Concetta Modica's tapestry 'La Notte di Sant'Anna' enters Castelbuono Museum's sacred art collection

Italian artist Concetta Modica (Ragusa, 1969; lives in Milan) has created 'La Notte di Sant'Anna' (2023), a tapestry commissioned for the Museo di Castelbuono. The work was curated by Laura Barreca (director), Valentina Bruschi (head of exhibitions and scientific research), and Maria Rosa Sossai (head of participatory projects). It won the PAC 2021 grant from the Italian Ministry of Culture for production and acquisition of contemporary art in museums. Inaugurated in spring 2023, the tapestry is now part of the museum's sacred art collection, displayed alongside historic vestments, ex-votos, and ecclesiastical furnishings. The piece depicts the night sky of May 4, 1454, when Marquis Giovanni I di Ventimiglia transferred the skull of Saint Anne from Geraci Siculo to Castelbuono Castle. Modica collaborated with the Fondazione Gal-Hassen, International Center for Astronomical Sciences in Isnello, to reconstruct the exact celestial map of that night. The tapestry was embroidered by a group of women from Castelbuono and Isnello led by master embroiderer Maria Mercante, incorporating bronze sepals and tomato stems. The work was presented in a book published by the museum's catalog series, launched on October 6, 2023, at ZAC (hangar for contemporary arts) in Palermo, managed by Fondazione Merz of Turin since 2021. Modica's practice explores themes of travel, transformation, and interdisciplinary dialogue between religion, sacred art, astrophysics, anthropology, and embroidery.