique and extraordinary talent; his vision and tireless perseverance that made the creation of Altos de Chavón possible, now a worldwide tourist destination.
