Viagem ao Centro do ceu e da terra Cildo Meireles, 2002

For the edition of Arte all’Arte VII, Vicente Todolì ha invitato Cildo Meireles che ha realizzato “Viagem ao Centro do ceu e da terra” ospitata nell’Orto de’ Pecci, s’inserisce come un segno inedito nel profilo di una città così conosciuta come Siena.

"(…) On the occasion of Arte all’Arte, the work of the Brazilian artist found a perfect placement in a garden very close to the historic center of the city. It is a quiet space, a true island of peace managed by the Comunità dell’Orto dei Pecci, which for years has welcomed people facing issues related to mental health distress. In this context, the care of a collective garden becomes a concrete opportunity to carry out work that activates responsibility, requires attention, and respect for the rhythms of the earth—all elements that develop according to a different logic compared to the fast pace of tourism that literally consumes art cities and beyond. The staircase, soaring upward (Viaggio al centro del cielo e della terra), is thus inserted as an unprecedented sign compared to the well-known profile of the city, almost suggesting a modification to the usual paths taken by visitors approaching Siena to see its historical monuments, and who rarely come into contact with the daily life of its residents, with everything that gravitates outside the sphere of tourism, and even less so with those living in marginal conditions and who, by definition, belong to what is deemed not appropriate to occupy too prominent a position. Cildo Meireles’s intervention takes on a particular connotation precisely in relation to this activity and the condition of the people who carry it out, proposing a change to the usual paths of both tourists and the inhabitants of Siena themselves, who can reach it by following a small side street that descends from Piazza del Campo, or by entering through the gate of the former psychiatric hospital.

It is a light sign that invites those who are below, in every sense, to lift their gaze upward—and vice versa. Around the base of the staircase, a reflecting pool suggests depth: an equally explicit poetic suggestion not to stop at the surface, not to lose contact with the earth…"

Vicente Todolì, “Arte all’Arte VII”, 2002