Call for "Art on the Paths": a work by Maria Grazia Pontorno at the Monumental Beech Tree in Rivodutri
The Lazio Region launched in 2017 an innovative project for the creation and installation of contemporary artworks along the Paths of Spirituality that cross its territory. The initiative involved the world of artists and practitioners, who were called to measure themselves against the historical and spiritual values of the different Paths in order to create a series of artistic productions that interact and become harmoniously part of the natural and urban landscape.
Among the winning projects of the Arte sui Cammini call for entries is Mariagrazia Pontorno's Le radici auree. The Fondazione Mondo Digitale with Valentino Catricalà, artistic director of the Media Art Festival, curated its realization at the Faggio monumentale in Rivodutri.
THE GOLDEN ROOTS
by Mariagrazia Pontorno
Realization by: Digital World Foundation
Rivodutri (RI): Beech of St. Francis
The place identified to carry out the project is the path leading to the Beech of Rivodutri, in the province of Rieti, recently entered in the register of monumental trees and a historic pilgrimage destination. Indeed, legend has it that the beech tree genetically modified itself to protect Francis during a storm and that the saint left an imprint on the rock next door, which is still venerated today.
On the very path that leads to the Beech, Mariagrazia Pontorno has placed three bronze sculptures, made with local children and imagined as symbolic prostheses of the roots of the sacred tree, winding along the road also serving as seats for pilgrims on their way.
