A mosaic of open air museums, which know how to unite a harmony of particular colours and suggestions the art of nature to the art of Man. Tuscany is also this, and as a matter of fact detains the Italian record for quantity of green places dedicated, as previously mentioned, to art.
The forerunner of these museums was the Tuscan collector Giuliano Gori, who in 1982 opened the immense green space of the Celle Farm in Santomato in the province of Pistoia to some important artists. The park, which can be visited upon appointment but is free entry, holds the great sculpture on water of Fausto Melotti, the labyrinth of the American Robert Morris and the 33 totem-figures of the Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowick, as well as the works of Roberto Barni, Beverly Pepper and Dennis Oppenheim.
In the range of only ten kilometres, another favourite destination by art connoisseurs is the Art Centre La Loggia, in San Casciano Val di Pesa (Florence). Open all year upon appointment but free entry (Tel +39 055 8244288), the centre resides within an old farm. In this case too the promoter of the initiative is a collector of contemporary art, Giulio Baruffaldi, who set up an exhibition with works of great International artists such as Karel Appel, Arman, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Betty Woodman and Daniel Spoerri.
A jump and we return to Maremma, because in Capalbio, choreographic, an attraction of charming suggestion we find the Garden of the Tarot, where French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, partner of the Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, laid on the track her unrestrained creativity of giant fantastic sculptures putting on the scene 22 characters of the Tarot (The High Priestess, The Wheel of Fortune, The Tower...) in a setting full of flair and good taste, ideal for a stroll where adults can be accompanied by their children. In Garavicchio di Capalbio.
Finally not to be missed is another Maremma jewel: this time not at sea but in the mountain, with the Garden that the eclectic Internationally renown Swiss artist, Daniele Spoerri, created on the Mount Amiata, in the Municipality of Seggiano. Spoerri's Garden is a 16 hectares estate where sculptures and great modern artists live in perfect harmony. Visits to the park can last even a whole day.
(Picture: Entry to Celle's Farm: "The great iron" by Burri)
San Casciano Val di Pesa Municipality (In Italian)
Celle Farm (In Italian)
