Porto Rotondo's Open-Air Museum: Audio Tour Unveils Public Art

Porto Rotondo, the Sardinian tourist village founded in 1964 by Venetian nobles Luigi and Nicolò Donà dalle Rose with investors including Vittorio Cini and British banker George Frank, is home to numerous public artworks and architectural interventions by artists Mario Ceroli and Andrea Cascella. These include the Church of San Lorenzo, with a ceiling by Ceroli shaped like an overturned ship's hull, the Torre Campanaria, and the Teatro Mario Ceroli. The village's main square is named Piazza San Marco, echoing Venice. A new project called "Museo a cielo aperto" (Open-Air Museum) offers an audio tour on the Hearonymus platform, narrated by actor and director Massimiliano Finazzer Flory. The tour guides visitors through works such as Le Bitte by Andrea Cascella, referencing mooring and arrival; sculptures in Piazza San Marco; and La Via del Molo by Emmanuel Chapalain, a path marked with imprints of a shark, hammerhead, swordfish, tuna, starfish, and shells leading to the sea. Finazzer Flory describes the initiative as a non-ephemeral infrastructure that performs the relationship between history and nature, offering giveback to the pioneers of a liberal culture. The audio guides are designed as a performative device to encourage repeated rediscovery of the artworks, with proceeds funding conservation and free access. The project highlights Porto Rotondo's lesser-known artistic heritage, which complements its luxury tourism identity developed alongside nearby Porto Cervo.