Montesegale’s great heritage is the landscape,an ancient village of the region beyond south of the Po river.
In order to enhance it, the mayor Carlo Ferrari has been inspired by an idea of the young artist Omar Hassan “The sweet art of doing nothing”.
Last winter Hassan (www.omarhassan.art) visited Montesegale and its castle and was inthralled by the beauty of the scenery, and he expressed his intention to the major. “The citie’s, fast pace work’s tight schedule, the little time left to devote to emotional life, everything flows too quickly today, says Omar Hassan 27 years old, from Milan but though born of an Egyptian father, who has recently become a fellow of the Contini art gallery. Only the view of nature restores the balance of life. The sweet art of doing nothing: lingering for an instant doing nothing, nothing but contempling nature, becoming part of it, with the awareness of being an element of this wonder” As far as I am concerned Montesegale was the perfect place to put into practice my idea of raising citizen’s awareness of nature and therefore art. Nature encompasses the mystical sense of art, we could even say that art encompasses the mystical sense of nature.”
Building upon this, the proposal for the installation of a bench in Montesegale was born with the idea that it should be located in a privileged position with a breathtaking view.
“I have gladly accepted Hassan’s proposal says Carlo Ferrari mayor of Montesegale - because such a precious work enhances the peculiar landscape. Furthermore this initiative is one of the steps aimed at making Montesegale a certified “borgo” an initiative including a territory improvement plan to be implemented in the next five years. I with to thank, concludes the mayor - Omar Hassan for the kindness shown in paying homage to Montesegale with this splendid work of art defined by its strong nature calling.”
When choosing the exact location for the installation, Hassan selected a spot next to the townhall, as it offers, in the artist’s view “an incredible glimpse of the valley and represents a place for meditation to get closer to nature and possibly be a venue for for encounters, even for lovers”.
The bench was therefore positioned in the small square overlooking the townhall, it was painted and it will be inaugurated and donated to the town on Sunday the 20th of July at 11.
Beside the bench, a plate reads: “The sweet art of doing nothing, dedicated to us, the nature”.
