Angelo Caruso's COLOR EARTH Links Milan and Matera with Flower Plantings

Artist Angelo Caruso (born 1956 in Pisticci, Matera) launches COLOR EARTH, a community-driven urban regeneration project connecting Milan and Matera through symbolic flower plantings. Curated by City Art association in collaboration with Fondazione SoutHeritage for contemporary art and Open Design School, the initiative involves citizens in collective sowing events. In Milan, red poppies will be planted on March 23–24 along the median of Viale Monza to Sesto San Giovanni, referencing the city's red metro line (Linea 1) and aiming to bridge center and periphery. In Matera, sunflowers will be sown in April in the Agna Le Piane district near Casino Padula, a key site for Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture celebrations, creating a "routeflowers" to highlight neglected urban areas. Caruso's practice focuses on social activation and community integration through poetic, site-specific interventions. In 2017, his project "Colori di facciata" involved distributing colored umbrellas to residents of a building on Via Padova in Milan, temporarily transforming its appearance. COLOR EARTH seeks to draw attention to environmental stewardship and social-economic growth while improving urban quality of life.