Val D'Orcia: Urs Rechsteiner funds an exceptional photographic story

The Trilogy is a tale of the places, people and works of art of Pienza's Path of Art and Soul, through the shots that inspired the photographers of Place, People and Estate&Art, is being reprinted. The first edition, not on sale but donated to enthusiasts and supporters of the rediscovery of the Tuscan Natural and Artistic Park, is sold out, so the work will be reprinted.

But let us go in order. First came the Sentiero dell'Arte e dell'Anima (Path of Art and Soul). In March 2024, a path about 2.5 km long was inaugurated, recovered from a naturalistic point of view and enriched with artistic installations, which was donated to the city of Pienza by the FUR Foundation (Urs Rechsteiner Foundation). The Foundation is the creation of Urs Rechsteiner, a Swiss man who has been in love with Tuscany for 30 years, where he spends several months each year. The patron set up his non-profit Foundation, based in Montepulciano, in the province of Siena, which is dedicated to enhancing the territory and landscape, and promoting art and culture. And it has acquired a unique collection of works of art: 28 artists, among the most important in the world, have interpreted the theme of the bench and the seat. Art to admire the greater art that is the Vald'Orcia landscape, in which the benches, conceived as stations of the soul, are immersed. This is an artistic heritage whose value is estimated at around one million euro.

Pienza's 'Path of Art and Soul' has been followed by the media in numerous countries around the world and was even celebrated by the New York Times.

The second act in the story is the production of the Trilogy. Three years ago, the Swiss patron Rechsteiner, through the FUR Foundation, decided to promote a publication, to make a new gift to the Val D'Orcia territory with the Trilogy entitled: 'Santa Maria, place of inspirations'; the work tells of places, people and works of art. The tale is told through the shots that have inspired the photographers of Place, People and Estate&Art. The places are once again those of the province of Siena and the Val d'Orcia, portrayed in the shots of Mattia Balsamini, dedicated to experimental photography, and Andrea Boccalini, a well-known photographer of advertising campaigns and corporate, the first Leica Italia ambassador.

The works of art, the sculptures surrounded by greenery, the design details of the interiors are instead the subject of Cristina Cusani's shots, whose research is characterised by a great sensitivity to the traces left by the past and their narrative potential.