MABOS: Open-Air Museum in Sila Park Adds Paolo Grassino's Anti-War Sculpture

The MABOS (Museo d’arte del bosco della Sila), an open-air museum in Calabria's Sila National Park, has added a new site-specific work by Turin-based sculptor Paolo Grassino. Titled 'Guerra è sempre – edificare,' the piece is the third in a series documenting global wars and victims in 2020, inspired by Primo Levi's 'The Treuga' and the line 'War is always.' Grassino created the work during a residency from July 30 to August 3, 2023, as part of the MABOS 2023 season themed 'La rosa nel bicchiere,' named after a poetry collection by Franco Costabile. The museum, founded by Mario Talarico in 2017, spans 30,000 square meters of forest with 37 site-specific works from the Sense residencies, offering free 24/7 access. Curator Alberto Dambruoso highlighted Grassino's ethical focus on contemporary societal issues. Separately, the Pizzuta del Principe winery in Strongoli, owned by former culture undersecretary Dorina Bianchi, runs a second year of artist residencies directed by Dambruoso, featuring seven painters and a muralist from June to September 2023, including Paolo Assenza, Nicola Rotiroti, Andrea Casciu, Andrea Gallo, Mauro Bordin, Ernesto Morales, and Stefania Fabrizi, to adorn the estate under renovation.