Orto Botanico

Today we went to Orto Botanico under the superlative guidance of our Art History of Gardens Expert ProfessorMama. She advised us to see the Corsini Garden because it was designed by Architect Ferdinando Fuga in 1741. Recognize the name Fuga? Yes you do! Fuga is also the mastermind behind the Convento di Santa Brigida in none other than Calvi dell’Umbria, the future home of the Art Monastery.

Although you can’t tell in the pictures, ProfessorMama is about a million months pregnant– but that did not stop her from wearing a smart little outfit and marching us up and down and all around the gardens, plying us with expert knowledge the whole time. What a woman!

Click the images to see the full portfolio of images from the visit. Be prepared for a lotta cacti.

Those aren’t orbs, are they?

So fuzzy… you could almost be lulled into petting them.

To me, one of the most magical experiences in the Orto Botanico was a veritable room of bamboo. At least 15 feet tall, the bamboo is growing in a circle such that once you make your way in you are enveloped into a breathing, swaying, living private room. Really special in the midst of a public park. This has inspired in me the idea of emphasizing certain parts of the garden that is part of the Art Monastery– there are some parts of the garden that seem to be sectioned off. Were they originally for private contemplation? What would a contemporary artist do with an installation that has such a history? How would that space grow or transform over time, through the seasons, and over the years?

Another point about the garden of the Art Monastery: certainly other gardens of similar size from that time would have been punctuated by stone sculptures. Is that so for a convent? More likely that those funds would have been relocated to altars and shrines. So what forms will appear in the garden of the Art Monastery?

Can you tell that I’m thinking about the project more concretely? (Ouch: no pun intended.) Maybe that’s because there has been announced a bando! A bando is a public contest, so we will create an application presenting our project that includes the sorts of artwork we’ll be doing there, the benefits to the local community, the vision of the Art Monastery Project, and the renovations we would propose to the building and gardens. The application is due at the end of March, but our goal is to hand in our documents before I leave to come back to the US on March 18. A big part of the documents we turn in will be the Art Projects we posted on this site a few days ago. (It has been constant work on the bando that has delayed a few of these postings.) Okay, back to work!Today we went to Orto Botanico under the superlative guidance of our Art History of Gardens Expert ProfessorMama. She advised us to see the Corsini Garden because it was designed by Architect Ferdinando Fuga in 1741. Recognize the name Fuga? Yes you do! Fuga is also the mastermind behind the Convento di Santa Brigida in none other than Calvi dell’Umbria, the future home of the Art Monastery.

Although you can’t tell in the pictures, ProfessorMama is about a million months pregnant– but that did not stop her from wearing a smart little outfit and marching us up and down and all around the gardens, plying us with expert knowledge the whole time. What a woman!

Click the images to see the full portfolio of images from the visit. Be prepared for a lotta cacti.

Those aren’t orbs, are they?


So fuzzy… you could almost be lulled into petting them.

To me, one of the most magical experiences in the Orto Botanico was a veritable room of bamboo. At least 15 feet tall, the bamboo is growing in a circle such that once you make your way in you are enveloped into a breathing, swaying, living private room. Really special in the midst of a public park. This has inspired in me the idea of emphasizing certain parts of the garden that is part of the Art Monastery– there are some parts of the garden that seem to be sectioned off. Were they originally for private contemplation? What would a contemporary artist do with an installation that has such a history? How would that space grow or transform over time, through the seasons, and over the years?

Another point about the garden of the Art Monastery: certainly other gardens of similar size from that time would have been punctuated by stone sculptures. Is that so for a convent? More likely that those funds would have been relocated to altars and shrines. So what forms will appear in the garden of the Art Monastery?

Can you tell that I’m thinking about the project more concretely? (Ouch: no pun intended.) Maybe that’s because there has been announced a bando! A bando is a public contest, so we will create an application presenting our project that includes the sorts of artwork we’ll be doing there, the benefits to the local community, the vision of the Art Monastery Project, and the renovations we would propose to the building and gardens. The application is due at the end of March, but our goal is to hand in our documents before I leave to come back to the US on March 18. A big part of the documents we turn in will be the Art Projects we posted on this site a few days ago. (It has been constant work on the bando that has delayed a few of these postings.) Okay, back to work!