From June 11 to August 21, the Atrio Scamozziano at the Angelo Mai Civic Library will host the exhibition *I Slowly Peeled the Bark of the Tree of the Cosmos*, an installation by the Ferrario Frères collective.
Situated in the center of the atrium, the installation welcomes visitors into a space that serves as both a physical and symbolic passageway. The centerpiece of the work is the vertical trunk of a centuries-old linden tree, salvaged from a forest in the Bergamo area, stabilized, and crafted to evoke the ancient myth of the World Tree. Through a slit in the hollowed-out trunk, one can glimpse an ethereal human figure—crafted from fiberglass and wax and illuminated by LEDs. To make the experience even more immersive, ambient sounds are played throughout the space: sounds of nature and distant voices that invite visitors to pause, listen, and reflect.
The installation stems from a profound reflection on the role of memory and time. The linden tree, a natural element deeply rooted in the local landscape, is transformed into a vertical axis that ideally unites the earth and the sky, the visible and the invisible—just like the cosmic tree of ancient legends. The human figure emerging from within it evokes the very spirit of the place—a silent presence that inhabits time and represents the soul of knowledge.
While the presence of a large tree inside the Atrio Scamozziano may come as a surprise, the conceptual link to the Mai Library runs deep. Just as the bark of this ancient trunk encloses and protects a presence that evokes thought, so too does the Library welcome and preserve in its archives the “centuries of paper” that form the community’s historical memory. Wood thus becomes a silent guardian, capable of creating an ideal bridge between natural materials, the history of the region, and the present.
This initiative continues the Library’s summer exhibition program. Last year, the Atrium already hosted the evocative works of Gabriella Benedini, inaugurating a series of events that aims to create a dialogue between the monumental beauty of the building and expressive languages capable of offering new and original interpretations of the historic spaces.
Admission to the exhibition is free and open to the public during the library’s hours of operation.
