ARTIST RESIDENCY
The artist residency ‘A Stage in Nature’, curated
by Emanuela Mazzonis, features the participa-
tion, by invitation, of two artists: Claudia Passeri
(1977, Luxembourg) and Federica Belli (1998, Italy).
The artists will spend a three-week residency in the
spaces of the Villa to engage in dialogue with the place,
reflect, and develop a site-specific artistic project.
The theme of the first residency is: “Water, symbol of
nourishment, rebirth and transformation.” Water is a
mirror in its purest form — an element that creates life
and sustains it, yet has no fixed shape of its own, taking
on the forms imposed by its container. Water creates
the conditions necessary for life; it is an indispensable
source of existence. The choice of this theme is tied to
the history of Villa Gamberaia, which in 1896, when it
was acquired by Princess Ghyka, underwent a signifi-
cant transformation in the layout of its gardens. At the
Princess’s wish, the parterre de broderie was replaced
with a parterre d’eau: the introduction of water radical-
ly changed the structure of the gardens, which, thanks
to four symmetrical pools, became a mirror of the sky
on the transparent surface of the water, establishing a
continuous dialogue between nature and the space that
contains it. The water pools created a new visual and
sonic harmony in the garden’s scenography, becoming a
defining feature that has made them famous throughout
the world.
During the residency, the artists are also invited to realise
the project “Artist Label”: the design of a label for Villa
Gamberaia’s olive oil production, as a legacy of their
time and journey connected to the Villa, creating a one-
of-a-kind product.
The residency project becomes a reinterpretation of a
fascinating place from the past — Villa Gamberaia — in
Claudia Passeri: photo Patrick Galbats
Federica Belli: photo Renato D’Agostin
order to imagine a future that looks to art as a space for
sharing, gathering, thought and emotion. Villa Gambe-
raia is a place rich in history, architectural harmony, and
a melodious dialogue between art and nature, unfol-
ding in the enchanting garden that surrounds the villa’s
spaces — like a stage overlooking the infinite. A place for
contemplation, rest, and escape from the frenzy of city
life, to rediscover a pleasure of the eyes and the mind.
A Renaissance villa that echoes the spirit of rebirth and
openness to the world that has characterised Italian art
since the fifteenth century. A place that lends itself to
dialogue between art, nature and territory — capable of
regenerating itself through the contemporary language
of art.
The artist residency promoted by Villa Gamberaia is
an act of contemporary patronage. To be a patron and
invest in art today is not merely a matter of prestige
and image — it becomes a means of promoting culture,
sustainability, and corporate value. Art becomes the
medium through which the patron communicates their
own identity, building relationships with the territory
and proposing projects of sharing grounded in long-term
visions. Art is not conceived as ornament, but becomes a
language capable of generating ideas, sharing and colla-
boration among multiple stakeholders.
Every commission, project and realisation becomes a
piece of an artistic sharing project that can evolve over
time and create a continuously evolving path of openness
in dialogue, sharing and interpretation.
