Cavanei Cavanei

Artist Residency

March 21st - April 6th 2025

“Cavanei Cavanei” is an artist residency organised by the Apua collective hosted at Pian della Chiesa, in Zanego, between the municipalities of Lerici and Ameglia, from March 21 to April 6 2025, in the heart of the Montemarcello Magra Vara Natural Park. Organised by Filippo Muzi Falconi, the residency brings together a group of Italian and international artists from different disciplines - sculpture, painting, ceramics, and photography - selected for the relevance of their work to the themes of nature and the cavanei.

At the core of the residency is the theme of the cavanei: small dry-stone shelters, circular or square in shape, with a domed roof. These structures are characteristic of Monte Caprione, where nearly 300 have been documented. Their origins likely date back to the time of the ancient Ligurians, but their function remains uncertain and shrouded in mystery. Some theories describe them as tombs or sacred places - spaces connecting the world of the living and the dead - where offerings such as fruit and gifts were brought. According to certain traditions, the entrances to the cavanei were sealed and reopened only during rituals dedicated to the deceased.

Other interpretations suggest that they were used as temporary shelters for shepherds, farmers, animals, or as storage for tools. Their history is layered and fluid: over the centuries, different populations have maintained, reinterpreted, and reused them in various ways.

The spirit of the residency is to create continuity with this history, ideally continuing the process of transformation and the attribution of new meanings to these spaces. For the group of participating artists, one of the most evocative interpretations is that of the cavaneo as a sacred place - a bridge between life and death. This reading also finds concrete resonance from an ecological perspective: built using dry stone, cavanei create a humid microclimate that offers refuge to mosses, lichens, ferns, and insects. In this way, even though their original function has been lost over time, they continue to spontaneously generate life.

The natural environment in which the residency takes place is an integral part of the project. The Montemarcello Magra Vara Natural Park represents a unique heritage, characterised by Mediterranean scrubland, forests, and high ecological and historical value, also evidenced by the high concentration of cavanei. A central element of the artistic production is the exclusive use of materials collected within the park: clay, wood, stone, and bark. This choice strengthens the connection between the artworks and the territory, in continuity with the ancient practices of building cavanei using locally available resources.

The residency takes place at Pian della Chiesa, located in the heart of the park. The farm produces organic and natural wines and hosts guests throughout the year. It is also a place of cultural promotion, organising public events such as tastings, book presentations, and artistic encounters.

Structure and Phases of the Residency

The residency is structured around three main phases:

1. Exploration and Research

In the first phase, the group of artists explored Monte Caprione in search of cavanei and natural materials from the park—clay, stone, wood, and bark—which later became both raw material and source of inspiration for the artworks. During this phase, a meeting was organized with historian and cavanei scholar Gino Cabano (A.P.S. Pro Monte Caprione), who led a visit to the shelters located near the farm. At the same time, the artists built an earthen kiln for firing ceramics, made entirely from clay collected in the park and inspired by traditional Japanese anagama kilns.

2. Artistic Production

The second phase is dedicated to the creation of the artworks, primarily in ceramic, but also using wood and stone. The works will be individual, yet connected through a shared project and narrative. A central moment of this phase will be the lighting of the kiln.

3. Restitution

The residency will conclude with a closing ritual inspired by ancient practices: the works created by the artists will be symbolically donated to the cavaneo, which will be sealed with a slate door. On this rock surface, engravings and traces left by the artists during the residency will appear. Through this gesture, the project reactivates the historical function of the cavanei, reinterpreting it in a contemporary key and giving these structures new life and meaning, as has happened in the past through different cultures.

Project Presentation: Saturday, April 5

The event will be open to the public and will offer the opportunity to visit a cavaneo and discover the works created during the artist residency.

Program of the Day:

• 3:00 pm - meeting at Pian della Chiesa Farm. Introduction to the artistic project with Filippo Muzi Falconi, presentation of the raw materials collected for the artworks, and an introduction to the cavanei with Gino Cabano.

• Guided visit to a cavaneo near the farm, led by Gino Cabano, historian and expert on the subject.

• Presentation of the works created during the residency and the symbolic closure of the cavaneo with the donated artworks inside.

• Around 5:00 pm – Refreshments organised by the farm.

• 7:00 pm - Event closure.

We would like to thank the participating artists and all those who made this project possible:

• Boris Grisot

• Charlotte Quinonero

• Coline Ramonet-Bonis

• Filippo Muzi Falconi (Poposh Rupestre)

• Gino Cabano

• Lara Prideaux

• Marco Periz

• Margot Van Den Berghe

• Marine Bosi

• Nicola Micali
  

• Pablo Bolumar Plata

• Yara Haydar

• Ottavio Muzi Falconi

The project was featured in the following press outlets:

• "I Cavanei a Zanego rivivono in una residenza artistica con Filippo Muzi Falconi", Città Della Spezia (2025)
• "I Cavanei rivivono in una residenza artistica a Zanego", L’Eco Della Lunigiana (2025)
• "Dodici artisti a Pian della Chiesa", Il Secolo XIX (2025)
• "I Cavanei rivivono in una residenza artistica a Zanego", L'Ordinario (2025)