PER(e)SISTERE
PER(e)SISTERE
2005 – 2006, Craco (MT)
Site-specific Land Art intervention in the old town of Craco in the province of Matera, an ancient settlement that suffered a series of sudden collapses in the mid-1950s, leading to its depopulation and eventual abandonment. Moved and captivated by this poignant and sublime spectacle, the artist conceived and created an intervention aimed at awakening awareness and revealing the beauty of a landscape that, without protection, is destined for ruin.
In the province of Matera, perched on a rocky spur beside the Cavone River, lies the ghost town of Craco, an ancient settlement with origins dating back before the medieval period. Its urban layout still reveals its fortress-like structure, clinging to the rock, with narrow alleys, stairways, and simple, austere decorations. In the mid-1950s, the town suffered a grave event: about half of it slid downhill, destroying homes, roads, and taking human lives. This disaster led to the complete depopulation and eventual abandonment of the town. Some new buildings were constructed slightly lower down, but the new town, Craco Peschiera, was fully rebuilt on the plain below, about eight kilometers away.
Since then, the old town, despite its remarkable landscape value, has remained untouched—for better or worse: no modifications that could erase its ancient charm, but unfortunately, no restoration projects to preserve its unique aesthetic characteristics.
Per(e)sistere arose from reflections the artist developed after visiting this place—a town clinging to the rock, embedded in a vast, rugged landscape of clay, swamp in the rain, cracked earth in the sun. The beauty of the place. The beauty of what remains, an inseparable part of the rock. It is nature and artifice within nature; it exudes toil, pain, and hardship, yet there is a profound communion with the place. Acceptance of a harsh, difficult reality and a will to assert one’s presence. The stubbornness to dwell—not just anywhere, but here. And then, the inevitable abandonment. The uninhabited town appears frozen, unchanging, yet time continues, slowly wearing it down. Small changes occur daily, minor losses, barely perceptible erosions. A desire to halt the relentless decay. Persist to exist.
The artist envisioned an artistic action as a symbol of a much broader intervention, highlighting the beauty of this place and what remains of it, while also underscoring the relentless decay that could lead to its inevitable ruin. The primary goal was to bring the sublime beauty of this overpowering landscape down to a human level—one that fascinates but disorients, exalts, and distresses—through a trace that would restore life to it.
The second goal, equally important, was for this trace to be tangible—a mark and testimony that decay is relentless and no longer invisible. The painting would therefore take the form of a perfect circular line encircling the entire town, outlining it on the ground and in space, beginning on the ruined bastions, the remnants of foundations crumbled by landslides and time. The color chosen is orange, symbolizing the rising sun, vitality, energy, and joy of living; it is the color of growth, love, and happiness. The soul of Craco is orange; it demands life.
The paint seeps between the stones, the mortar, and the blocks of tuff; the pigment contrasts with the color of abandonment, bringing life back. This paint will serve as both a distant sign and a close-up testament: as the color fades, it will become clear that the bastion continues to crumble, as do all the buildings, stones, and roads of Craco.
