Fontana delle tradizioni Oriesi
Fontana delle tradizioni Oriesi
Monumental sculpture in marble – unique artwork
Maestro Abele Vadacca created in 2002 in Orio Litta, a town in the Bassa Lodigiana that overlooks the Po, defining the boundaries
Between the land of Romagna and Lombardy, the "Fountain of Oriesi Traditions".
The work desired by the then Municipal Administration and carried out with the support of private individuals, was destined for one or the most beautiful and representative points of the town, the square in front of the Town Hall, overlooked by the post office, the schools and one of the symbols distinctive features and source of prestige for the town: the enchanting Villa Litta Carini (a wonderful example of 18th century Italian architecture).
The location gives strength to the message of the work, a monument that speaks to the people, to all people and tells of a country rich in culture and traditions, whose history has its roots in the ancient settlements of the Gerolomini monks, who were the first to throw the seed of an agricultural culture and food production that today has become the symbol of excellence all over the world.
And it is precisely these people and these people that the work tells. Mild and industrious people dedicated to the concept of family, to respect for nature in a fruitful partnership that has been close for centuries now.
The material chosen is among the master's favorites which saw a succession of public works located in Italy and abroad in the following years.
We mention only a few of the most important in Italy in the provinces of Como, Lucca, Pescara, Lecce.
In addition to the works belonging to private collections found in Europe, the United States of America, New Zealand, Australia.
The fountain has an octagonal basin made of Bardiglio marble from the Apuan Alps, is a single block with a diameter of more than 2 meters, has 8 sides of about 70 cm each and a height at the edge of 70 cm.
The geometric shapes of the tub soften into a stylistic expression that Vadacca will accentuate more and more over the years, approaching liquid and sinuous shapes.
Of the 8 faces of the octagon, 4 are dedicated to the seasons or phases of the production of the cheese that most of all is a symbol of the wisdom and mastery of this land, Grana Padano.
In order: the sowing, the harvest, the milking, and the seasoning of the parmesan.
Everything traces the delicate and ancient clover production process which is the 'seed' of a unique gastronomic result in the world, revealing an almost alchemical process.
The images tickle the viewer and by communicating in a simple and universal way they lead the viewer to reflect and document himself.
The expressive method recalls the sculpted representations that were widely used in the Middle Ages (Antelami and Wiligelmo) to communicate and make known to all religious events, precluded to most at the time.
A simple and figurative method to transmit knowledge.
At the center of the basin stands a stele in pure white P marble.
Each of the two faces is always carved in bas-relief; one represents the bond between man and cow to which man owes centuries of prosperity and support for sustenance, generator of the primary substance in the dairy sector, milk. On the second face facing the Villa Litta Carini is depicted the scene in which a monk hands a parchment to a child. He immortalizes the importance of the passage of traditions and the respect that each generation must have for the next and the ascendant.
Last but not least, a curious detail is a hole that pierces the marble stele, an anticipation of all the artistic research that today leads the artist to profound investigations into the concept of fullness and emptiness, matter and antimatter. Precisely this hole is a ustorio king hymn to tradition, the observer leaning his back on the town hall can from a precise observation point sight another very important sculpture for the community, the "Man of Vori" his time-worn silhouette stands out still imposing on the roof of Villa Litta, and it is thus that in a gesture of great attention and dialogue the sculptor opens a dialogue between the sculpture of the past and the fountain of traditions, contemporary sculpture which is not forgetful of who was before it.