According to some local legends, Sasso di Castalda was built by women, men and children, who carried stones found in the valley on their heads. There is evidence by the walls of houses in the oldest part of the village around Via della Manca, sometimes carved from solid rock, and sometimes built drystone.
The story has roots in a nature of ancient origins, evident from the geodiversity in the Arenazzo river gorge, a site of national significance that documents the collision between the Euro-Asian and African tectonic plates. Today, it is perceived by the human eye as the natural extension of the town. But, going beyond its ancient narratives, Sasso di Castalda is receptive to today’s slow tourism of walking paths, benefiting from an “accessible” landscape and the experience of Tibetan bridges, fulfilling the dream of reaching the mountains by “flying,” amidst the suspension of time and the atmosphere of pilgrim routes enveloping the town.
What is the inhabitants’ everyday dimension? What are the desires of the different generations who live there today? How is the village perceived by a community of dreamers? How does the village wish to describe itself and capture the gaze of other people?
Posing these questions, artist Giulio Locatelli invites residents to take part in the Circo tessile (Textile Circus), a community weaving workshop conducted during a series of meetings.
Tufting, the technique used by the artist in his work, becomes the highlight of the workshop activities, constituting a new form of writing: a medium that translates new views of the village into embroidery, interacting with the group of participants.
Weaving, an ancient and introspective language, becomes a collective experience of desires, images, shared values, the old stories of both the residents and the travellers who wish to take part in the workshops, because “nothing can be loved without imagination,” without discovering new ways of creating a community.

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Artwork:
01. Giulio Locatelli, Circo tessile, 2024. Installation, mixed media, variable dimensions.
Hortus Conclusus – Via degli Orti / Via Casale
Daily, h 24 - 24/7. Adjacent to the Hortus Conclusus there is free parking (accessible from Via Calvario or Via degli Orti). The Hortus Conclusus is located near the Deer Fauna Area of Sasso di Castalda.

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Giulio Locatelli (Bergamo, Italy, 1993) graduated in Painting and Visual Arts from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan. Interested in the textile world, his practice places particular emphasis on the thread as both an analytical tool and a means of realizing mental concepts that would otherwise ‘catch cold.’ Among his recent solo exhibitions are Magic Carpet at Platea Palazzo Galeano, Lodi (IT, 2023); and Flying Carpet, Fondazione Bernareggi, Bergamo (IT, 2021). His works have also been included in group exhibitions such as Architetture e forme dell’essere at Fondazione Leonesio, Brescia (IT, 2023); Tales from then inside_out the look through at Co_atto, Milan (IT, 2022); Miniartextil at Fondazione Sponga, Como (2022); and Festina stonata at luogo_e, Bergamo (IT, 2022). He has been a finalist in several awards including the Combat Prize (IT, 2020), Nocivelli Prize (IT, 2020), Yicca Prize (2019), and participated in artistic residencies such as Synchronicity in China (CN, 2017) and Rotondella - People and Landscape in Puglia (IT, 2020).