Chiara Trivelli's 'Contenuto rimosso' Revives Memory of Lorenzago Fire

Artist Chiara Trivelli's community-based project 'Contenuto rimosso' commemorates the 19th-century fire that destroyed Lorenzago di Cadore's historic Quadrato district. Since 2012, on July 30, the night of the original blaze, streetlights are turned off and residents light fires, torches, and candles in a collective ritual that repopulates the area. Trivelli, who works with site-specific and participatory methods, developed the project during a residency, negotiating with locals and the administration. Initially met with skepticism, the event has grown in participation, with local associations now managing their own contributions. In 2018, the Comitato 30 luglio was founded to organize the event, representing community support. The project aims to foster symbolic reappropriation of the Quadrato and awareness of its history, which was transformed by a top-down reconstruction plan by architect Edoardo Gellner after the fire. Trivelli's ongoing video documentation includes interviews with residents, deepening dialogue and collective consciousness.