Three Wonderful Art Parks to Visit Between Tuscany and Lazio
Tuscany is known worldwide for its close relationship between territory and art. Since the Middle Ages, its magnificent territories have welcomed works of art and extensive landscape projects, attracting a large number of artists and creatives to explore these lands, to leave their personal mark. This predisposition to the dialogue between art and landscape has continued to be expressed over time, giving rise to numerous public and private realities that stage this happy union. Over the years, artists, companies, collectors, and public entities have promoted unique projects and structures that today constitute a heritage waiting to be discovered. We Wealth proposes a rich itinerary that will accompany you to discover three famous art parks between Tuscany and Lazio through a territory rich in artistic vocation.
Spoerri Garden
The Park was born in the early 1990s from the strong desire of the artist Daniel Spoerri to create a magical place where nature and sculpture could merge, creating a unique environment. This splendid garden is located in southern Tuscany, on a large estate on the slopes of Monte Amiata in the municipality of Seggiano. In ancient maps, this place was called “Paradise,” and it remains a true paradise with its lush vegetation. Over the years, Spoerri has continued to enrich his park with sculptures and new installations involving a large number of international artists.
Eva Aeppli, L’autre coté
113 works by 55 artists
To date, the garden boasts 113 installations by 55 renowned artists such as Erwin Wurm, Not Vital, Paul Wiedmerr, Roland Topor, Jean Tinguely, Andre Thomkins, Patrick Steiner, Paul Talman, Mauro Staccioli, Daniel Spoerri, Carolein Smit, Jesus Rafael Soto, Esther Seidel, Martin Schwarz, Pavel Schmidt, Nora Schopper, Uwe Schloen, Kimitake Sato, Dieter Roth, Susanne Runge, Rosa Roedelius, Bernhard Pras, Josef Pleier, Graziano Pompili, Meret Oppenheim, Katrin Plavcak, Birgit Neumann, Josef Maria Odermatt, Aldo Mondino, Luigi Mainolfi, Luciano Massari, Angelo Maineri, Bernhard Lunginbhul, Ursi Lunginbhul, Zoltan Ludwig Kruse, Juliane Kuhn, Jurgen Knubben, Dani Karavan, Nam June Paik, Alfonso Huppi, Johann Wolfgang V. Goethe, Luciano Ghersi, Karl Gerstner, Oliver Estoppey, Katharina Duwen, Ugo Dossi, Herbert Distel, Erik Dietman, Giampaolo Di Cocco, Thomas Blumer, Roberto Barni, Ay-o, Till Augustin, Arman, Eva Aeppli.
To fully appreciate all the installations, it is essential to carve out a couple of hours to walk in the immense park and discover the numerous sculptures scattered throughout the area, hidden in the shade of dense groves and small clearings. Shortly after the beginning of the path, on top of a small hill with a wonderful view of the valley, you will be captivated by the magnificent bronze installation created by Spoerri, entitled “Unicorns Navel of the World.” This is one of the first installations created in the park, depicting a series of horse skulls characterized by long narwhal horns. The sculptures are stretched towards the sky and placed in a circular structure. If you have the opportunity to visit this installation at sunset, you will be enveloped in a unique alchemical atmosphere
Unicorns Navel of the World
Continuing, you will find Olivier Estoppey’s installation entitled “Dies Irae,” where a vast group of 160 geese run under the olive trees, chased by three gigantic drum players.
Dies Irae
There is also the interactive work that confuses the visitors’ senses by Spoerri, titled “Chambre n.13 de l’Hôtel Carcassonne Paris.” It is a life-size bronze reproduction of the Parisian room where Daniel Spoerri’s artistic adventure began. The structure is striking and disorienting, causing an immediate sense of vertigo with the clear feeling of being at the center of an enchantment.
Chambre n.13 de l’Hôtel Carcassonne Paris
The observer is projected into a private and intimate dimension provoked by the presence of a multitude of objects that belonged to its host. The beauty of the works and the natural richness make the walk in the Garden exciting for art lovers, families, and children alike. In 1977, Daniel Spoerri’s Garden was officially recognized as a non-profit cultural foundation by the Italian Ministry of Culture. The park can be visited from Easter to October.
