THE THEATRE OF LIGHT
THE THEATRE OF LIGHT
At the Quattro Canti, known as the Theater of the Sun, the city celebrates the winter solstice and Christmas with a modern ephemeral installation that transforms the square into a stage of beauty and symbolism.
A hymn to Sicily
At a time of year when the nights grow longer and the winter darkness envelops the days, Palermo lights up with a new installation: The Theatre of Light. Its protagonists are fruits and flowers, tangible symbols of the Sicilian land, chosen not only for their beauty but also for their powerful symbolic meaning.
- Luca Pintacuda
- Lidia Falletta
- Nino Serafino
- Fabrizio Pedone
- Caterina Saverino
- Albert Julius Cabri
- Claudia Rago
- Rosaria Gallè
- Davide Silvestri
11 December 2024 - 6 January 2025
Palermo, Piazza Villena
#humanconteninteraction #teatrodellaluce
This installation becomes a visual and spiritual antidote to the harshness of winter, a song of hope celebrating the land’s generosity even in its most challenging months: golden citrus fruits, brightening Sicilian winters, evoke abundance and resilience, while flowers, symbols of renewal, suggest the perpetual cycle of life and nature.
THEATRE OF LIGHT
BEAUTY AND SYMBOLISM
In this setting, the Baroque style of the Quattro Canti comes to life through the symbols of a fertile and vital Sicily. The decorative magnificence of the Baroque, with its curves and intricate details, blends with the natural motifs projected onto the facades, creating a visual narrative that intertwines art, nature, and spirituality. It is no coincidence that the Quattro Canti is a place dedicated to the seasons and the kingdoms, but also to the patron saints of Palermo – Agatha, Christina, Ninfa, and Olive – figures representing hope, faith, and protection. Their symbols, illuminated alongside the fruits and flowers, become a reminder of resilience against adversity, including the drought affecting our lands.
At the heart of Piazza Villena, a totem displays the best photos from the recent 400th Festino, taken from the exhibition "Palermo Rifiorisce con Rosalia," restoring the centrality of our patron saint in such an important year for her cult.
But The Theatre of Light also carries a message that overturns stereotypes. For those who might think “we’re at the end of the line,” this installation invites them to look beyond, to elevate the fruits of work, care, and effort. It is an ideal continuation of the message "We are Hope," which closed last year's Festino. Here, the fruits and flowers are not a symbol of an end, but of a new beginning, a promise of abundance for the year to come.
In a historical and cultural context like that of the Quattro Canti, where the sun and the seasons govern the course of life, this celebration of light, fruits, and flowers becomes a dialogue between tradition and modernity.
