Siena's historic centre becomes an open-air museum
with sculptures by Andrea Roggi

At a time when culture seems to have been sidelined, the municipal administration of Siena is betting on the works of Tuscan sculptor Andrea Roggi, offering citizens a true open-air museum and rethinking the very concept of art exhibition, focusing on a rediscovery of the very essence of the works instead of mere commodification. 'Terra Mater - Earth and Heaven' is the title of the travelling art exhibition that will occupy the spaces of Siena's historical centre from 18 December 2020 to 15 June 2021. The leitmotif of the author's nine majestic bronze works is the reunion between human beings and nature. Three new works will be presented to the public for the first time. Works of medium and small dimensions will then be hosted at the Magazzini del Sale, starting on 5 March with unique examples.

A path of aesthetic and intellectual contemplation around the themes that inspire Roggi's poetics, such as, for example, the relationship with nature, or the personal relationship with one's cultural roots, as well as the relationship between the individual and time, the absolute protagonist being Mother Earth.

Belvedere, Piazza San Domenico, Vicolo Campaccio, Via Pianigiani, Piazza Tolomei, Logge della Mercanzia, Piazza del Campo, Piazza Duomo and Magazzini del Sale. These will be the city spaces where the bronze works by the Tuscan sculptor will be installed.

The recovery of a balance, the perception of a common sensitivity, the need to reverse the course, today too chaotic, of phenomena in order to forge truer relationships between individuals and to rediscover the awareness that every entity is part of the Earth, in materiality, in the encounter with a substratum that sustains everything, are the reflections that the artist proposes through his works.

The bond between Andrea Roggi and the Sienese territory is deep, in fact there are many of his public works, permanently exhibited throughout the province, including the monument to Saint Catherine of Siena, located at the Charterhouse of Pontignano, amidst the greenery of the plants surrounding this admirable religious building, now a university centre; the monument to Dina Ferri located at Radicondoli; the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi and the work 'Rinascita' located at Rapolano Terme; the depiction of Jesus Christ in an imaginary cross that forms the background to the altar of the Church of San Bernardo Tolomei.

"Terra Mater - Earth and Heaven" is dedicated to the memory of the recently deceased Sienese art critic Gilberto Madioni, who followed the sculptor during his artistic growth.

The exhibition, promoted and curated by Maurizio Madioni, was realised by the cultural association Parco della Creatività together with the Municipality of Siena and under the patronage of the Region of Tuscany.

Roggi and Siena

Together with Maestro Andrea Roggi, I promoted and presented the 'Terra Mater Siena' project to the Municipality of Siena in memory of my brother and art critic Gilberto Madioni, who followed this sculptor during his activity and artistic growth, which allowed him to gain national and international attention in a short time.

Defining Roggi's art is complex, because his works end up highlighting many values and beauties of life that often go unnoticed and unapologised. The authority and importance of this artist derives not only from his sincerity, which guides and holds his hand, but also from the innovative technique he manages to impart to his works.

In his case, sculpture carries with it a search for freedom and peace while maintaining a fantastic creativity.. The master Andrea Roggi, who has exhibited his works in Lucca, Matera, Pietrasanta, Forte dei Marmi and many other places in Italy and abroad, deserved to be known also in our city, stupendous for the beauty of its monuments, for its architecture that makes it unique in the world.

Siena's artistic values will be further enriched by these sculptural works placed in the Piazza Salimbeni, Piazza del Campo, the Duomo and in the streets or in front of unforgettable views and glimpses of the city; they will engage and enter into close dialogue with the rigorous and perfect harmonic structure of the urbe in an exaltation of mutual beauty, where everything is transformed and enhanced.

The sculptures, executed using the lost-wax casting technique, which are admired for their refinement and craftsmanship, will accompany visitors and observers on a journey of reflection on the relationship with nature, with one's own cultural roots and with the passing of time. In particular, the olive tree ("the tree of life"), which the author inserts in many of his works, is intended to represent Christ himself who, through his sacrifice, becomes a sentiment of reconciliation and peace for all mankind.

The root is Genesis, development, life. In Greece, this plant also symbolises a strong and enduring love and is a symbol of union and hope. From the roots of the olive tree, with its intertwining of branches and silvery leaves, spring forth, uprooted from the earth, the slender and joyful figures of two lovers with their arms outstretched upwards, as if their strong feeling were such as to bring about the collapse of the boundaries that separate and distinguish things.

"Imagine" is the other sculpture that I like to describe in this time of suffering that we are experiencing due to the recent pandemic, because it depicts many little boys and girls holding hands in a symbolic chain of friendship, hope and solidarity, values that are useful in alleviating all of life's problems in a search for peace, unity of purpose and common sacrifices useful in trying to overcome even this difficult problem that afflicts the entire world.

'Symbiosis' is a sculpture that differs from the others because it is more figurative. In it, the author depicts a woman, with thick, falling hair, representing life but above all knowledge understood as the source of knowledge and intellectual freedom. This image also has a skyward orientation in defiance of gravity to reach a horizon of serenity and peace.

