Loris Cecchini's Monumental 'Spindles' Installed Before Prato's Medieval Walls

A massive modular sculpture by Loris Cecchini, titled Spindles, has been inaugurated in via Cavour, directly in front of Prato's medieval walls. Commissioned by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Prato, the work celebrates the city's resilience and artisanal heritage. Measuring 10 meters in base and height and 9 meters in depth, it is an unusual scale for Cecchini. The structure is made of steel and aluminum, composed of fifty elements each split into three paired parts, evoking a large tree with branches forming a natural algorithm. Cecchini's experience in Tuscany—living between Siena, Florence, and Prato—combined with technological knowledge from Milan and Berlin, informed the piece. Franco Bini, president of the Cassa di Risparmio di Prato, called it a symbol of resilience. Culture assessor Simone Mangani noted it continues a contemporary art dialogue begun fifty years ago with Henry Moore's Forma Squadrata con taglio, and that the interaction between Cecchini's work and the 14th-century walls opens a view toward the future. Urban planning assessor Valerio Barberis stated that Spindles is the first artwork of a new park, placed at its entrance, beginning a new narrative for that part of the city.