Antonio Presti's Porta delle Farfalle transforms Catania overpass into monumental ceramic artwork

The Porta delle Farfalle, a new monumental ceramic artwork by Antonio Presti, has been unveiled on the Librino overpass in Catania, Sicily. This 1.5-kilometer-long bas-relief sculpture, made from 100,000 terracotta tiles and featuring 50 artworks, extends the existing Porta della Bellezza installation inaugurated in May 2009. The project involved 15,000 local residents, including mothers, children, and associations, as well as 5,000 students from 20 Sicilian art high schools, who modeled the tiles over three years. The inauguration on April 14, 2023, coincided with the Giornata della Creatività, a day of performances including figurative arts, dance, music, and poetry, organized by teachers, students, and community members. Presti, founder of the Fondazione Fiumara d’Arte and creator of the Art Hotel Atelier sul Mare in Castel di Tusa, emphasized that the work aims to bring beauty and knowledge to the degraded neighborhood. The event may become an annual appointment for Sicilian schools to protect Librino.