Florence, migrants' thermal blankets on the gates of San Miniato al Monte: it's Giovanni De Gara's installation

It was unveiled today, Thursday, June 28, 2018, the installation Eldorato: Birth of a Nation, by Giovanni De Gara (Florence, 1977), who placed on the doors of the basilica of San Miniato al Monte, one of the most famous churches in Florence, the golden thermal blankets that are given to migrants at the end of their exhausting journey when they arrive in European ports. The blankets were placed to cover the three entrance portals for an installation that, aesthetically, echoes the gold of the 13th-century mosaic with Christ between the Virgin and Saint Miniato that adorns the pediment of the facade. But the meaning of the work goes further: it is, in fact, the artist explained, “a strong sign of welcome,” promoting “a profound reflection on migration, on promised and brutally denied lands, on the aspiration for a different world, built beyond the idea of borders and capable of being human again.” The work, De Gara continues, “recounts the illusion of this millennium: the existence of a land of gold, where there is well-being and a future. A distant land about which little is known and wonders are imagined; a land beyond the horizon line that hides it from us.”

The aim of the project is to promote a deep reflection on the theme of welcoming every individual, regardless of race, gender and creed, and at the same time to give a message of warmth and salvation to those who migrate, for whatever reason, amidst a thousand difficulties, and dreaming of a promised land (but often find before them death at sea, or, if they manage to survive, closed ports and raised walls). The title of the project refers precisely to the imaginary place par excellence, theEldorado, but it is also a play on words with the term El (“God” in Hebrew: and it is God who is the only link that comforts many of those who migrate by abandoning their land). The blankets are installed on the gates of San Miniato because of their symbolic significance: the one on the left is the Holy Door of Florence, and the inscription on the step identifies it as ianua coeli (“gate of Heaven”), the access to Paradise (the work is thus also filled with eschatological meanings, and restores to the facade of San Miniato its ancient symbolic value).

The installation was presented by the abbot of San Miniato, Bernardo Gianni, priest Andrea Bigalli, scientist Stefano Mancuso, and art historian Tomaso Montanari. “We gladly host a work that, in full harmony with the daily magisterium of Pope Francis, wants to remind us that today more than ever it is imperative to give attention to the distant, to the last,” specified Father Bernardo, who added: “it is not a matter of generic goodism but of a contribution for a high and evangelically inspired reflection about a newfound consideration for the adventure of every human story, especially that of those who like ancient Israel and the Holy Family of Nazareth itself experienced the condition of the exile. It is an appeal that we feel is in line with the great La Pira tradition of this city and especially of this place that the Holy Mayor Giorgio La Pira called a ’terrace reaching out to all nations.’”

The work will remain in Florence for a few days, and will then be moved: it will first be in Rome, then to the Pieve di Santomato (Pistoia), and a stop in Lampedusa will also be planned. The project can be followed on Instagram at the @eldoratoproject account (hashtag #eldoratoproject.

Florence, migrants' thermal blankets on the gates of San Miniato al Monte: it's Giovanni De Gara's installation

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