
Barolo To Heaven | Photo: Roberto Conte | © 2019 Emilio Ferro
BAROLO TO HEAVEN
November 01, 2019
Temporary installation
Fondazione Radical Design, Bricco San Pietro, Monforte d'Alba, Italy
BAROLO TO HEAVEN is a site-specific installation by Emilio Ferro, inaugurated on November 1, 2019 with the support of the Fondazione Radical Design in Monforte d’Alba, the highest municipality among the 11 where Barolo is produced.
A mysterious project in which spectators venture on foot into the darkness of the forest, guided by a light piercing the obscurity, and are invited to trustfully surrender to exploration.
A mystical experience, accompanied by experimental electronic sounds from the left-field scene, generating an almost physical awareness of sound through the intense harmony of basses orchestrated by Emilio Ferro. Hidden from the visitors' sight, as they focus on tracing luminous clues, lies an impressive sound system made up of multiple line arrays concealed in the forest, complemented by large subwoofers placed inside the ruins. This highly powerful audio setup operates at extremely low intensity to achieve exceptional sound quality harmonized with nature, evoking vibrations in the spectators and directing the sound's volume only to specific areas of the BAROLO TO HEAVEN installation.
The light architecture traverses the structure of the ruin located in Bricco San Pietro, slicing through the building with luminous beams projected skyward. It is an artistic intervention that engages with the space in a non-invasive way, dialoguing with the environment without altering its essence. For several years, Emilio Ferro has pursued research into the materiality of light to recreate imaginary architectures. Experimenting with light and atmospheric agents, he explores how light—a material and immaterial element at once—interacts with smoke, fog, and how this interplay amplifies its intensity. These reflections have materialized in the site-specific installation BAROLO TO HEAVEN, featuring a massive beam of light over half a meter in diameter directed toward the sky, which, in the absence of clouds, can reach the troposphere at heights of up to sixteen kilometers. Additionally, ten spotlights positioned inside the ruins produce a light beam with a diameter of twenty-two centimeters.
The light of BAROLO TO HEAVEN interacts with passing clouds, constantly altering the perception of the work and creating dynamic luminous effects enhanced by the fog depending on the height reached by the light beams.
Under the atmospheric conditions present on the inauguration evening, the BAROLO TO HEAVEN installation was visible within a radius of six kilometers from the point of light emission; in the absence of fog, visibility would have extended to a radius of twelve kilometers.
The Radical Design Foundation, created by Sandra and Charley Vezza, aims to keep alive the nonconformist spirit of radical design and create conditions that allow everyone to enjoy a widespread experience of creativity, free from hierarchical or conceptual superstructures. The Radical Design Foundation seeks to celebrate the human and natural capital of the territory in which it operates, promoting artistic experiences that enhance the Genius loci through the production of original works in diverse forms, methods, and languages. Among the hills of the Langhe, these creations find inspiration and fertile ground to flourish, be showcased, and be lived.
Barolo To Heaven | Video: Tommaso Montaldo | © 2019 Emilio Ferro

Barolo To Heaven | Photo: Roberto Conte | © 2019 Emilio Ferro

Barolo To Heaven | Photo: Roberto Conte | © 2019 Emilio Ferro

Barolo To Heaven | Photo: Roberto Conte | © 2019 Emilio Ferro

Barolo To Heaven | Photo: Diego Gianuzzi | © 2019 Emilio Ferro

Barolo To Heaven | Photo: Roberto Conte | © 2019 Emilio Ferro
