TO THE SOUTHWEST

Contemporary
Art

One day in Gibellina - Belice valley.
Art Reborn

DURATION

1 DAY

RECOMMENDED SEASON

SPRING - AUTUMN

REQUEST INFO AND QUOTE

After the fierce earthquake that struck the area of the Belice Valley in 1968, in the city of Gibellina a movement was born that gave way to the rebirth of the city through art. Thanks to the initiative of the then Lord Mayor Ludovico Corrao, who was in office for 25 years and guided the rebirth of the town by involving architects, artists and highly prestigious intellectuals and thus giving life to the Orestiadi Festival.

Rebuilt 18 kilometres from the original town, the new Gibellina project was worked on by famous international artists and architects, such as Arnaldo Pomodoro, Alberto Burri, Pietro Cousagra, Mario Schifano and Carla Accardi to name but a few; who contributed to the creation of an open air exposition space in the city.

On the area where the old Gibellina used to be, there stands Italy’s biggest Land Art Opera, that commemorates the memory of the destroyed city: Il Grande Cretto

Pay a visit to the new Gibellina and take a guided tour around. Gibellina presents itself as a city with an avangarde urbanistic plan; set up with over fifty works of art and futuristic monuments, of which some are still to be finished.

Visit Baglio di Stefano, a typical Sicilian masseria of particular interest, home to the Orestiadi Foundation displaying many works of art which are documentary evidence of the artists that resided in Gibellina and of their contribution to the reconstruction project for the city.

Taste the wines of Orestiadi Estate after a visit to the wine cellars that demonstrate the strong connection between the territory and its art.

Visit the MAC (Museum of Contemporary Art) with its 400 works of art on display. The largest contemporary art collection in southern Italy is here, with 250 artists contributing to the works, and is a surprising journey through the multiple and varied forms of Italian and International contemporary art from the 900’s up until most recent times.

Conclude your visit by taking the road that leads to Grande Cretto. After the last bend in the road everything seems incredible and surreal, as if a sheet of white cement were laid upon a green hilltop. The deep trenches carve out the streets of the town....the huge cement blocks hold the remains of the ruined houses.... a place to visit in the silence of one’s thoughts; in respect and in memory of the past.