2016 - Galleria Gagliardi, San Gimignano
"PELLEGRINI, VIAGGIATORI, VIANDANTI" press release
The extraordinary solo exhibition “Pellegrini, Viaggiatori, Viandanti” ("Pilgrims, travelers, Wayfarers") of works by the artist Sergio Zanni was focuses on the figure of the pilgrim in the original interpretation given it by this sculptor from Ferrara.The sixteen terracotta sculptures (one of which was on display at the entrance of the Museum of the Duomo di San Gimignano), are all stemming from the profound reflection that Sergio Zanni has been conducting for many years on the essence of Man and his transit in this life. Therefore, these works were chosen to reiterate the sanctity and historic significance that the Via Francigena had in the past and still has today, with one of its most significant stops in San Gimignano.This exhibition was a special tribute to the current Jubilee Year of Mercy, having been mounted before in the Old Hospital of Bologna, which for hundreds of years has welcomed pilgrims, travelers and the sick, then in the ancient town of San Gimignano, a UNESCO heritage site, where the "Villaggio del Pellegrino" (Pilgrim’s Village) was opened.As Elisabetta Pozzetti writes in the catalogue published for the exhibitions in both venues: "The wayfarer, then, is not just a topic for the artist to develop: it is the very essence of the artist’s decades-long search. The wayfarer is also a person who travels through time and space. He is the bearer of stories and the custodian of wisdom, hovering over the precipice that separates the past from the unknown, between tradition and subversion. He is the person who sews together an interior baggage of experiences and anecdotes through his nomadic lifestyle. Lastly, he is one who considers spirituality the only wealth worthy of being treasured during our eventful earthly existence.
"PELLEGRINI, VIAGGIATORI,VIANDANTI".("Pilgrims, Travelers, Wayfarers") by Sergio Zanni, curated by Elisabetta Pozzetti , from 2 to 30 July 2016
Critical text by Elisabetta Pozzetti: " Silenti archetipi per una guerriglia imminente"
With the patronage: Council of Europe - Via Francigena, Municipality of San Gimignano and Cathedral Museum