Path sculpture competition winner announced

The jury chose. Among 15 projects, all interesting works, which responded to the request for a sculpture to represent the walk and become one of its symbols. To be placed in the mountains, in one of the most scenic and beautiful places on the walk, but accessible by a dirt road. On the border between the municipality of Sante Marie and the municipality of Tagliacozzo, on the mountain halfway between the towns of San Donato and Scanzano. In this same place, the enhancement project envisages the renovation of the ancient fountain, and the erection of a small open wooden building, useful as a daytime shelter and night-time emergency bivouac.

The jury was composed of: Luigi Nacci from Trieste, writer, guide and expert on the paths to Santiago de Compostela; Mariangela Mattia from Belluno, art expert and professional restorer; Nando Nasi, graphic designer with long experience, among other things author of the Cammino dei Briganti logo; Luca Gianotti, creator and coordinator of the Cammino dei Briganti.

The jury expressed great satisfaction. Such a high quality response was not expected. The decision on the winning work was also unanimous. Cesare Pergola 's work entitled 'The Caravan on the Way' won.

The work is in fact a caravan, led by a brigand leading a mule. It is followed by two modern-day walkers, and a host of wild animals from the Abruzzi mountains: the eagle, fox, wolf, chamois and bear. The originality of the work is that it will be made of perforated corten iron, giving it lightness and transparency, and thus having a lesser impact on the landscape, a delicate presence. The jury also wanted to reward the stylistic consistency of the author, whose distinctive feature is precisely that of working with perforated materials, making it recognisable.

Cesare Pergola is a 70-year-old architect and multimedia artist from Molise, born in Limosano. But he lives between Florence and Sao Paulo, Brazil. In Brazil, he founded and directed the Galeria Belvedere in Paraty (Rio de Janeiro) and the International Festival of Contemporary Art in Paraty, involving over 500 artists.

The winner will receive a cash prize of 700 euro, and the work will be realised with funds from the regional call for entries on the 2025 routes, a call from the Abruzzo Region.

Pergola learned the news directly from Luca Gianotti, who called him in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The jury used a very precise calculation table to evaluate the five aspects required by the call: relevance of the work, originality, feasibility, curriculum, impact. And it was clear to everyone that Pergola's work deserved victory. But other works also stood out, and the jury would like to nominate the works ranked second and third.

In second place, the work by Monica Brignole Genoni, from Lainate (Milan), stage name Brimon, depicts a bivouac with four brigands around a fire. The work invites you to sit down, because some of the boulders are empty. And it is a sound work because some of the reeds are hollow and play in the wind.

In third place, the work by Fabrizio Maffei from Fabriano (Ancona), entitled "Io brigante" is a metamorphic sculpture, which changes subject depending on the point of view from which it is observed: five human figures, which seen from one side are brigands, seen from another perspective become walkers.

The jury hopes that these two works, which receive a special mention, will be taken into consideration for a possible future creation and installation, in different places on the walk itself. They would certainly deserve it and the walk would benefit from it, becoming a museum of open-air works. The jury hopes that other sensitive administrations will take the opportunity of these ready-made projects. And they would like to thank all the participants in the contest, who worked with commitment, producing very well-prepared works.

The mayor of Sante Marie Lorenzo Berardinetti thanked the jury for their timely and important work, and congratulated the winner.

Cesare Pergola's website: www.cesarepergola.com.
Here is a video on his artistic curriculum vitae.

29/11/2025