Pulcherrimae Strade: Contemporary Art in Historical Spaces

Friuli Venezia Giulia is a region in the north-east of Italy, bordered by Austria and Yugoslavia, and dotted with vineyards, seaside resorts, Gothic duomos, Romanesque towns, grottoes, contemporary art, and Roman ruins. Many of these elements in the landscape have been around for hundreds of years, but one has contemporary art. Yet throughout this region works by Marina Abramovic, John Armleder, John Baldessari, Mike Bidlo, Louise Bourgeois, Paul McCarthy, Enzo Cucchi, Jenny Holzer, Tom Sachs, Andres Serrano, and Lawrence Weiner amongst others have occupied castles, squares, gardens, churches, landmark buildings, basements, and kitchens. The result is a subtly transformed landscape worth visiting, be it in reproduction or in Italy. The book itself is a fantastic object, realized with a semi-flexible plastic cover, held together by screws, and filled with an array of gadgets.