Jàcum Pitor, whose real name was Giacomo Meneghini, was a wandering painter born in Cergneu in Nimis in 1851 and died in Udine in 1935. According to his nephew Giuseppe Cudiz of Nimis, interviewed by Andreina Ciceri in 1974, Giacomo, despite not having attended school, spoke Italian, Slovenian, Spanish, and German. Before dedicating himself to painting, Giacomo worked as a puppeteer, initially with a puppet company between Rovigno and Venice, and later on his own, performing in the squares of Trieste and Capodistria. Even after taking up painting, he did not abandon the world of imagination nor his passion for children. He painted on the internal and external walls of houses, taverns, and churches in the towns of the Torre and Natisone Valleys, in Cividale del Friuli and its surrounding areas. He carried his work tools and materials to hand-make his colors in a basket. Often, he only asked for food and lodging as compensation. His works included sacred and secular subjects, often accompanied by witty phrases, stemming from his constant use of irony and satire.
In Tercimonte, Jàcum Pitor painted two frescoes: the Nativity in a niche and the Crucifixion of Christ with three grieving figures (Madonna, Mary Magdalene, and St. John?). In Montemaggiore, he painted a Crucifixion with two praying figures (Madonna and St. John?), in Losaz he painted the Madonna with Child and in Dus, his paintings depict Saints Anthony of Padua, Abbot and Jesus.
