Gea Casolaro Wins Eternot Park Commission in Casale Monferrato

Gea Casolaro has won the public art competition for the Eternot Park in Casale Monferrato, a site formerly occupied by the Eternit asbestos factory. Her proposal, 'Vivaio Eternot,' involves planting Davidia involucrata trees, known as handkerchief trees, as a symbol of life reclaiming a place of death and disaster. The competition, promoted by the municipality and curated by Daria Carmi, received around 90 applications from across Europe. Finalists included Luca Vitone, Luigi Coppola, the collective Fare Ala, Fabrizio Bellomo, and Nico Angiuli. They participated in a residency from March 11 to 20, 2016, engaging with the community and exploring the industrial ruins. Proposals were presented publicly at the Castle of Monferrato from April 22 to May 1, and the winner was chosen through a participatory process involving the ArtinReti network. The park is part of a broader redevelopment of the contaminated area, expected to be fully remediated by 2020. Casale Monferrato has suffered thousands of deaths from pleural mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure from the Eternit plant, which closed in 1986.