Palaexpo - Roma © Antonio Politano

István advises us not to move too much, «because beneath us the ground is full of holes and it could give way». The hill was his own propierty and he has dug thousands of galleries through the years, searching for stones. Then he sold some parts of the hills; he has only got the hilltop now, with his one-storey house in the middle which has been made into a jeweller’s laboratory. All around the house a garden with stone sculptures, computer keyboards, pieces of car engines, dummies. He came to Australia 50 years ago, escaping from the Soviet tanks that had invaded his Hungary in 1956, when he was an eighteen-year-old medicin student. «On the border with Austria, the Russians shot us and we had to bend down. There were 200 of us, but only seven made it». From Austria he then moved to France, where he stayed for three years. «I sailed to Adelaide to join an uncle who had emigrated there. I was going to resume my studies when, unbelievably, I met a friend from Budapest who asked me if I had heard about opals. He told me to forget about university because I would have soon become incredibly rich. The first years we couldn’t find much. But I owned the whole hill. I found the first stones while digging the ground to build a toilet»

István sculptures, exhibited in his courtyard

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	István raccomanda di non muoversi troppo, «perché sotto è tutto bucato, potrebbe crollare». La collina era tutta sua e negli anni l’ha bucherellata con mille gallerie, alla ricerca delle pietre. Poi ne ha vendute alcune parti; gli è rimasta solo la cima, con al centro la sua casa a un piano trasformata in un laboratorio da gioielliere e tutt’attorno un giardino con sculture fatte di pietra, tastiere di computer, pezzi di motore, manichini. È arrivato in Australia 50 anni fa. Era scappato dai carri armati sovietici che avevano invaso la sua Ungheria nel 1956, diciottenne studente di medicina. «Alla frontiera con l’Austria, i russi sparavano e dovevamo stare bassi. Eravamo 200 in fuga, ma solo in sette ci siamo salvati». Dall’Austria era poi passato in Francia, dove si fermò tre anni. «Per raggiungere uno zio emigrato, mi imbarcai per Adelaide. Stavo per riprendere gli studi in medicina, ma incredibilmente incontrai un amico di Budapest che mi chiese se conoscevo l’opale. Mi disse di scordarmi l’università perché sarei diventato un miliardario. I primi anni si trovava poco. Ma tutta la collina era mia. Ho trovato le prime pietre mentre facevo una buca per costruirmi un bagno» Le sculture di István, esposte nel cortile di casa	István advises us not to move too much, «because beneath us the ground is full of holes and it could give way». The hill was his own propierty and he has dug thousands of galleries through the years, searching for stones. Then he sold some parts of the hills; he has only got the hilltop now, with his one-storey house in the middle which has been made into a jeweller’s laboratory. All around the house a garden with stone sculptures, computer keyboards, pieces of car engines, dummies. He came to Australia 50 years ago, escaping from the Soviet tanks that had invaded his Hungary in 1956, when he was an eighteen-year-old medicin student. «On the border with Austria, the Russians shot us and we had to bend down. There were 200 of us, but only seven made it». From Austria he then moved to France, where he stayed for three years. «I sailed to Adelaide to join an uncle who had emigrated there. I was going to resume my studies when, unbelievably, I met a friend from Budapest who asked me if I had heard about opals. He told me to forget about university because I would have soon become incredibly rich. The first years we couldn’t find much. But I owned the whole hill. I found the first stones while digging the ground to build a toilet» István sculptures, exhibited in his courtyard