This itinerary is about art and nature, more precisely about street and land art.
Many artists have been invited here to represent the territory of Bassa Romagna, mainly with the artistic event “Terrena-Tracciati di land art”.
The murals and the installations will surprise us with their stories, closely tied with the stories of the places and their inhabitants.
Follow us on the discovery of these beautiful contemporary artworks embedded in the countryside of Romagna!
To see the itinerary on Google maps, click here
The journey starts in Cotignola, the municipality of Bassa Romagna with the highest number of murals: since 2018 with the project “Dal museo al paesaggio” (from museum to landscape), many of the most famous Italian and international street artists have decides to represent the town through the memories of its inhabitants and its most meaningful historical events.
The starting point is in the town centre and the final destination is the Arena delle balle di paglia (Arena of haystacks), a magical floodplain under the Senio river bank.
Signora K and James Kalinda - via Pascoli (2016): these two artworks represent two historical figures who lived in the Cotignola area, Signora K depicts Lucia Terzani da Torciano, who was famous for being Muzio Attendolo Sforza’s lover. The latter is represented by James Kalinda on the next wall. The famous Francesco Sforza was born out of their relationship.
Collettivo FX - piazzale Amendola (2015): Distributore non automatico di coraggio (non-automatic distributor of courage) Collettivo FX’s mural represents the Quattro Giusti cotignolesi (the four just men from Cotignola), i Sette Martiri del Senio (the sever martyrs of the Senio river) shot dead by the Nazis in 1944, il partigiano Leno Casadio (partisan Leno Casadio) and Don Stefano Casadio (Father Stefano Casadio), who liberated Cotignola, and last the young partigiano Esiodo Rava (partisan Esidio Rava). The artwork pays tribute to those who sacrificed their life for the Liberation and is located right under the banks of Senio river, a very meaningful place for the partisan fight. Collettivo FX is an artist from Reggio Emilia, particularly engaged in political-social topics.
Zosen Bandido and Mina Hamada, Gio Pistone e Martoz - via Cairoli (2018): murals on the wall of the Scuola di Arti e Mestieri: these artists, through their style, re-draw the characters and symbols of Cotignyork, namely the town of Cotignola re-interpreted from a fantasy and adventurous perspective. Zosen and Mina, an art duo in work and life, come from Spain (Mina has Asian origin); Gio Pistone and Martoz are Italian artists.
Hyuro – via Roma (2018): L’arzdora, this is the title of Hyuro’mural. She is an Argentinean artist who acquired Spanish citizenship. She prematurely passed way in 2020. She tells about women empowerment inside patriarchal families. Hyuro was famous for dealing with social topics about women in modern society.
DEM – villaggio UNRRA, between via Pascoli and via Alighieri (2019): Unrra village (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) is a district built after the Second World War and is part of an architectural project aimed at re-building areas badly hit by the conflict. DEM, artist from Lombardy, paints symbols of protection that tell about the philosopher and anthropologist Ernesto de Martino’s stay in Cotignola during the months of front passage.
Reve+ e Borondo - Arena delle Balle di paglia (2016 and 2013): the mural by Reve+ from Reggio Emilia, titled Papaveri&Upupe is located on the side of a country house along the road that takes to Arena delle balle di paglia. The artist, specialized in the creation of artworks inspired by the fauna and flora that he encounters, dedicates this wall to Poppies and Hoopoes, flowers and birds that are typical of the Romagna countryside.
Borondo, a famous Spanish artist, paints very close to the bank where the Senio river meets with Canale Emiliano Romagnolo. Volti (faces) is the title of the artwork; it shows two faces, painted with the artist’s unmistakable style, a gestural style consisting of many layered caricatures.
Collettivo FX, La Madonna dell’Adesso o già pronta - via Gaggio (2017), Budrio di Cotignola: the artwork tells us about the close bond between the Budrio community and the Virgin Mary, celebrated every summer.
FX, SS. Madre Incoronata del Risveglio - via del Castello (2017), Barbiano di Cotignola: this artwork is part of the artist’s National project called La Madonna dell’Adesso, which represents the contemporary relationship between the citizens and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The second stop of our itinerary is dedicated to the town of Lugo, with 3 points of interest to visit.
Laura Rambelli - via Sammartina (2018-19): in Parco Golfera there's Laura Rambelli’s permanent installation titled La guardiana delle acque e le lucciole (the guardian of water and fireflies). Terracotta lotus flowers rise from steel stems on the park lake in order to recreate a snake shape, symbol of life regeneration. At night, the stems light up as a reference to fireflies that populate our countryside in the summer.
Luogo comune - via Amendola (2018): with Omaggio a Gioacchino Rossini (tribute to Gioacchino Rossini)the artist displays an ironic alphabet where many of Rossini’s characters appear, creating a sort of hieroglyph that involves the spectator.
Alessandra Carloni - via Lumagni (2018): the artwork shows Francesco Baracca from a new perspective: not only an aviator but a dreamer.
In Fusignano we find Collettivo FX with a mural located in via Curiel, titled Sciopero alla rovescia (2017), (backward strike) a particular form of protest occurred in 1950s: labourers who lost their job continued relentlessly to work on the fields as a form of rebellion.
In Alfonsine there is the mural by Ericailcane and Bastardilla, a famous couple of artists: he is Italian, she is Colombian, they are a couple also in life. The artwork plays tribute to the Partisan Resistance, in one of its symbolic places. The two authors, very famous in the field of urban art, use their art to fight against any form of repression and totalitarianism.
In the Parcobaleno park, in via Galimberti, we find Stinkfish (2017), the artwork is part of the project promoted by CUMA Project, which has been supporting indigenous populations of Latin America for many years.
In the summer (June-September) it is possible to visit the Labirinto effimero (ephemeral labyrinth) in via Roma. The labyrinth was created in 2007 as one of the largest dynamic labyrinths in the world, reconstructed every year in the corn field of the farm Azienda Agricola Galassi. Then in 2019 the Labirinto sospeso (suspended labyrinth) was created, an example of land art, which plays on the concept of sky and earth by using recycled and bio-degradable materials.
In Villanova di Bagnacavallo, in the Public Park and Ecomuseo delle Erbe Palustri – Ecomuseum of Marsh Herbs, via Ungaretti, we find the installation of the Spanish artist Joan Farré, La Ca de Mazapegul (2018).
The installation is made of organic materials typical of the Lamone river. Its shape reminds of the hat of mazapegul, a pixie of the Romagna popular tradition. The artwork was conceived and built for children.