Inspirational Art at our Inspiring Sonoma Coast Hotel

Benny Bufano’s Peace Obelisk at the Timber Cove Inn

Approaching the Timber Cove Inn from famed Sonoma Coast Highway 1, catch site of Beniamino “Bene” Bufano’s Peace obelisk, a towering, 93-foot homage to peace, the Sixties, and contemporary art.

Bufano lived all over the world—his native Italy, France, Japan—before settling in San Francisco where he resided rent-free thanks to a local shopkeeper. Inspired by what he saw as symbols of peace—the Madonna, children, hands—Bufano lived for art and the pursuit of creation. Embracing somewhat of a monastic life, he rarely kept money and saw no value in material life, often donating more art than he sold.

Bufano created a reputation for himself as a “genuine San Francisco character” in his later life. With lodging and meals provided for him, he dedicated his Golden Years to grand, large-scale projects including three huge mosaic murals. Though he died in 1970, his memory lives on in his art installations up and down the California coast.

The 93-foot tall Bufano Peace totem on the hiking grounds of the Timber Cove Inn is one of his most well-known works. A truly thematic creation, the statue depicts the Madonna and child with up-stretched hands, and overlooks the wild Sonoma coast and the deep blue Pacific Ocean.

We are proud to have a universal symbol of peace on our grounds and hope you will come experience the profound reverence of art, tranquility, and life at the Timber Cove Inn.