The “Path of art and soul” with a Swiss heart is born in Tuscany

In Pienza, a village in the province of Siena, in the heart of the Val d’Orcia, a new attraction has recently been inaugurated for the many tourists who visit the small town every year. An attraction that combines sculpture and naturalism. It is the “Path of Art and Soul”, a 2.5 km long route that can only be traveled on foot and dotted with 28 designer benches. Those designed and created by 28 internationally renowned artists and donated to the city by Urs Rechsteiner.

“I fell in love with Tuscany 30 years ago, when I took a wine tasting tour. So I decided to buy a house in Montepulciano and spend a good part of my time in these parts”, Urs Rechsteiner tells tvsvizzera.it.

Accountant, tax expert and always in love with art, when Rechsteiner retired he decided to spend more time in Tuscany. And at that moment he decided to found the FUR – Urs Rechsteiner Foundation which aims to make the many works of art he owns accessible to the public.

But the 28 benches signed, among others, by Giò Pomodoro, Pietro Cascella, Matthew Spender, Jean-Paul Philippe, Justin Peyser, Joe Tilson and Mauro Berrettini, were designed and created well before the establishment of the foundation.

“It was one of the artists, Mauro Berrettini, who told me about these benches which were forgotten in a warehouse for more than twenty years,” explains the Swiss patron.

A destiny that is fulfilled

Mauro Berrettini, Pietro Cascella and Riccardo Grazzi were the animators of this project. They called to participate around thirty colleagues who 20 years ago were asked to reinterpret the concept of “session”. Once the works of art were created, a location had to be found but despite the notable signatures, it seemed that no one was interested in hosting the 28 designer benches. Until today.

“It’s not a casuality. It is a destiny that is fulfilled, ”says Maria Cava, laughing, who is the curator of the “Path of Art and the Soul”. “These works are made of travertine stones, of which this area is rich. The facade of the Pienza Cathedral itself is made with this stone. In short, it is as if the works were awaiting this fate. They were created precisely to embellish this place where they seem to be part of nature itself. And nature is at the center of this project because these works of contemporary art are made available to be able to admire the greatest art, which is precisely the natural landscape around us”, explains Cava.

The “Path of Art and Soul” starts right in front of the façade of the Cathedral of Pienza, in the center of the village. The first work is the one signed by Giò Pomodoro. To see the others you have to leave the town walls. Some can be seen immediately and allow you to admire the art of nature in all its majesty with an overall view of the Val d’Orcia. But the further we continue, the more the landscape changes. And it changes continuously: first a bucolic path that ends in the woods. From the woods the route continues in an olive grove and then ends in a country farm. In all 28 opportunities for reflection and meditation; 28 nature observation points.

The Guardian of the Valley

The Guardian of the Valley takes care of protecting travelers and, indeed, the entire Val d’Orcia. “This is the twenty-ninth work of art in the itinerary that embellishes the benches even though the main nucleus of the exhibition was born several years later,” explains Maria Cava.

“The Guardian of the Valley is a sculpture created in the Cortocircuito laboratories from an idea by the artist Lorenzo Nisi and created with Antonio Borrelli. He is a man in cement mortar approximately four meters high who looks at the Valley, protects it, preserves it. He represents the conscience of the world, our attitude to taking care of places,” concludes Cava.

A work that reminds us of the need to preserve beauty. According to Urs Rechsteiner this must be done by both the public and the private sector: “I really believe in synergy and collaboration between public and private. Together we can do a lot to enhance places and territories. Here, with the Foundation and the donation I wanted to make a contribution in this sense. There is a need for more art, there is a need for more beauty and there is also a need for sensitivity to understand it. If we expose young people to this art we are doing a work of education and growth.”