At Planeta’s Buonivini Winery, among the hills of Val di Noto, the site-specific installation “Patriarchy = CO2” by artist Claire Fontaine was presented as part of the group exhibition Àlma Venùs. Originally conceived for Dior in the fall of 2021, the installation featured illuminated phrases suspended above the runway, addressing ecofeminist themes such as “Women are the moon that moves the tides” and “Patriarchy = climate emergency.” Adapted in collaboration for Planeta’s cultural initiatives, the work integrated seamlessly with the architectural design of the winery roof by Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo.
Noto
Patriarchy = CO2 di Claire Fontaine
Camouflaged against the sky during the day, the installation became visible when illuminated, symbolically highlighting the invisible yet pervasive impacts of patriarchy and carbon emissions within our intensively cultivated natural environment. Fontaine’s work sought to encourage reflection on unsustainable social norms, promoting transformative change toward a more harmonious relationship with nature and human connections—challenging harmful patriarchal structures and environmental degradation.
Noto
Dilemma of a Starry Night di Emiliano Maggi
On August 2, 2023, at Planeta’s Buonivini Winery in Noto, the exhibition “A Dilemma for a Starry Night” by artist Emiliano Maggi, curated by Vito Planeta, was inaugurated. The evening featured a performance by the duo I Canzonieri, composed of Maggi himself and musician Cosimo Damiano. This marked the duo’s second performance, following their debut during the 9th edition of Viaggio in Sicilia, captivating the audience beneath the starry skies of Noto. Inspired by the writings of the medieval poet Al-Ballanubi, the performance accompanied a selection of works reflecting on the mathematical concept of the dilemma and the ambivalences between past and future, day and night—creating a creative dialogue with Sicily.
Etna
Fibonacci Sequence by Mario Merz
Born from the collaboration with the Merz Foundation as part of their Sicilian programming, the idea to present Mario Merz’s “Fibonacci Sequence, 2002” at the Sciaranuova Festival 2019 – Teatro in Vigna was conceived. The lighting of the artwork took place on July 27, 2019, during the 5th edition of the theater festival promoted by Planeta in the “Teatro in Vigna” at Sciaranuova, on Etna, under the artistic direction of Ottavia Casagrande. The installation accompanied the performance of “Gli alti e bassi di Biancaneve,” directed by Emma Dante. Today, it remains visible at the Sciaranuova estate in Passopisciaro.
Etna
Ettore Majorana by Claire Fontaine
For the eighth edition of Viaggio in Sicilia, artist Claire Fontaine created the light installation “Ettore Majorana. This site-specific work—a twenty-meter-long neon text—quotes a line from the novel by Leonardo Sciascia dedicated to Majorana: “he amused himself by pouring onto the ground and scattering the water of science before the eyes of those who were thirsty for it. The phrase reflects the complex personality of Majorana, the physicist who mysteriously disappeared in 1938. The installation draws inspiration from the site’s proximity to the places where Majorana spent his summers, highlighting the connection between art, science, and the territory.
VIAGGIO IN SICILIA
Journey through Sicily
Menfi, Vittoria, Noto, Etna, Capo Milazzo: a carefully chosen itinerary, strongly linked to the diversity of the landscapes, the winds, the character of the people and their wines. Through this project, it is no longer offered solely to our interpretation, but to the gaze of art. Since 2004, we have been hosting Italian and foreign painters, photographers, and writers, guiding them through the districts we have chosen for our vineyards and cellars during the harvest season. We give them the freedom to recount their experiences through images and emotions, capturing the soul of these places. At the end of each trip, we welcome the artists to one of our cellars so that they can begin their creative work. In June of the following year, all the works come together in an exhibition, and a selection of them contributes, in the same spirit, to the family collection. It is our way of looking at our land with ever-fresh eyes.
