A journey into the depths of the Isola Bisentina.
“Feltro moreover of her impious pastor
Shall weep the crime, which shall so monstrous be
That for the like none ever entered Malta.”
Dante Alighieri,
La Divina Commedia, Paradiso IX, 52-54
Mysterious in its creation, located under Mount Tabor, the highest point of the island, cited by Dante Alighieri as a life-prison. Malta dei Papi is a deep tunnel dug into the tuff at the end of which there is an underground chamber of about 6 meters built around a well, and above which there is a circular opening used to collect water. The waterproof plaster found on its inside walls reveal that the structure was used as a cistern in Roman Times. However, its origin is probably much older than that and linked to the volcanic thermal waters that flow underneath. This would give to the Malta a renewed sacredness: an underground womb where rituals of birth and fertility were celebrated in honour of a Great Mother.
Forgotten after being turned for a long time into a stage of atrocities as a prison for heretics, this chamber became subject of occultist conversation in the late 19th century in Madame Blavatsky’s theosophic society, who considered this place to be one of the secret entrances to the underground kingdom of Agarthi, “the Inaccessible”.
Through the elements of water, fire, earth and air, this tour will awaken the memory of an ancient knowledge that came from the observation of the sky and the listening of the earth, which through its beating heart marked the cyclical passing of time. Our modern-world idea of progress has weakened our ability to listen and as a result the pulsation of the planet is slowly fading out; its water springs are drying up and pollution is taking over. Humanity is at a crossroads. Is it possible to look back in order to move forward? To look inside in order to rebehold the stars? What do places like Malta teach us? Will our hearts ever return beating again with the heart of the earth?
Roberto Cacciapaglia, composer and pianist, was born in Milan. He graduated in composition under the guidance of Bruno Bettinelli at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in his city, where he also studied electronic music and conducting. He worked at the Rai Phonology Studio and collaborated with the CNR (National Research Council) in Pisa, studying the applications of computers in the musical field. A protagonist of the most innovative international music scene, his music explores all genres, blending classical and avant-garde, tradition and contemporaneity.
Celestia
I forage mostly in places I have a relationship with: each vessel becomes a signpost and a sort of autobiographical archival memory, juxtaposing sculpture and remembrance on the map. Although focused on the material, my work is rigidly shaped: I entrust much of my narration to repetition and I am interested in the gestures behind making a sphere in ceramics.
Every day except Mondays and Wednesdays
Isola Bisentina
Lago di Bolsena 01010
Capodimonte VT
