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OUR RESEARCH CONSIDERS HISTORICAL ARTEFACTS SUCH AS MAPS, SHIPWRECKS, RELICS, AND VESSELS AS TIME CAPSULES THAT MIGHT FOREGROUND FORGOTTEN HISTORIES. DIGGING INTO THESE OBJECTS AND CASE STUDIES, WE INVESTIGATE HOW "ARCHAEODREAMING" COULD BECOME A METHOD FOR RE-ENCHANTMENT—AN ACTION TO CONTEMPLATE SOMETHING INVISIBLE AND UNKNOWN—ENGAGING WITH PROCESSES OF MEMORY AND IMAGINATION.
Nicola Baratto (Montebelluna, Italy 1989) and Yiannis Mouravas (Athens, Greece, 1986) are former research fellows of the Dirty Art Department at the Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Their practice is based on ‘Archaeodreaming’, an experimental research method they developed that explores history, mythology, and the overlays between archaeology and dreaming. By creating connections between archaic and contemporary cultures, they develop poetic and nonlinear narrative forms, intertwining field and archival research with unconscious experiences. Their works unfold through multimedia installations, films, artist books, and sculptures. They have received international grants such as the Mondriaan Fonds, the Stimuleringsfonds, and the overseas residency grant from the XII edition of the Italian Council. Recent exhibitions include A Rave Down Below at Elevsis, European Capital of Culture, Eleusis (GR, 2023); 2012 Never Happened at In Debt, Amsterdam (NL, 2023); and Prospects and Concepts at Art Rotterdam (NL, 2023).
Perched on a chalky hill in the Sicani Mountains, Sant'Angelo Muxaro was founded in around the 16th century, in an area so ancient that myth and history are intertwined into a unique tapestry.
The hillside slopes feature numerous cave tombs, dating back to the 9th century B.C.: a vast necropolis of what must have been a flourishing Sican settlement from the Bronze and Iron Ages.
The largest protohistoric tomb in Sicily is also located here: the “Tomb of the Prince” consists of a double circular chamber, the first of which is 9 metres in diameter and over 3 metres high with a tholos dome, similar to the royal Mycenaean tombs of comparable age in Greece.
Monte Castello is the site of what remains of an ancient Arab stronghold Qalàt al-Mushar'àh (giving origin to the name Muxaro), probably built on the remains of another Bronze Age fortress: Kamikos, the fortress-city of the Sican king Kòkalos, may have stood here. According to legend, Kòkalos hosted Daedalus, the ingenious architect who fled from Crete and built superb fortifications for the king.
Caves of speleological and naturalistic interest can be seen in the Grotta Sant'Angelo Reserve, while the fascinating “Vallone del Ponte” karst system unfolds along a valley with a tributary of the Platani River.
Visiting Sant'Angelo Muxaro enables you to experience an ancient and authentic Sicily, made of myth and history but also of flavours: as generous and exquisite as the local population.