Legame immisurabile (Unmeasurable bond) translates as a relationship of constant exchange between counteracting conditions and forces, actions and reactions, that control the cosmos.
At the small village of Sant’ Angelo Muxaro in Sicily, a spiral bench of wood is supported by a series of siamese twin vases. The spiral is a form of infinite expansion, and clay’s fragility enhances an experience becoming a pillar for new thoughts. The work becomes a place for rest and an opportunity for the community to gather and celebrate its history and identity. It is an invitation for participation, a meeting place where people can share dreams, ideas and hopes for the future, creating an emotional and spiritual connection with the places and cultures of the past.
The origins of Sant’Angelo Muxaro (AG, Italy) run back to ancient times. The archaeological relics reveal human settlements in prehistoric, Hellenistic and Arabian periods.
Baratto & Mouravas found fertile ground for their research in this location, during the site visit for Una Boccata d’Arte, they had the opportunity to explore the link between past and present, a recurrent theme in their artistic practice which they define as “Archaeodreaming,” and which explores the relationships between archaeology, dreams and mythology. From their engagement with the village, a universe of references, forms and archetypes emerged, culminating in the design of a spiral-shaped seat alongside the entrance to the primary school.
The organic form of the spiral encourages reflection on the cyclic patterns of time and on human experiences, representing nature’s lush growth and its perpetual motion.
A visual and sensorial short circuit is created as Baratto & Mouravas employ, as the support for their seat, a loose interpretation of an amphora with cusped handles, observed at the Agrigento Archaeological Museum and originating from the cave Grotta Capreria, dating back to the 11th century B.C. These amphorae, originally used for rituals and funerary purposes, become structural elements, giving the objects new meanings, underlining the passage of time and the continuity of cultural expressions.
Text by Giulia Monroy
Imagining new functions that archaeological artefacts could have in public space, the work re-interprets the vases found in the local necropolis as the supports for a spiral bench where there is an immeasurable bond of summer chatter and caresses, between cicadas and shooting stars.
About the small village:
Perched on a chalky hill in the Sicani Mountains, Sant’Angelo Muxaro was founded around the 16th century, in an area so ancient that myth and history are intertwined into a unique tapestry. The hillside slopes feature numerous cave tombs, dating back to the 9th century B.C.: a vast necropolis of what must have been a flourishing Sican settlement from the Bronze and Iron Ages.
The largest protohistoric tomb in Sicily is also located here: the “Tomb of the Prince” consists of a double circular chamber, the first of which is 9 metres in diameter and over 3 metres high with a tholos dome, similar to the royal Mycenaean tombs of comparable age in Greece.
Monte Castello is the site of what remains of an ancient Arab stronghold Qalàt al-Mushar’àh (giving origin to the name Muxaro), probably built on the remains of another Bronze Age fortress: Kamikos, the fortress-city of the Sican king Kòkalos, may have stood here. According to legend, Kòkalos hosted Daedalus, the ingenious architect who fled from Crete and built superb fortifications for the king.
Caves of speleological and naturalistic interest can be seen in the Grotta Sant’Angelo Reserve. At the same time, the fascinating “Vallone del Ponte” karst system unfolds along a valley with a tributary of the Platani River.