Roof gargoyle

History of the work

In front of the house at Münstergasse 39, five-franc coins lie on the cobbles. Anyone who bends down to pick one up gets wet from above: from the roof of the old-town house, an installation by Luciano Andreani spits water into the street, every eight seconds according to a report by Swiss broadcaster SRF. The City of Bern's register lists it as 'Dachspeier' (Roof Spout) from 1984, made of various materials; it is better known as the 'Wasserspeier' (Water Spout).

The dates given for its creation differ. The city gives 1984, the photo description on Wikimedia Commons 1984 and 1993. SRF reported in 2024 that Andreani made the installation in 1992 for his exhibition 'Wasserspeier'. Two years later, when Bern was arguing about good and bad taste in art, he and the owner of the house hung the spout over the street in a night-time action. The police came by briefly, the report says, but accepted the explanation that it was art.

The installation hangs thirteen metres above the street and is connected to water and electricity. Every spring the artist and the house owner mount it on the roof, and in winter the technology needs a lot of care. In April 2024 the two offered the work to the city as a gift. The city first declined; three months later, after an enquiry from Swiss television, the city's culture office stated that the principles of its cultural strategy also applied here. Because the spout is fixed to a private house, there are questions of liability; the city said it would look for a creative solution for taking it over.

Luciano Andreani was born in Como on 28 January 1947. SIKART describes him as a sculptor who also works with performance and installation. According to SRF he worked in Bern for fifty years; he calls the spout his main work. If you want to watch, stand at a safe distance and wait until someone bends down for the coins.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SRF News, 13.7.2024: Künstler will Stadt Bern sein Hauptwerk schenken – diese winkt ab · SIKART: Luciano Andreani · Wikimedia Commons: Installation Dachspeier (Luciano Andreani 1984/1993)