Stefano W. Pasquini

UA1304 (Cuore di Pietra)

June 2013

Cuore di Pietra (Heart of Stone) is a public art project by Mili Romano in Pianoro, a small town outside Bologna. When I was asked to participate I spent some time in the Day Centre Giusti, a place where many elderly meet and do many creative things and pastimes. I interviewed some of them and Andreina, the coordinator, asked me if I was interested in doing a mural painting in the back garden of the centre. Since paintings was my first love I accepted the offer and decided to make a piece in acrylic, painted directly on the wall, that would symbolized the cultural activities of the centre. I then thought that other spaces should be involved, so I asked permission to continue the piece on the front wall of the Youth Centre “Factory”, whilst Mili suggested I should also do it by the local train station (a sort of welcoming sing for all the art projects in the town) and the local Station of Carabinieri.

Although the final work was a mural, I thought of the whole process as an “action” that involved getting to know the people of Pianoro, recording sounds, learning about their activity and when possible helping them out. The result is an ongoing process that may involve further wall paintings and collaborations.