Andrea Roggi, is particularly attached to the Sienese territory, so much so that he has created some of the sculptures that are part of the artistic heritage of our Province: the statue of Saint Catherine of Siena, which has been placed at the Certosa di Pontignano, amidst the greenery of the plants surrounding this admirable religious building, now a university centre; the monument to Dina Ferri located in the town of Radicondoli; the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi and the work Rinascita, which are located in the Le Querciolaie di Rapolano spa; the depiction of Jesus Christ in an imaginary cross that forms the background of the altar of the Bernardo Tolomei Church.

To demonstrate Andrea's artistic validity, should the need arise, from March until mid-June 2021, the Magazzini del Sale will be exhibiting one-of-a-kind works highlighting the Maestro's different techniques and pictorial and artistic qualities.

At the end of these exhibitions, Andrea will donate one of his works to the Municipality of Siena, which, to give it a particular and deserved value, will be installed in a popular and scenic spot in our city.

Maurizio Madioni

"God created the sky [...]" and Roggi the earth!

to Gilberto Madioni,
art critic,
unforgettable friend,
to his generosity

I would like to begin by noting an 'absence'. Yes, in the Allegory of Good Government (c. 1338) - a fresco painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti for the Sala dei Nove (also known as the Sala della Pace) in the Palazzo Comunale of Siena - the streets and squares of that 'ideal' city of the Middle Ages do not contain any statues, monuments or external wall paintings.

Those manifestations of art and 'beauty' would, in fact, have distracted the attention of observers over the centuries from the true message of that extraordinary painting: the beauty of a world, of a 'microcosm' governed by positive 'values' and recommendable virtues. And where an 'action' - governing in a correct, just and respectful manner - is followed by various 'reactions' on the part of individual citizens. Well, nowadays, in the in many ways 'sick' society in which we live, there is much need for beauty! And the Municipality of Siena, led by the De Mossi administration, is extremely attentive - for example - to the issue of 'urban decorum', in all its forms. However, cleanliness and order, of course, the first 'visiting cards' for a city, are not enough. They are not enough, especially in a historic centre as beautiful in itself as Siena's.

We could summarise: the 'beautiful' attracts the 'beautiful' - it is well known - just as the opposite is true. So, for the second time, after the master Alberto Inglesi in spring 2019, Siena 'draws' another famous sculptor to its 'slabs': Andrea Roggi. An artist, Tuscan by birth, who certainly does not need too many presentations, so well known and appreciated in Italy and beyond. For Siena and its territory, then, he is, so to speak, an 'old' acquaintance, having created several 'public' works over the years, including the statue of Saint Catherine of Siena in Pontignano (2006), the tribute to the poetess-pastor Dina Ferri (2006) for Radicondoli the monument dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi (2007) in Rapolano Terme, the sculpture 'Rinascita' (2011) also in Rapolano Terme, and the depiction of Christ for the high altar of the Sienese church of San Bernardo Tolomei (year?). A 'diffuse' exhibition, the one that Roggi has decided to 'donate' to the city, its inhabitants and those who will pass through it until mid-June 2021: nine large, monumental bronze works have been installed in strategic or passing places.

The art has left the artist's studio, the foundry, the galleries and finally becomes usable by anyone - perhaps even unintentionally -, triggering a fruitful visual 'dialogue' with the exhibition venues, urban landscapes and passers-by themselves. "Terra mater. Earth and heaven", this is the title, which deserves first of all a semantic reflection.

With the feminine noun 'Earth', Roggi indicates the world, the whole globe, the planet we inhabit, which, recently, precisely because of the forced 'closures' imposed by the global pandemic, seems to have sent out a clear message: 'Enough with the abuse of nature, with the over-exploitation of resources - in any case, not infinite -, with immoderate pollution'! Perhaps we are still in time to change 'course', lest we find ourselves plunged into the 'abyss'.

However, by 'earth', especially when followed by the Latin word mater, we also mean our mother-land, motherland, native land, in essence our 'homeland' (everyone has their own), the one that raised us and formed us, passing on certain fundamental values, our roots. And roots are important! They sink, precisely, into the earth and draw nourishment from it. "This grey land smoothed by the wind in its bumps as it gallops towards the sea, [...] This barren and terse Tuscan land where the thoughts of those who remain or those who have grown away from it run [...]" wrote the great poet Mario Luzi in his poem 'Dalla torre' (From the tower). And later, in some of his pages, he concluded: 'earth is mother, mother is earth'. As for the subtitle, in English, the word 'earth' is repeated, this time combined with 'heaven' or, by extension-affinity, 'paradise'. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth [...]," is written at the beginning of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

But on the link between the terrestrial and the celestial in Roggi's works we will have occasion to return. So, we were saying - sculptures installed in the squares and streets of the city, for the plots of the civitas Virginis. In recent months, however, in other parts of the world, we have witnessed acts that denote profound ignorance: statues knocked down from their pedestal, dragged through the streets, thrown and swallowed in the waters of a river, or scarred with genuine rage... All blatant manifestations of 'incivility'; not to say, a veritable 'iconoclastic' fury! The past, even if uncomfortable or obscure, should be confronted for what it really was, rather than resorting to certain 'tricks' or shortcuts to wash the consciences of today.

