Wind Phones arrive in Pisa and Treviso, inspired by Japanese original

Two new Wind Phones (Telefono del vento) have been installed in Italy, in Capannoli (Pisa) and Treviso, based on the original concept by Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki. The Capannoli phone, inaugurated on December 21, 2023, sits atop a hill at Santo Pietro Belvedere on the Tegolaja farm, accessible through a wood of oaks, laurels, and acacias, with a bench for panoramic views. It was created by photographer Marco Vanni as a meditation point. The Treviso phone was installed in the Giardini di Sant'Andrea as part of the In Luce project curated by Giulia Abate and Cesare Biasini Selvaggi, inaugurated on June 21. It features eight unpublished poems by Poeta della Serra on its glass and wood panels, plus a notebook for visitors' thoughts. The original Wind Phone was built by Sasaki in Otsuchi, Japan, in December 2010 after his cousin died of cancer. Following the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that killed over 15,000 people (over 1,000 in Otsuchi), Sasaki opened it to the public. Over 30,000 visitors have come; a fundraiser allowed replacement of the original weathered wooden booth with an aluminum one. The story was told by Laura Imai Messina in her book "Quel che affidiamo al vento" (Piemme, 2021).