Castello di San Basilio: A Hub for Contemporary Art and Young Artists in Basilicata

In Basilicata, the Castello di San Basilio in Pisticci, a fortified monastery built by the Basilian monastic community in the 7th century, has been transformed into a contemporary art space. Since the 1960s, the Berlingieri family—initially Annibale and Marida, later their daughter Lidia and her husband Piervittorio Leopardi—have built a collection focusing on minimalist and conceptual art, influenced by Giuseppe Panza di Biumo and gallerist Gian Enzo Sperone. Since 2019, curator Aloisia Leopardi, granddaughter of the founders, has organized residencies and exhibitions for emerging international artists. Each year, she invites two to four artists, selected based on personal taste and career potential, for stays of three weeks to three months. Artists in 2022 included Sheida Soleimani, Nour El Saleh, Nicolás Said, and Rade Petrasevic. Soleimani's exhibition 'Pillars of Industry' juxtaposes images of the ILVA steel plant with historical treasures of Basilicata. El Saleh, a Lebanese painter based in London, held her first solo show in Italy at the castle. Said uses pointillism to create hybrid creatures, while Petrasevic's paintings blend vibrant colors with graphic lines. The collection includes a notable piece by Christo, who wrapped a family carriage in 1970. Leopardi aims to expand the residency program and collaborate with other regional projects like In-Ruins and Voga in Puglia and Calabria.