The Memory of Foscolo

Mosaic form:

Authors: Students of Liceo Scientifico Paolo Giovio in Como, Italy

Year of publication: 2020

Map:

Information about the work:

The work takes its starting point from Foscolo's letter to Francesca Giovio, where the poet recalls their relationship that was interrupted and, with nostalgia and remorse, declares his love for the young woman:  I will always love you, I swear to you from the bottom of my heart, I will love you to the last sigh. It was an Impossible Love because of social conventions that prevent Foscolo, who is not noble, from marrying Francesca.

Students: Anna Spettoli, Federica Pecoraro, Mattia Sala, Cristina Di Paola and Giusi Di Cataldo

Teacher: Tiziana Tettamanti

"The project idea for the realisation of our mosaic started from a strong interest in the territory Como and the fascination it had on some Italian literati. And precisely the revisited neoclassical harmony that characterises the Villa del Grumello, combined with a highly natural landscape, which mirrors its beauty, the symbolic Lake Como, that enraptured the poet Ugo Foscolo. So involved, Foscolo mentions the area in one of his heartfelt letters to his beloved, Letter to Francesca Giovio, written in 1809.

<<[…] returning one evening to Grumello and looking at the lake, the hills and the house where I had first seen you, and thinking that I must soon leave them, my desire to dwell there always did not distinguish you from the places and people that had become so dear to me...>>.

We wanted to capture the image of a spontaneous and idyllic encounter in which the roles of the two lovers' protagonists reversed concerning the poet's words. Sweet Francesca, surrounded by greenery in the Park, establishes a bond with the statue of Foscolo through the power of the gaze.

Technique used:

The mosaic was made with recovery tiles on a screen and then applied on an alveolar panel with cement glue through the fusion of the two preparatory drawings, A and B, maintaining sketch B's natural setting and incorporating study A's subjects. The design culminates in what wants to be an embrace, destined to fade into the memory of a distant love.

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