The Beat of the Gualchiere
The ancient village finds its voice again
Contemporary art · Land art
The Beat of the Gualchiere brings the work of contemporary artists along the Sentiero dell’Anima (the Path of the Soul), the trail that runs beside the ancient Gualchiere di Remole: fulling mills that for centuries beat wool on the banks of the River Arno. A medieval site that has never stood still, it rereads its industrial memory through the language of art and forms one piece of the network of places and languages that the Giornata del Contemporaneo aims to build.
Visitors are welcomed in front of the Studio Gensini, where a dedicated gazebo provides entry and information. From there, the public follows the path from one work to the next, up to the closing presentation of the day. A reversible route, respectful of the landscape that hosts it.
All works are made with biodegradable and reversible materials, in respect of the site and the surrounding nature.
The Artists and Their Works
Piero Gensini – Prologue · Epilogue
Sculptor and custodian of the Gualchiere since 1992, creator of the project. A wooden totem within a circle of stones closes the route: the station of resilience.
Stefano De Ponti & Eleonora Pellegrini – Sound
“Fra stridor di mulini e di gualchiere” (“Amid the screech of mills and fulling mills”) is a site-specific sound work that restores the historic acoustic landscape of the site, in dialogue with the space, memory and the works on view. Fire, beats and strings for De Ponti; water, textiles and song for Pellegrini.
Beatrice Bartolozzi – Earth
“Mother Earth, generator of precious fruits”: the material memory of the soil, an archive of the trades and the hands that have inhabited the place.
Simone Azzurrini – Water
“Earthly Trace”: the driving force of the river, the generating element of the ancient mill.
Alberto Inglesi – Fire
“Angel of Fire”: fire and water, the alchemy of craftsmanship that transforms matter.
Qiu Yi – Air
“Nido” (Nest): the work through which an intercultural dialogue opens between China and the Gualchiere. Nido chooses to temporarily inhabit this place because here history meets an original relationship: that between human beings and nature, between matter and time.
Information
Opening: 10 October 2026, 4:00 pm
Guided visits by reservation
Location: Gualchiere di Remole, Bagno a Ripoli (Florence)
Meeting point: Studio d’arte Piero Gensini, Via di Rosano 117, Gualchiere di Remole
Project conceived by Piero Gensini
Curated by Laura Bati – Museo Geo Bruschi, Pontassieve
Event coordination: Cristina Innocenti – Villa Atque
