The project explores the complexity of Alpine forest landscapes, often perceived as pristine environments but in fact shaped by human intervention and climate change. Most spruce forests in Trentino-Alto Adige are managed through forestry practices, while only a small portion remains truly natural. These ecosystems, though seemingly stable, are fragile and increasingly vulnerable in the context of accelerating climate instability.
Storm Vaia in 2018 felled around 14 million trees, revealing the limits of a landscape dominated by monocultures of abeti rossi (Norway spruce). This fast-growing species, with shallow roots, is particularly susceptible to bark beetle (Ips typographus) attacks. Its proliferation—fueled by the abundance of fallen trees and warmer temperatures—is devastating the region’s forests. In the absence of long, cold winters, the insect multiplies rapidly, attacking even healthy trees and causing the death of millions of plants. Estimates suggest that nearly 50 million trees may have been lost—far exceeding the damage caused by Vaia.
Stefano Caimi presents an installation of cables suspended between branches and trunks, visible within the forest, which symbolically highlights the cycles of life and death, the tension between human intervention and nature, and the ecosystem’s capacity for regeneration. The work is inspired by strategies adopted in the “Forest of Giants” in Luserna, where selective logging and targeted pest control techniques reflect the fragile balance that can only be maintained through responsible management.
A further layer of reflection is offered by necromass: deadwood that, in addition to nourishing the soil, is used as bait to control the bark beetle, while simultaneously serving as a rich habitat for biodiversity. Death, in this context, is not an end but part of a vital cycle that ensures renewal and forest resilience.
Stasi, equilibri ecosistemici in divenire is an invitation to observe invisible transformations, fragile balances between life and death, and the human responsibility to safeguard the Alpine natural heritage—now more than ever under threat from climate change.
ㅤ
Artwork:
01. Stefano Caimi, Stasi, equilibri ecosistemici in divenire, 2025, environmental installation, larch trees, spruce trees, necromass, stainless steel cables and tie rods, slings, variable dimensions.
Bosco dei Giganti, Luserna (TN)
The installation can be reached by following the Sentiero dei Giganti trail, with signs placed along the route.
ㅤ
Discover the map here
I AM FASCINATED BY THE BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY OF NATURE: A DENSE NETWORK OF INTERCONNECTED RELATIONSHIPS, ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLE.
I TRY TO DISTILL THEM BY ALTERING MATERIAL, COLOR, AND SCALE, TO HIGHLIGHT THE ELEMENTS THAT SUSTAIN THE WHOLE—THOSE TO WHICH WE ARE INEVITABLY CONNECTED.
Stefano Caimi (Merate, Italy, 1991) graduated in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Turin and currently lives and works in Montevecchia, in Lombardy. His works and installations have been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad, including: SMACH – Biennale delle Dolomiti, Val Badia (IT); Dancing in the Ash, The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Milan (IT); EARTH – A Collective Landscape, AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (NL); Nexus, Echoes, and Connections, Sarah Crown, New York (USA); Dolomiti Contemporanee, Casso (IT). His works are included in several public and private collections, such as the Anthropocene Collection at MUSE, Trento (IT), In4Art (NL), and AkzoNobel Art Foundation (NL). He actively collaborates with Dolomiti Contemporanee and the Centro Studi sull'Ambiente Alpino of the University of Padua.
Since 2019, he has taught Computer Art at New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. His course is focused on how digital media have changed the way to think, make and distribute art in the last century.
On the Cimbrian Alps, there is a place where the silence of the woods speaks an ancient language. This is Luserna, nestled among pastures and trails shaped by time, enchanting visitors with its authenticity and strong cultural identity.Here, people still speak Cimbrian—Zimbar to the locals—a Germanic language brought by settlers from the Empire in the 12th century. It is a living heritage, found in folk songs, elders’ stories, and bilingual signs.At the heart of this collective memory stands the Luserna Museum, which tells the story of the area’s history, nature, and traditions through immersive trails and sound archives. The Haus von Prükk, a traditional farmhouse museum, preserves daily life from the early 20th century through simple objects and quiet stories.Bobbin lace is a cherished village tradition that celebrates the beauty of slowness. For those seeking an authentic connection with nature, themed trails lead from the village into thick forests.
Watching over Luserna is Fort Werk Lusérn, an austere Austro-Hungarian sentinel and silent witness to a past that still echoes.
Valerio Panella (Trento, 1984), graduates in Sustainable Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano. As an architect and designer, he has been drawn to the world of art since his studies, merging his sensitivity to environmental issues, sustainability, and cultural landscape. A member of the Arte Sella Association, he has been collaborating with them for over five years. For Una Boccata d’Arte he has been the curator for Trentino-Alto Adige since the first edition and he curated projects by the artists: Luca Pozzi in Mezzano (2020), Camille Norment in Santa Gertrude (2021), Giulia Mangoni in San Lorenzo Dorsino (2022), Benjamin Jones in Pieve Tesino (2023) and Adji Dieye in Magrè sulla Strada del Vino (2024).