Sicily is an emblem of culture, art and cuisine in Italy and in the world.
There are places on the beautiful island that are a panacea for the eyes and the spirit, even if they are less famous than the famous arancini.
Have you ever heard of Ariadne's labyrinth?
It is a work of land art born from the genius of Italo Lanfredini in 1988. We can find it and clearly visit it in Castel di Lucio , in the province of Messina.
It is not the only free work of art that we can find in the surrounding area, this is because Ariadne's labyrinth is configured within the Fiumara d'Arte.
Fiumara d'Arte: A love story towards others and nature
The protagonist of this story has a name and a surname, Antonio Presti.
In 1982 Presti, a Sicilian entrepreneur with a passion for art, found himself having to deal with the loss of his father.
Almost as if he were looking for an answer, the young entrepreneur wandered through the Messina territories until he reached the Fiumara di Tusa, an ancient river that flowed between the Nebrodi mountains.
It was precisely at this moment that the concept of Fiumara d'Arte was born in Presti's mind for the first time. He commissioned a sculpture to commemorate his father from Pietro Consagra, but he didn't keep this work for himself, on the contrary!
He had the stele positioned exactly at the mouth of the river, because according to him art should have been a collective good and not an exclusive habit of some private individual.
But despite the noble intent, the world seemed to be rowing against him.
Poor Presti had to fight tooth and nail so that these works were not left to themselves, even receiving pressure inviting him to demolish what had already been done.
A very significant gesture was given in 2005 by Presti himself, who did his utmost to cover the window overlooking the sea with the word CLOSED written on it in all the languages of the world.
Still remembered today the phrase " There are men who in life have the joy of opening the windows on the sea but those same men have the power to close them. ”
But as in fairy tales, good intentions triumph in the end!
After years of struggles and abuses, the Fiumara d'Arte was finally recognized in 2006 to all intents and purposes as a Park.
Ariadne's labyrinth
Ariadne's labyrinth is a landing art work created between 1988 and 1989 a few km from Castel di Lucio by Italo Lanfredini on commission from Antonio Presti.
Once Lanfredini arrived in Sicily, he was fascinated by the culture of the place and above all by the Sicilian architecture. A decisive role was played by the cryptic and labyrinthine streets of the Sicilian suburbs and by the Hellenic atmosphere that reigned throughout the island.
After a year of projects and reworkings, finally the lighting!
Almost as happened to Homer with Calliope, Lanfredini too was inspired by a muse, more precisely by Arianna, the daughter of Minos.
The artist, to create the work, decided to use only concrete, and he did it in an extremely particular way.
In fact, he decided not to model the concrete coil in any way whatsoever, leaving this burden to the atmospheric agents and visitors.
This aspect says a lot about the intentions of the work itself, in fact, despite being a work of modern art, we can see the absolute compatibility with the environment.
It's like it's been there since the beginning of time.
Peculiarities
That this structure is absolutely alive can be perceived from afar.
The entrance to this trans-dimensional portal looks like a tall narrow ogive that leads to a spiral path.
Another peculiarity that can be noticed right away is that although it is a labyrinth, there is only one path.
This is the crux of the work! The purpose of this labyrinth is not to get lost, but to find yourself.
Frenzy and daily wear and tear lead each individual to a process of depersonification, such as to make him a stranger to himself.
Finding yourself is finding the primordial peace lost among the murky daily thoughts.
Precisely for this reason, Ariadne's labyrinth looks like a solitary, enveloping and benevolent path to be followed in every sense.
The core of this labyrinth is characterized by an imposing olive tree . A strong symbolism and not at all left to chance: after the concrete, nature again, a strong message, which reminds us of our place in the world, but which nonetheless arouses a sense of respect and peace.
The myth of Ariadne
The myth of Ariadne tells the story of gods, kings, heroes, monsters and bulls!
In fact, it is intertwined with the myth of the Minotaur, a divine monster born in a rather bizarre way!
It all begins with Minos, king of the then flourishing Crete.
He begged Poseidon, the mighty god of the sea, to send him a bull so he could sacrifice it in his honor.
So a short time later the rich king saw a majestic and beautiful white bull come out of the sea.
At the sight of the bull, however, the human nature of the king took over, and he decided to sacrifice another bull to the god, keeping the bull that came out of the sea for himself.
Clearly the god noticed the deception and decided to punish him in a singular way, cursing Pasiphae, Minos' wife.
In fact, from that moment she began to nourish carnal desire towards the bull.
The obsession grew day by day, and after several setbacks the queen decided to turn to Daedalus.
The inventor for his part found a solution!
He built a wooden cow with a hollow interior placed on wheels. Once inside this hollow cow was covered with bovine skin, so as to look in all respects an animal.
The experiment was successful!
Thus was born Asterio, better known as the Minotaur, a beast that kept the body of a human being, but had typically taurine characteristics such as horns, hooves and tail.
Once again Daedalus was asked to solve the problem. He was assigned the construction of a labyrinth to be able to lock up the foul creature and keep Crete safe.
In the construction of the labyrinth, even Daedalus himself was trapped and only thanks to the genius of his son Icarus was he able to fly away on wax wings, but this is another myth.
We finally see the figure of Ariadne, daughter of Minos, who in the meantime grew up and fell in love with Theseus, the Athenian hero who left together with the sacrificial victims. (Athens was a vassal of Crete and sent children every year to feed the Minotaur)
The young princess fell in love with Theseus at first glance and confided in him a ruse to be able to go back.
On the day of the test, in fact, he decided (at Ariadne's suggestion) to leave first for the vault of the Minotaur, keeping close to him the end of the ball tied to the entrance to the labyrinth.
Thanks to this trick it was possible for the young hero to kill Asterio and get back from the labyrinth.
The myth continues, even if not in favor of Ariadne. She decided to leave together with the hero, but he realizing the seriousness of the girl's intentions, decided to abandon her on the island of Nasso.
Destroyed by pain she cried until she attracted the attention of Dionysus, who fell in love with her and married her.
And Theseus?
Upon leaving for Crete, the young Athenian, in agreement with his father, decided to attribute a message to the color of the sails:
- Black sails - bad omen, failed mission
- White sails - the monster is defeated, victory!
So at the start they hoisted the black sails, wanting to describe the melancholy of the situation. However, mocking fate sometimes plays tricks, in fact, on their return they forgot to mount the white sails.
Aegeus, father of Theseus, controlled the sea every day, and recognizing the black sails of his son's ship, he became discouraged to the point of throwing himself off the cliff.
Conclusion
The myth of Ariadne is a metaphor for life, we often let ourselves be carried away by things, but without really holding the thread that can bring us back to the right path.
You don't get lost in the labyrinth
We are in the labyrinth
The Minotaur is not encountered in the labyrinth
In the labyrinth you meet yourself
H. Kern
