Milan kicks off "Leonardo's gardens" project: gardens imagined by Leonardo are revived in a contemporary key

Eco-design and art, are the themes proposed this year by the nineteenth edition of GREEN ISLAND, during Milan Design Week (April 8/14, 2019). An urban path dedicated to creativity, art and landscape, in the area between Piazza Gae Aulenti and the Isola District. The I GIARDINI DI LEONARDO project pays homage to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, on the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death, starting from the gardens featured in his paintings and rethinking them in a contemporary key. Says Claudia Zanfi, creator of the project, art historian and landscape architect: "What is a garden? What place does it occupy in our cities, in our homes, in our memories? Does it exist in itself or is it an emotional construction? A mix of architecture, design, nature, community space, the garden occupies different places in life and art, but there is always one idea that runs through it: the gaze of those who live it."

I GIARDINI DI LEONARDO intends to create a dialogue between the memory of places and creativity, involving young artists and designers in the creation of important green installations, in Zona Isola Milano. It is a public path dedicated to artists’ gardens and eco-design. Center of the project are gardens/sculpture entirely vegetal and with the use of natural materials. An unprecedented urban pathway through which citizens are invited to walk, for a total immersion in nature, with plants of various shades of green, different leaf textures and scents, to engage all 5 senses. The path develops a system of dialogue between design and landscape, to bring out the excellence and strengths of contemporary ’green design’, inspired by the works of the great master Leonardo da Vinci.
The I GIARDINI DI LEONARDO program aims to stimulate respect for the environment, a sense of belonging to the community, and an in-depth study of the landscape within the pictorial works of Leonardo da Vinci. As well as the discovery of a welcoming neighborhood for the enhancement of greenery in the city, thanks in part to the new ’The Library of Trees’ Park. Educational workshops for children and families on the theme of flora and botany will be organized in the program to help them rediscover the value of Leonardo’s work through the importance of nature and design. Participants will thus have the opportunity to understand and develop a greater ecological culture, linked to the world of art.

The art project, conceived by Claudia Zanfi, “green soul” and historical inspirer of Milano Design Week in Zona Isola, is entrusted to two prominent authors. Through a completely unprecedented set-up, Andrea Liberni creates a series of gardens inspired by Leonardo’s landscapes, drawing original wooden silhouettes taken from his fantastic machines, with ’topiary’ plants, that is, shaped and pruned in the Renaissance manner, gathered inside unusual structures. Michele Fabbricatore creates an impressive installation/sculpture with flower beds and a Leonardesque-inspired Mediterranean garden. The work, over 4 meters high, depicts a large stylized head, a metaphor to tell that our mind is like a plant and as such can be nurtured, and bear “fruit.” The human being can thus reach his ideal “flowering,” which is that place (inner and outer) where he gives the best of himself.

The project is realized in collaboration with IDD - Isola Design District and Vivai Giorgio Tesi Group, as well as prestigious public and private institutions, including: City of Milan; Lombardy Region; Polidesign; FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano); Legambiente; Legno Urbano; Atelier del Paesaggio; BikeMI; others.

To learn about the full program you can read the press release in full by clicking here.

Pictured: Andrea Liberni with Atelier del Paesaggio.

Milan kicks off "Leonardo's gardens" project: gardens imagined by Leonardo are revived in a contemporary key

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.