Atelier del Paesaggio Wins Mantua's Parco dell'Arte Competition

Mantua, the 2016 Italian Capital of Culture, has been enhancing its territory and the art-nature relationship through initiatives promoting art immersed in nature. Parco dell'Arte is an event created for the redevelopment of the Mincio nature reserve, located near the city center. The park's green elements—from aquatic vegetation in reed beds to wetlands and woods—represent the flora heritage of the Mincio lands. Atelier del Paesaggio, a Milan-based group, won the Parco dell'Arte competition with their project 'Cerchi nel Bosco' (Circles in the Woods). Over 50 participants including artists, designers, and landscape architects from across Italy competed; finalists were selected by a jury chaired by Renato Barilli of the University of Bologna. The winning installation will be produced by the Municipality of Mantua and Mantova Creativa, and permanently placed in the park on the shore of the suggestive Lago di Mezzo. The installation consists of 15 circular red elements fixed among the branches of a small grove, creating contact points between trees. The work emphasizes the underground network that trees develop through their root systems, making it visible. The circular form was chosen for its symbolic reference to nature, representing order against disorder, and its harmony with water's dynamic character. The concentric circles create 'visual thresholds' offering glimpses into the woods, like portholes to observe vegetation details within the nature reserve.