Skip to main content

CHIANTI SCULPTURE PARK and PERFORMANCE CENTER


American art collector and world traveler Eli Portnoy reminded me to make time this summer for a visit at the Chianti Sculpture Park. Here's why (in Eli's words):

Italian family friends from Venice introduced me a few weeks ago to the Sculpture Park and Performance Center of Chianti in the small town of Pievasciata 8 miles north of Siena. A true cultural gem not well known apart from a few European tourists and Tuscan locals. It’s a bit off the beaten track (part of the road is actually dirt), but I was delighted by what was at the end of the drive.


Glass Labyrinth at Chianti Sculpture Park near Siena
Glass Labyrinth at Chianti Sculpture Park



Chianti Sculpture Park: Glass and Neon Rainbow Sculpture
Glass and Neon Rainbow
Among the beauty of the Tuscan countryside exists this 17 acre art park with over 30 works from around the world placed by each artist into the natural wooded setting. These are large museum quality works of glass, metal and wood. Some are interactive like the glass Labyrinth with a wonderful photo op in the middle (I won’t give out the surprise), the glass and neon Rainbow and a piece called Energy which is a 33 foot tall 16 ton tornado like sculpture of glass. One art piece is a series of highly polished cubes set into a winding path that once you enter sets off a series of recorded messages from each cube.
Energy - glass sculpture at the Chianti Sculpture Park
"Energy" - one of the interactive sculptures at the park



A highlight is the amphitheater sculpture that is both art work and performance space for live concerts (that are held throughout the summer months). The theater set into the hillside has metal sculptural “celebrities” worked into the seating area. So imagine watching an opera performance and sitting next to Alfred Hitchcock! A must see work.


Alfred Hitchcock at the amphitheater of the Chianti Sculpture Park
Hitchcock getting a private view at the park's amphitheater
Husband and wife art collectors Piero and Rosalba Giadrossi built the park as well as turned a local tile factory just down the drive into their home, smaller art gallery space and museum store perched on a hilltop with glorious views of Chianti vineyards.

I had a splendid private tour with the highly knowledgeable and very passionate art patron Piero but there are other knowledgeable docents available for tours everyday. Wine tastings can be arranged at the facility with advanced notice but I highly recommended checking out the performance schedule and visiting both the park and taking in a live performance if possible.



Where: CHIANTI SCULPTURE PARK Pievasciata (10 min. from Siena)
Phone: +39 0577 357151
Directions: http://www.chiantisculpturepark.it/en-index.htm
Hours: 10am to sunset daily (summer)
Fees: 7.5 Euros for the park, 15 Euros for the park and concert

Thank you Eli!
Got a soft spot for sculptures parks too? Tuscany's beautiful landscape has besotted many a talented artist: Niki the Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden in Capalbio, Daniel Spoerri's Sculpture Garden in Seggiano, and San Giovanni d'Asso's Bosco delle Ragnaie, to name but a few art pit stops that lie along the way through the Tuscan hills. 



Labels:
Location: Pievasciata, 53019 Castelnuovo Berardenga SI, Italia

Popular posts from this blog

TUSCANY'S BEST HOT SPRINGS: A MAP OF SULFUROUS SOAKING AND WILDERNESS DIPS

A quick round up of my favorite wild hot springs and historic bath towns in Tuscany (more detailed information on spas and rock pool bathing can be found in the single articles the links will lead you to).  WILDERNESS POOLS   PETRIOLO  half an hour to the south of Siena. With its steaming hot water in the upper row of pools a favorite of mine on icy cold winter mornings. The Farma river passes right next to the hot springs. So be courageous and have a splash to try the benefits of kneipping.   SATURNIA  the biggest, most southern and also Italy's best known (and loved!) wilderness pools. The closest option for a soak if you arrive from Rome. To be avoided on weekends.  FOSSO BIANCO  in the Val d'Orcia is a spectacular sight hidden away in the woods below Bagni San Filippo. The shady surroundings make of these natural springs a nice location in the summer.  BAGNO VIGNONI  has a lovely pool below the small waterfall. However, the water arrives from the medieval t
Read on

FONTEMORSI: ORGANIC WINE TASTING ON THE ETRUSCAN COAST

In the wine world the Tuscan coast equals Bolgheri and Sassicaia. No other wine has done as much to turn the lay-back beach side paradise south of Livorno into a famous wine growing region as the prestigious Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido. But whilst the rise of Supertuscans blended from French grape varieties may resemble a fairy tale story, it shouldn't keep you fro m drinking Sangiovese wines in the smaller and lesser known wineries along the Tuscan shore. 
Read on

TUSCAN HOT SPRINGS - FOSSO BIANCO in BAGNI SAN FILIPPO

The Fosso Bianco hot springs and natural pools in Bagni San Filippo If there's one thing I didn't expect when moving to Tuscany, it's the multitude of freely accessible natural hot springs. Day spas and thermal baths can be found all over the world. But when talking hot baths in the wilderness my first guess would always have been a geyser in Iceland.  The generous natural pools near Saturnia  and the hot springs in Petriolo taught me differently. Both places are well known in Italy, a fact that can make them packed on weekends and public holidays. If you like to take your bath a bit more privately, move on towards Val d'Orcia and explore the Fosso Bianco hot springs   near Bagni San Filippo. The waters are as hot as they should be for some comfortable soaking and high in sulfur and calcium (which explains the formation of the white rock and the name of the place).
Read on