Had anybody told you that in Sicily there is a pyramid, would you have believed it?
To tell the truth, it would not be entirely wrong. It would have nothing to do with the ancient Egyptian burial sites or with the Mayan architecture. It is nearby the Tusa Castle, in the Messina district, where in 1982 the Fiumara d’Arte open-air sculpture museum, is born. A cultural itinerary that takes place all along the coast and in the hinterland, crossing the forests that are in between the Nebrodi and the Madonie and on the riverbank of the Tusa.
This project, constantly evolving, has included several artists both Italian and foreign.
Discover with Sicilying which are the sculptures that have been realized over the course of the years.
“THE MATTER MAY NOT HAVE BEEN”
Realised in 1986 in concrete by Pietro Consegna, it is a chromatic juxtaposition which highlights the existing link between man and environment.
“WINDOW ON THE SEA”
An actual window on the sea measuring 18m high that frames the sea. It was realized by Tano Festa and it is dedicated to his poet brother. It is an ode to color and childhood which are recurring themes in the artist’s work.
“THE GOLDEN BOAT ROOM”
Excavated inside a mountain, the “Golden Boat Room” is an extraordinary work filled with grandeur and beauty realized by the Japanese artist Hidetoshi Nagasawa.
It is a 35m long subterranean corridor covered in metallic slabs in which it is possible to catch a glimpse of the overturned outline of a boat covered in golden leaves and linked to the floor by its pink marble mast.
“ARETHUSA”
This decorative work has been realized by Piero Dorazio and Graziano Marini and it originates from the intent to change the face of a military building, such as the Carabinieri one. The two artists gave to the colorful ceramics the chance to redeem the greyness (and the abuses) of the Sicilian construction industry.
Hiking at Peloritani and Nebrodi?
“MEDITERRANEAN ENERGY”
A blue wave in the midst of the wilderness that link the mountain to the sea. It is a work by Antonio di Palma, it is made of cement and it really suggests the idea of the movement of a wave blown by the wind.
“ARIADNE’S LABYRINTH”
It’s a work by Italo Lanfredini and it is made of concrete in terracotta color.
It is a proper concentric labyrinth. As a physical path which also leads to metaphysical interpretations. A path that is impossible not to carry out entirely once we have started onto it. The concrete has not been levigated, hence the surface changes and gets transformed by the rain, wind and also visitors which continuously leave a trace of their passage.
Discover Nebrodi mounts by Jeep!
“A CURVE THROWN BEHIND OF TIME”
This piece of Paolo Schiavocampo, situated in a corner of countryside, consists of a monolith made of concrete and iron that imitates the movement of a sail blown by the wind and enveloping on itself.
“THE WALL OF BEAUTY”
National and international ceramist artists have united their craftmanship to requalify an old concrete wall on the provincial road Castel di Lucio-Mistretta. All artists have installed their own pieces in terracotta making this wall absolutely unique and pleasant.
“BREATH”
It is the most recent sculpture on the Fiumara d’Arte realized for the itinerary. The artist Giacomo Rizzo has realized this sculpture of 3×2 meters that withholds the “blueprint” of Mount Pellegrino. The peculiarity of this piece is that it has been recontextualized in Castel di Tusa and situated for the first time in a marine landscape.
“PYRAMID 38° PARALLEL”
The last piece of which we would like to talk, it is also the most unsual.
Pyraid 38° Parallel is a work by Mauro Staccioli, it is situated on a hilltop on the territory around Motta d’Affermo whose coordinates fall exactly onto the mathematical consistency of the 38th parallel.
The piece is composed by a titanic hollow tetrahedron made of Corten steel.
Partially inserted in the rocky territory, the pyramid presents a long fissure along the edge facing West which enhances and justifies its very specific position in the cosmic space.
As an inner lighthouse, a conscious witness of the cyclical and irreversible passing of time, it catches the sunlight passing through the fissure, recording inside its geometrical womb the light reverberation from the zenith at sunset.
The concept of immortality, properly carried by the Egyptian pyramids, we add here the more responsible notion of transitory responsibility, through which the artist celebrated life in its continual yearning for eternity.
