Pesaro unveils 13 new public art works for Italian Capital of Culture year

Pesaro, the 2024 Italian Capital of Culture, is expanding its public art legacy with 13 new permanent works under the project "Dalle sculture nella città all'arte delle comunità," curated by Marcello Smarrelli. The initiative involves 13 artists named "Ambasciatori dell'arte" working with residents across the city's 12 districts and the municipality of Monteciccardo. The latest intervention, unveiled on August 27, is by Matteo Fato (born 1979 in Pescara) in the Soria-Tombaccia district. Titled "Una favola equestre senza cavalcata (Caretta Caretta)," it comprises a bronze sculpture on a Majella stone plinth placed on rocks near Molo Rosa dei Venti, depicting a sea turtle and a self-portrait of the artist—his first bronze work, conceived as an "anti-monument." Additionally, Fato created five tactile paintings for the Louis Braille Library, inspired by tactile publications and accessible to visually impaired visitors. This project revives Pesaro's tradition of public sculpture, which began with the 1971 exhibition "Arnaldo Pomodoro: Sculture nella città 1971," leading to permanent installations by Pietro Consagra, Eliseo Mattiacci, and Mauro Staccioli. Other artists in the project include Friedrich Andreoni, Davide Mancini Zanchi, Paolo Icaro, Ricardo Aleodor Venturi, Giovanni Termini, and Cyprien Gaillard. The cultural program has boosted tourism, making Pesaro the most visited province in Marche in 2024.