LATRONICO – A very stylish arrival to the thermal city for the Anglo-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor. Everybody was looking upward to see the artist's arrival in helicopter, who lands at the thermal baths to present his works. Everything happened on the occasion of the opening of ArtePollino Un Altro Sud-Another South's first edition. It was an event that attracts, in the Pollino National Park, hundred of journalists, art lovers and onlookers from each part of Italy. It all began with the opening of the “Earth Cinema” by Kapoor at the thermal baths of Latronico, which surely is the most important work by this artist, placed here in Italy, together with the one in progress at Naples underground. “Earth Cinema” is a “cut” that has been hollowed in the earth, it is about 45m of length and 7 meters of depth, where visitors, entering it, could be in contact with the bowels of the earth, all around the work there is a bay-planting. Anish Kapoor, one of the greatest contemporary art living artists, presented his monumental work, «which is in relation with the territory – he says - and it is a sort of view on the inner of the earth». At the opening, in addition to the President of the Regional Council Vito De Filippo and the mayor of Latronico Egidio Ponzo, there were also some members of the project's prestigious Scientific Committee: Mario Cristiani, Chairman of Arte Continua, Vicente Todolì, Director of Tate Modern of London, Caterina Seia, Catterina Seia, in charge of the UniCredit & Art and Laura Barreca, a representative of Mibac, who cooperated to carry out an ambitious Project in one of the most beautiful naturalistic areas in the South of Italy. After, everybody went by coach to see the “Vegetal Theatre”, the work by Giuseppe Penone, a place that is part of the sorrounding landscape, along the Sarmento torrent, in the territory of Noepoli, which is still in progress. Then all the company reached San Severino Lucano, at an height of more than a thousand meters, on Timpa della Guardia, where from a side you can admire the highest summits of Pollino and from the other side you can admire the Sinni Valley with the wonderful scenery of Monte Cotugno dam. Here it was located the astonishing “RB Ride” by Carsten Höller: a gigantic scenic merry-go-round, with 12 arms for 24 persons, which rotates slowly on the top of the mountain. On the next 19^th September there will be this event's conclusion which had a run of great successes. There will be the “Pensavo fosse Bach” concert by Mario Brunello to bring down the curtain of the initiative. On that date, there will also be the conclusion of the educational activities in the schools and in the territory and the workshops with three more artists: Claudia Losi, Nils-Udo and Anni Rapinoja, who, in these days, are working together with the local communities of Pollino, in Latronico, San Paolo Albanese and Terranova del Pollino, by using nature, traditions and local culture as primary elements of inspiration of their contemporary artworks.

Claudio Sole