Trekking changes pace between art and nature: parks and refuges at altitude

Dettaglio dell’opera “Simbiosi” (2015), di Hannah Streefkerk, nel parco RespirArt a Pampeago, in Val di Fiemme. (ph Eugenio Del Pero)

WORKS LEVELLED BY TIME

Located between two thousand and 2,200 metres above sea level, at Pampeago in Val di Fiemme, the RespirArt is one of the highest art parks in the world. After the trip with the Agnello chairlift, you walk along a three-kilometre loop trail - with the Latemar mountain range as a backdrop - interspersed with 16 contemporary art installations: the materials of the works are all zero kilometre, worked on site by international artists such as Hidetoshi Nagasawa and Hannah Stree "erk. Each season changes them, the passage of time underlining a transformation that is never destruction, but evolution. At the entrance to the park you are provided with headphones because some of the sculptures are also sound, and the experience becomes immersive.

“Valanga di bolle di pensieri”(2023), di Thorsten Schü al RespirArt in Val di Fiemme. (ph Eugenio Del Pero)

LAND ART AMONG THE ALBERATED VIALS

It is not a discovery, but a classic. They call it the contemporary mountain: the Trentino region of Borgo Valsugana, thanks to the Arte Sella exhibition, was a pioneer of Land Art paths in Italy. Ettore Sottsass, Michele De Lucchi and Stefano Boeri are just some of the big names that have written the history of this path that, from the gardens of Villa Strobele, after an initial 45-minute stretch, climbs up to malga Costa along an itinerary of just under two hours and 4 kilometres, suitable for everyone. It is called the Montura Path and, among tree-lined avenues and flower-filled meadows, it offers artistic works in perfect harmony with nature, from Giuliano Mauri's monumental Vegetal Cathedral to Cédric Le Borgne's sculpture The Invisible Woman (until December, Moving Arte Stella, contemporary movement and dance practices inspired by the works on display).

Siro Vierin con una delle sue sculture lignee, in mostra al rifugio Mont Fallère.

NOBILISING THE WOOD

From the east of the Dolomite crusts, we move westwards to Valle d'Aosta, where the Cammino Balteo connects small villages like pearls in an ancient and precious jewel: Flassin, Vertosan, a valley to stroll through, and then Saint-Nicolas and the tiny hamlet of Vetan, at the foot of Mont Fallère, a barren and daring peak that promises great satisfaction to those who conquer its 3,061 metres of altitude. For those who decide to stop on the slopes, there is another surprise: the Mont Fallère refuge of Siro Vierin, a self-taught woodworker, who has created an open-air museum with 400 sculptures of different sizes to enrich the route. It can also be reached by mountain bike, after a two-hour ascent ( balteus.lovevda.it ; refugiomontfallere.it ).

Il castello di Torrechiara, in provincia diParma.

IN THE CASTLE AND AMONG THE VINEYARDS

It only takes twenty minutes by car from Parma to reach the village of Torrechiara, dominated by an imposing 15th-century castle. The Sentiero d'arte Torrechiara starts from this timeless place, where Lambrusco and Malvasia ripen, the Torrechiara Art Trail: seven kilometres along the San Michele Canal to the heart of Langhirano, a village framed by the first hills of the Apennines, renowned for its PDO ham. You cross irrigation ditches, ancient bridges and even the remains of a kiln and a Benedictine abbey. Around, the woods, the rows of aromatic Malvasia di Candia and eleven contemporary art installations, from Natura sembiante by Alberto Vettori - a sheet of metal and mirrors, playing with the light filtering through the leaves of the trees - to Presenze by Giovanni Sala, a sculpture made of iron and river stones (sentieroditorrechiara.it).

La panchina di Nado Canuti, ideato da Lorenzo Nisi e realizzato da Antonio Borrelli e Corto Circuito, lungo il Sentiero dell’Arte e dell’Anima di Pienza. (ph MASSIMILIANO SANTONI)

29 COLLECTION CHAIRS

For Pope Pius II and the Renaissance it was the ideal town: always loved by painters and artists, Pienza - about 54 kilometres south of Siena - offers endless views of the Val d'Orcia. For those who want to stop and admire the landscape, there are 29 artist's chairs, including those created by Giò Pomodoro and Pietro Cascella (donated to the municipality of Pienza by the FUR Foundation). All together they make up - with the 'Guardian of the Valley' conceived by Lorenzo Nisi and realised by Antonio Borrelli and Corto Circuito - the latest Land Art trail, among vegetable gardens, olive groves and cypress woods. It is called the Sentiero dell'Arte e dell'Anima (Path of Art and Soul), and was inaugurated last March: it winds for two and a half kilometres around the perimeter of the city, with travertine benches made in the most diverse styles and shapes ( comune.pienza.si.it ).

Il “Guardiano della Valle” ideato daLorenzo Nisi e realizzato da Antonio Borrelli e Corto Circuito, lungo il Sentiero dell’Arte e dell’Anima di Pienza. (ph MASSIMILIANO SANTONI)

OBSIDIAN AND ZERO KILOMETER

It was invented three years ago with the aim of revitalising the vast territory of volcanic origin of Monte Arci, between the Campidano di Oristano plain and Alta Marmilla, and the six municipalities gravitating around it (Pau, Villaverde, Morgongiori, Ales, Masullas and Usellus): the Monte Arci Land Art Festival has made it possible to recover old paths of shepherds, farmers and quarrymen of obsidian, the area's real black gold. Today, these ancient paths of toil are dotted with works of environmental art, created by recovering materials from the area, especially holm oak and cork oak. Among the artists involved are Simone Paulin, Giacomo Baradel, and students from the IED of Cagliari, with the contribution of the Agenzia Regionale Forestas (@montearcilandart).

FIVE RIMS OF OLTALPE

In the five-circle year of Paris 2024, the Refuge d'Art of Digne-les-Bains, which proposes a long walk in Haute-Provence, takes on even more value. The 150-kilometre art trek is designed by British artist Andy Goldsworthy and the Gassendi Museum. Visitors can either walk the entire itinerary, or opt for a series of stages - from one to five kilometres - to admire Goldsworthy's various sculptures: the Stone Sentinels and other installations that the artist has created along the way, in front of or inside ruined shelters, chapels and farmhouses that have been specially restored to provide shelter for walkers.

“Il Guot” (2007), di Timo Lindner al Senda d’Inspiraziun, in Engadina. (ph Engadin St. Moritz Mountains AG / Photographer: Fabian Gattlen)

https://www.muottasmuragl.ch/en/ISPIRAZIONE SWITZERLAND

Here, Alberto Giacometti, Friedrich Nietzsche and Claudio Abbado, among others, often found inspiration. A few kilometres from the Italian border, in the Engadin, taking the red funicular up to Muottas Muragl, one comes across the Senda d'Inspiraziun at 2,454 metres, an evocative path leading to the hut where Giovanni Segantini died alone. Along the way, you can admire works such as Il Guot: created by Timo Lindner in 2007, it is a drop of stone and mortar covered in marble representing the world of water. Just beyond is Sine Sole Sileo, built by Fred Bangerter and described by experts as the world's most accurate sundial. From the Segantini Hut, you can continue to Alp Languard, where the chairlift takes you back to Pontresina ( muottasmuragl.ch/en ).