Foto di Alberto Fozzi
Press release of 16 September 2025
Contemporary art on top of Monte Limbara.
On Sunday 21 September, the new art trail of the Acquamontana project opens in Vallicciola.
‘Lungo la Via dell’Acqua’ (Along the waterway), a route of 11 site-specific works amidst nature and the Limbara landscape will be officially presented during a trek in the company of the artists.
In Tempio Pausania, contemporary art dwells on the peaks of the Limbara, along the evocative Via dell’acqua (Water Path ) that crosses the granite massif symbol of the Tempio Pausania territory. The new route – realised by CEAS Tempio in partnership with the Museo Organica – is called ‘Acquamontana’ and will be populated by 11 site-specific works that will dialogue with the rocks, waters and silences of the Limbara. The appointment is for Sunday 21 September with the official inauguration of the route in the presence of the artists. The date marks the conclusion of the project and the beginning of a permanent route over 6 km long that interweaves contemporary art, environment and water culture, returning to the territory a unique itinerary immersed in the beauty of Monte Limbara.
The Acquamontana Art Trail
Launched in 2024, Acquamontana – sustainability paths between art, water and nature along the waterway – is an awareness-raising project dedicated to the network of Monte Limbara springs, known as ‘the waterway’. Between 2024 and 2025, it proposed conferences, treks, exhibitions, workshops and a photo contest. The inauguration of the Vallicciola art trail represents the final stage and, at the same time, the permanent legacy of the project.
The trail runs for about 6 km, starting from the impressive sequoia forest of Valliciola to the Limbara Pass and from there to the Museo Organica, weaving through forests, granite rocks, springs and natural pools. Two of the 11 planned works will be installed at the foot of the Limbara, thus creating an ideal dialogue between the two parts of the mountain and with the Museo Organica artwork trail, opened in 2021.
Each work of the Acquamontana route is placed in the vicinity of a water element – forgotten fountains, hidden streams, ponds – and becomes a point of pause, reflection and listening. Various approaches and media were used by the artists invited by curator Giannella Demuro to confront the unspoilt nature of the Limbara: Pietruccia Bassu‘s work “Soprasuolo” , a red umbrella, symbol of protection, whose essential structure recalls a fire hydrant, emphasises the gap between landscape preservation and the impossibility of total defence. Giusy Calia’s work “Oltre la soglia” (Beyond the Threshold) is a red door planted in the void and immersed in the still water of a silent landscape; Eleonora Desole ‘s “Entra in acqua ma non si bagna” (“Enter the water but do not get wet“) covers the small wooden bridges typical of Vallicciola, adorning them with symbols, shapes and suggestions taken from the stories of poets and poetesses; the word “Baciami” (“Kiss me“) carved in marble and lying at the bottom of a pool of water is Daniela and Francesca Manca ‘s invitation – an invitation to reconnect with nature, to love it and to cherish it; an ancestral architecture that becomes a refuge and sound sculpture is the ‘Nuraghe of the Birds’ proposed by Mauro Morittu, a stylised nuragic tower that welcomes the birds that perch and feed inside it in dialogue with the life of the forest; Gianni Nieddu ‘s stylised water lily leaves are symbols of a personal memory linked to a family farm and its irrigation tanks; Sabrina Oppo ‘s ultramarine blue bells refer to solidified drops of water in the moment before they fall; Antonella Spanu ‘s wooden boat does not float, but lies on the earth, fixed by roots sinking into the ground, a symbol of travel and belonging; Maenas-Heart Studio ‘s participatory sound installation ‘Lenta che chervu’ is a primordial architecture inspired by the cult of the moon goddess: woods, branches and scents create a sacred space where one can rediscover the ancestral bond with nature. In connection with the Vallicciola itinerary, two of the works of the Acquamontana project will be installed in Curadureddu: the aerophone “In ascolto del cielo” by Giusy Calia and Antonello Fresu transforms itself from a war machine into an instrument of contemplation, inviting to listen to silence and question the invisible; in “Potomoi” by Igino Panzino two opposing presences – one artificial and one natural – come into balance proposing transforming the forest into a secular altar of the man-nature relationship.
During the inauguration, on Sunday 21 September, it will be possible to visit the works during a hike about 6 km long, starting at 9 a.m. from Vallicciola and arriving at the Limbara Pass. The route will be led by the hiking guide Corrado Conca and, along the way, the artists will be present to talk about their works, offering participants a unique opportunity to get to know them through the direct account of their authors. An alternative route is planned for persons with reduced mobility, departing at 10.30 a.m. from the Bosco di Curadureddu. (Limited places, upon booking: 347 2570908) . Throughout the day at the Museo Organica in the Curadureddu forest it will be possible to visit the collection of maquettes, sketches, and scale models of the site-specific works installed in Vallicciola, as well as the exhibitions currently in progress (‘Storia di un albero’ by the Flatform collective and ‘Like a leaf’ by the illustrator Toni Demuro).
Promoted by the CEAS Tempio in collaboration with the Museo Organica, the project was implemented by the Municipality of Tempio Pausania with the support of the Region of Sardinia – Department for the Defence of the Environment and the INFEAS network, and with the valuable collaboration of Agenzia Forestas, ENAS – Ente Acque della Sardegna and the Civic School of Music of Tempio, Aggius and Bortigiadas.
Summary programme of the day
Sunday 21 September
- Acquamontana
trekking of steps and art along the waterway
Inauguration of the new art trail
8:30 a.m.: Shuttle bus departure for Vallicciola (meeting point Bosco di Curadureddu entrance – opposite to the Madonnina)
9:00 a.m.: Start of trekking from the Vallicciola redwood forest
Approx. 12:30 p.m: Arrival: Limbara Pass and transfer by shuttle bus to Curadoreddu to visit the last two works of the route and the Museo Organica
10:30 a.m.: Jeep departure for persons with reduced mobility (meeting point Bosco di Curadureddu entrance – opposite to the Madonnina)
Limited places upon reservation: 347 2570908
Organica Museum/ CEDAP Space Curadureddu Forest
12:00 > 19:00
– ‘The Waterway – from project to work‘
edited by Giannella Demuro
– Flatform ‘Story of a Tree
curated by Giannella Demuro and Marco Senaldi
– Toni Demuro ‘Like a leaf
curated by Emiliano Longobardi
– Antonello Fresu “Re-transcriptions
edited by Giannella Demuro
