Taliesin West closes temporarily after Brazilian visitor killed in wind accident
Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West in Arizona has closed temporarily after a visitor was killed there on Friday afternoon.
The closure was confirmed on 19 October, three days after the accident. ARTnews reported that the historic property would remain shut for now.
The visitor was Rogério Renato Mateucci, a university rector from Brazil. In Brazil, a rector is the head of a university. Local media in Arizona described him as a university official who was travelling in the United States.
He was taking an organised walking tour of Taliesin West when the accident happened. AZ Family reported that he died on Friday afternoon during the tour.
Strong winds lifted building material from a roof at the site. That material struck Mateucci in the head. He died at the property.
Police linked the accident to sudden high winds. 12News reported the death as a weather-related accident involving material blown from the roof in Scottsdale. AZ Central reported that the blow was to the head and that Mateucci was a Brazilian university rector.
Taliesin West is Wright's historic home in Arizona. It operates as a public site where visitors walk through the buildings on guided tours. Two Arizona news outlets described it in those terms when reporting the death.
The property is owned by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The Foundation also owns Taliesin in Wisconsin. That second property was Wright's home in that state.
Both Taliesin West in Arizona and Taliesin in Wisconsin are designated as national historic landmarks. The term means they are officially recognised by the United States for their historic importance. It is a formal heritage status, not a description of the architecture itself.
Wright died in 1959, according to the Foundation. The two homes have since been kept as places where visitors can learn about his life and work.
News of the accident was first reported by local television and newspapers in Arizona on 17 and 18 October. The arts press then confirmed the temporary closure on 19 October. That later report is the most up-to-date account of the site's status.
A temporary closure means the site is shut for a short period rather than permanently. No permanent change to public access has been announced. The Foundation has not published a reopening date, and visitors are being asked to check for updates before travelling.
The death has been felt in Brazil as well as Arizona. Mateucci's university role made him well known at home. For now, the gates in the desert remain closed.