In Siena, no, civilisation has always reigned (the so-called 'Sienese civilisation' in various fields is well known), good taste, the need for beauty for its own sake, for public or private enjoyment. Let us think, for example, of the Biccherne, the famous painted wooden covers of accounting registers of the ancient Republic of Siena: tablets painted by the city's greatest artists used to cover, to collect 'documents' with a practical-administrative purpose. A clarifying example, moreover unique in the world, of the need for beauty for its own sake.

Anyone, for several months, will be able to enjoy Roggi's sculptures, choosing their own personal route through the historic centre of Siena. The beauty of his works comes to our rescue at a time that is certainly not easy, of 'resistance' to an enemy that we do not see, but which is there, is among us, and threatens our daily lives. And here are the man and the woman, two plastic figures, clinging together - lovingly - in a single body-tree with roots firmly planted in the earth. A process of metamorphosis, of transformation that leads the anthropomorphised tree to sprout new green foliage (symbolising hope), often dotted with golden fruits. Golden like the backdrops of our 'primitives'. The tree in question is the olive tree, a recurring and distinctive element of the Tuscan landscape, built by man over the centuries.

I recall Ovid's Metamorphoses and the admirable translation into sculpture that Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1622-1625) made of the pagan myth of Apollo and Daphne (I, 450-567), exhibited at the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Although in that case the tree was not olive but laurel. In Roggi, the transmutation is twofold, not only concerning the female figure. It is not a flight like that of the beautiful nymph Daphne pursued by the Greek god of all the arts and the sun, but we are faced with a graceful dance, with an amorous, consenting and conscious attitude, almost as if to reiterate that it is love that will win (Amor omnia vincit) and, in fact, save the world. The arms-branches outstretched towards the sky as during a heartfelt prayer, the roots turned, instead, towards the earth.

So, a 'hinge' between heaven and earth, between celestial and terrestrial, between 'transcendent' and 'immanent', between divine and human. A connection often precariously balanced on a bare globe, characterised however by craters, furrows and ridges, even gashes, to remind us that everything starts from the earth. A conception, perhaps, in some respects 'Ptolemaic', with the earth at the centre of the entire universe. The gnarled and twisted trunk, fruit of the compound dynamism of the two figures, in one case even uproots itself from the earth, hovering upwards, towards the 'divine'. These are all 'trees of life' proposed by Roggi with great skill and realism.

The olive tree is joined by another symbol of our territory: the cypress, with its spiky foliage, but made supple like a flame. A flame that always springs from the fertile encounter between man and woman, a pair of naked lovers (the biblical characters Adam and Eve, our progenitors?), in a tension towards the infinite, investigating the space around them. In "Imagine a New World" a perfectly spherical globe appears as if pierced to reveal stylised silhouettes of little girls and boys holding hands, in a symbolic chain of life. A play of "solids" and "voids", a hymn to universal peace.

Admiring Roggi's works, we are amazed by the 'material', the mastery and even the profound control with which the artist manages to manipulate it, to work it, to bend it to his will, to imprint his unmistakable 'sign' on it. One would like to embrace them - at a time when embraces are strongly discouraged - to touch them, perhaps with eyes closed, centimetre by centimetre, to perceive the expressive power of bronze and its fascinating unpredictability. Works made with the ancient lost-wax casting technique and also with a difficult new technique experimented by the artist a few years ago and called 'dynamic casting'. And to embellish them various types of patina, which will certainly mature with the passage of time and the action of atmospheric agents.

We have to walk around Roggi's works, view them from every angle to see how they interact with the surrounding space. Suddenly we are struck by a 'vision': a glimpse, a corner, an architecture, a familiar landscape, seen, however, with different eyes, seen as if for the first time. Green foliage silhouetted, defined, in the clear blue sky; the fruit, golden gleams that recall the equally golden sphere above the 'lantern' of the dome of the ecclesia major; a group of buildings with their heterogeneous colours, framed, in an unprecedented way, by fringed bronze. The virus that came from the East has emptied us inside, in days and days of social isolation and months of real worries, and has emptied and rendered our cities all too silent, unrecognisable, almost 'ghost' cities.

However, the 'inherent' beauty of Siena and its many 'treasures' has fortunately not been affected by this new, temporary condition. Here, I would like to conclude these brief considerations on the margins of an open-air exhibition with a heartfelt wish: may the re-discovery of beauty be a stimulus to convince ourselves that a 'rebirth' will be possible; we owe it to our children and the generations to come! And if said re-discovery will be triggered precisely by the 'added' beauty of Roggi's works, we cannot but thank the artist, from the bottom of our hearts, for having chosen, among so many, our city, reminding him of what is written on the external arch of the Camollia Gate, in honour of Ferdinando I dei Medici: Cor magis tibi Sena pandit. Siena opens its heart to you more!

Duccio Benocci