In Trentino, artists transform themselves into “doctors” of small villages. And their works become recipes so as not to lose the collective memory

The patient on whom to intervene is the ecosystem that inhabits the territory. The virus to be defeated is the loss of collective cultural identity. The recipe consists in identifying original solutions capable of enhancing that cultural substratum of which every community, small or large, is the bearer. The doctors, in this case, are decidedly original: artists, architects, anthropologists, sociologists, designers, managers who report to “La Clinica dei Paese”.

A caravan of different skills that puts itself at the service of those territories that wish to undertake innovative and virtuous paths to recover and consolidate their cultural identity.

The last example of intervention, carried out in chronological order, had as its protagonist Ossana, a mountain municipality located at 1000 meters in the upper Val di Sole, in Trentino. For two weeks, five artists and other professionals from the Clinic worked side by side with the local population to develop a participatory project to be handed over as a legacy to the territory, entitled “The Earth becomes beautiful and says yes to Heaven”.

“The residence has created a temporary community and marked the beginning of a path towards the future” commented Pietro Micucci, president of La Clinica dei Paese. “Only by truly listening to communities can participatory projects be created, capable of tackling concrete problems and transforming dreams into reality. This project demonstrates that change comes from listening, comes from participation and grows in planning.”

The choice of Ossana is not random: both the municipal administration and the Val di Sole Tourism Company have joined the project. Two entities that, year after year, have invested in quality tourist proposals, on the cultural and naturalistic front . A path which includes the choice of the Municipality of Ossana to certify itself already in 2017 as one of the “most beautiful skies in Italy”, to make 98% of its lighting more efficient and to characterize itself on an Italian and international level for the 1600 exhibition nativity scenes distributed along the streets and buildings of the historic center, as well as in the splendid Castle of San Michele.

“I am convinced that the future of Italy lies in the wonders preserved by its towns and that the future of towns like Ossana coincides with the innovation of traditions, of the relationship with nature to recognize the specificities of a territory” comments the mayor of Ossana, Laura Marinelli. “With the Clinic project we have brought forward a vision where innovation and tradition, community and artists, north and south, meet and dialogue”.

During the two weeks of residency, the Clinic’s “Analysis Laboratory” team first conducted a social investigation into the identity of the town: this made it possible to outline important issues, such as coexistence with the bear, which raises concerns and generates debates on the future of the relationship between humans and wildlife.

In this sense, listening, discussion and interaction with the population were fundamental. Associations, individual citizens, students, entrepreneurs, artists have given their contribution to building together a dialogue of knowledge, of sharing actions that increase the quality of collective well-being.

From this marriage of artistic suggestions and intentions between the Clinic team and the local community, five internationally renowned artists interpreted the concept of the “health director”, Alessandro Turco, to construct a poetic narrative that symbiotically linked the elements of heaven and earth, a sort of reunion after the primordial separation.

The result is four works of art that will remain in the heritage of residents and tourists who visit Ossana: a mural by Alessandro Suzzi, alias Gods in Love, in which the Sky returns to join the Earth; an iron installation by artists Lorena Ortells and Giovanna Russo, which allows the visitor to listen to the “voices” of Heaven, creating an interaction between the natural environment and the community; a painting on wood in which La Rouille, one of the most important street artists in France, depicts the Earth in “a state of intoxication” because it has finally reunited, in a wingless flight, with Heaven.

And finally a spruce trunk, carved by the Roman artist Andrea Gandini to transform it into a symbol of life compromised by the senselessness of man: the bark beetle is depicted, a beetle that is condemning thousands of trees to death and is spreading from climate change.

There was no lack of metaphorical dialogue with the earth and the ancestral depiction of union with the sky, artistically curated by Lela Perez who, in representative places of the territory, involved the inhabitants of Ossana with her bodypainting.

“The successful outcome of this project confirms the importance of building synergies between different subjects but who have in common a vision of ‘gentle’ progress of the territories” commented Fabio Sacco, director of the ApT Val di Sole. “A progress that respects the identity value, of traditions, of culture, of the delicate ecosystems of an Alpine valley, but at the same time curious towards the new and open to the positive contaminations of different experiences. Stimulating the cultural liveliness of an area has a positive impact in tourism terms and at the same time increases the liveability of its residents”.

The relationship between Ossana and La Clinica dei Paese will continue to build a long-term project, coordinated by the project manager Martina Dell’Eva, originally from the area, giving substance to the idea of ​​creating a permanent “health center” in the Trentino area.

Among other things, in the next few weeks, projections relating to the pictorial work of Maestro Enrico Benaglia, “Io, come pluma in volo”, which pays homage to an artist who has always been a poetic interpreter, will be available in two rooms of the tower of the Castle of San Michele. of man’s relationship with Heaven.