Jurgen Knubben, Due lenticchie d’acciaio e cinque geodi
Tarot Garden by Niki de Saint Phalle
This extraordinary park, located on the border between Tuscany and Lazio, was born from the idea of the eclectic French artist Niki de Saint Phalle and is inspired by Antoni Gaudí’s Parc Güell in Barcelona. The artist considered the Tarot Garden her great life’s work, working on its completion for almost 20 years between 1979 and 2002, the year of her death. This magical park contains 22 sculptures of monumental structure, some of which are even habitable. For several years, the artist herself lived in the Empress’s sculpture. The colorful structures are covered with mosaics made of ceramics and glass from Murano, Czechoslovakia, and France..
The Sun, ph. ©Peter Granser
The central theme of the park, as the name suggests, is that of tarot cards. The 22 sculptures are inspired by the Major Arcana. The artist has repeatedly stated that “the garden, like her life, is just like a deck of Tarot cards: one never knows what one might encounter.” The artist decided to create the park independently, paying for it personally and creating a local team that is still active today. Saint Phalle also invited artists such as Jean Tinguely, Rico Weber, Seppi Imhof, and Venera Finocchiaro to participate in the construction of this great work.
The magical space inside the Magician’s sculpture was painted by the artist Alan Davie, while Pierre Marie Lejeune created the ceramic benches integrated into the garden. The sculpture inside the Priestess was created by Marina Barella. Many works, such as the machine representing the lightning striking the Tower of Babel, the Wheel of Fortune, and the sculpture inside Justice, were created by Jean Tinguely in close collaboration with Saint Phalle, while the alchemical glass containers for sacred waters are signed by Jackie Matisse.
La Giustizia. ©Peter Granser
During these twenty years of commitment, all the artists involved, guided by Saint Phalle, worked using ancient traditional techniques, creating each work manually. This stay within the park and the teamwork created a second magic, that of “family.” This work allowed an intimate union of the people involved and the realization of a larger life project. The enthusiasm generated by the realization of this unique garden has triggered an energy that can still be perceived when visiting.
Sacred Wood of Bomarzo
This spectacular garden is located at the foot of Monte Cimino and is a unique work in the world. The park was designed in 1552 by the great architect Pirro Ligorio commissioned by Prince Vicino Orsini with the aim of “venting the heart,” broken by the death of his wife Giulia Farnese. In Bomarzo, the work was completed in 1585. This park, also known as the Park of Monsters, can be considered the oldest sculpture park in the modern world. What is most striking about this mysterious garden is the impossibility of placing it within historical and stylistic schemes.
Casa pendente
Scholars from various fields have made several attempts to translate the symbols within the garden, and although they have found references to ancient themes and Renaissance literature, they have never decoded a coherent interpretive scheme. The Sacred Wood represents a unique example in the architectural-naturalistic culture of the sixteenth century, where sculptures, detached from perspective and proportional relationships, give life to a maze of illusions and allusions. The contrast between the refined Italian gardens characterized by geometric rationality in full Mannerist style and the eccentric grove conceived by Prince Orsini seduces and fascinates the visitor.
L’orco delle favole
Thus, terraces, fountains with water features, and Mannerist sculptures blend with large sculptures made on-site with blocks of peperino, representing enigmatic figures of menacing monsters, mythological subjects, alluring exotic animals, and dragons. The prince also had a leaning house built, a funerary temple, fountains, seats, and obelisks on which he had inscribed mottos and inscriptions.
Mascherone
The unique vision that characterizes this esoteric space arises from a singular and personal invention, thus transforming into a labyrinth of physical and intellectual symbols. This park of alchemical matrix can be placed in an intermediate area between art, magic, and literature, and its peculiar characteristic is that it stimulates the visitor’s imagination to an extraordinary degree. In 1585, after the death of the last Orsini prince, the park was abandoned. Only in the second half of the twentieth century did the couple Giancarlo and Tina Severi Bettini decide to restore it, and after their death, they were buried in the small temple inside the park, where it is believed that Giulia Farnese is also buried. In 1948, the park was visited by the artist Salvador Dalí, who defined it as a unique historical invention.
