Umbria: between art, nature and magic, here is the Unicorn Path

A permanent pictorial journey in eight stages around a village and its Castle, in Umbria, in Alviano. The Unicorn Path was designed by the artist Gabriel Pacheco, born in Mexico in 1973 and now an internationally renowned illustrator. “The name comes from historical research, from the symbolism of these places, and to us it immediately seemed perfect: evocative, elegant, magical. Just like love,” explains the artist.

The Municipality of Alviano has decided to inaugurate the Giardini del Sole and the related Unicorn Path on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June with two days of concerts, shows for children with street artists, trekking, a conference, tasting moments and much other.

The “Unicorn Path. Between myths, art and loves” was born in the heart of what is remembered as “the Castle of Bartolomeo di Alviano”, captain of fortune written by Francesco Guicciardini and Niccolò Machiavelli, famous for its rich rooms of symbols, myths and beauty where battles are not painted but family unions, mythological animals and mottos that go beyond time. The inspiration for a pictorial, narrative path, in eight stages, scattered around the Umbrian village, was born from those fairytale interiors. Works that, combined with the suggestion of the alleys and the charm of a terrace overlooking the gullies – part of the Giardini del Sole -, give those who visit this place the pleasure of perfection.

“I was contacted by the Municipality of Alviano, – continues Pacheco – who wanted to enhance the path in some way. He invited me to get to know the castle, its history, and from there the idea of ​​a loving journey was born. represent different moments, an integral image of love, a complex inner journey “.

To complete the works, the artist, winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, one of the highest international awards, worked about a year, starting with pencil and acrylic drawings, up to the final digital print. The path, unique in the world of its kind, depicts eight states of love, drawing inspiration in particular from “Fragments of a love speech” by Roland Barthes.

To better appreciate each work, special benches have been set up, designed by the architect Rodolfo Bellini and inspired by different ways of being together. Each stage was also embellished by the music of the composer Arturo Annecchino, who, inspired by his works, created “meditative pills for the piano” to listen to from your mobile phone, by accessing the path marked on Google Maps.

“From the regeneration of a space that embraces the village of Alviano – the Giardini del Sole, in fact, restructured thanks to the support of the Terni LAG – a path has therefore been born that pushes you to immerse yourself in the landscape”, concludes the Mayor Giovanni Ciardo. Love, in this path, finds its maximum expression in the unicorn, a mythological, fantastic animal, often used in the frescoes inside the Alviano Castle to represent the ideal of love. In the sounds and beauties of art, nature expresses itself in the language that is most congenial to it, that of emotions.