Roberto CipolloneChianti
Roberto Cipollone
Italy (1947)
/ THE WORK
Chianti, 2002
recycled iron tools
Chianti is one of the works most properly integrated into the Park environment, since it establishes a relationship not only with the immediate space, but also with the economic and social history of the entire Chianti region. It is made up of seven iron rings, obtained from the wooden barrels used to ferment and age the Chianti Classico wine made from Sangiovese (blood of Jupiter) grapes, typical of the region. Some of the most common traditional tools hang inside the circular sculpture, such as butcher’s hooks, cattle bells and horseshoes. The interaction with nature takes place when gusts of wind, and the consequent movement of the trees to which the sculpture is attached, make the tools produce a variety of sounds. The general circular composition of the suspended work is taken up by the rounded stone on the ground and the circle of trees. The strength of this work lies in the simplicity with which its materials and form are linked to the landscape, traditions and people of this region.
Roberto Cipollone
Italy (1947)
BIOGRAPHY
Roberto Cipollone (Ciro) was born in Pescara, Italy in 1947, where he spent his childhood years as a young man around the foundry run by his father. In 1970 he went to Holland where he lived for 6 years employed as a factory worker. Guided by a deep love for nature and at the same time by a strong spiritual tension, he tried to seize every opportunity to express this being of his, through small artifacts, canvases, drawings and simple engravings.
In 1977 he moved to Loppiano near Florence, where he has been living and working up to the present. For his work he uses several materials: wood, iron, stone, fabric, all kinds of waste material, which he considers as the richest of life. The material he uses is a clear and well oriented choice: it’s intentionally not precious. Its value is hidden. He tries to let the object tell those humble stories which are still unknown.

