Alice Visentin
Il comizio, la merenda, il canto
La merenda è uno dei doni al borgo di avise. Un momento di socialità tra gli abitanti del borgo e i visitatori: una merenda domenicale che, insieme al coro cantante, intende stimolare le energie locali per alimentare il senso di appartenenza alla collettività.
Alice Visentin, Il comizio, la merenda, il canto, 2020, Avise (AO), Valle d'Aosta. Ph. Claudiu Asmarandei
The visual references in Alice Visentin’s works (Turin, 1993), which include hats, walking sticks, and long dresses, are taken from the culture and land of her mountain communities of origin. This exploration of her cultural background has given the artist insight into how knowledge is produced through rituals and oral histories, as well as how these processes lend new meanings to objects and encounters.
Avise is a small municipality in the Valle d’Aosta located near the Pierre Taillée gorge, a must-stop stretch on the ancient road of Gaul, built by the Romans to reach France. Being in a position to control commercial traffic on the transalpine road helped foster the development and wealth of the feud of the Signori di Avise (Lords of Avise), one of the oldest noble families in the Valle d’Aosta. Emblematic of the family’s importance is the castle at the entrance of the evocative village, built at the end of the 15th century, flanked by a quadrangular tower decorated with small carinated arches in the upper portion. The ceiling of the second floor hall hall deserves a special mention; it is set on seven main beams supported by fourteen shelves engraved with human and animal figures.