Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian

The land of Chianti can bring one to terms with themselves, their capacities and aspirations. This is the reason that many artists move there: to find isolation, and inspiration.

Debora Antonello, a Venetian artist, made that choice. Debora studied at the international school of graphics in Venice and has a series of personal shows in Italy and abroad and a collaboration with “Libera” since 2010. Debora found her “dimension” in Chianti.

How lucky long have you been visiting Chianti?

“I have been visiting the Eremo delle Stinche for 13 years, because a dear friend, Giancarlo Bruni, a theologian, invited me. The first time I came for work. I had to prepare a show for an archeological museum and spent a week searching for text regarding water in the bible. I continued visiting the Eremo delle Stinche  2 or 3 times a year. It is a liberating place, where people of all religions can meet without taboos”.

Was it love at first sight?

“In the beginning, I didn’t appreciate the Chianti region. I found it to be hard, as opposed to the “Crete” and the rest of Tuscany which I have always loved. Now, also thanks to my friend who showed me how to appreciate it with new eyes, I have been able to discover its real essence”.

Can you reveal it?

“Here there is a force, a beauty not to be taken for granted, but more primordial. It is a spiritual land which can only inspire you, if you stop and listen”.

And your ties to Montefioralle?

“These were born through a fortuitous meeting. Over the last two years I wanted to experience a  complete work, first in Panzano, then last summer in an isolated barn near Montefioralle. Here is where I found my total dimension, made of stone, town and history. It is a dimension that represents my type of art and my way of being”.

What relationship have you created with village residents?

“Here in Montefioralle I found a pleasant dimension, more open and sunny than in other places. There is beautiful energy”.

How much of this place has entered into your art?

“The first month was a bit shocking. I didn’t understand myself. I had chosen to work outside. After 4 months, i realized that all around me, wherever I turned, all I saw was green and all types of stones. I don’t paint landscapes, but i understood that nature was changing me intimately. She is there, she exists, and is stronger than you are. So i made the decision “not to touch”, to perceive what was around me and to paint with paper on the earth, in contact with nature. The land is fundamental and present in some of the works I have produced in these months”.

You continue to live among Tuscany, Veneto and Japan; from the countryside to the Far East. What is the thread that unites these places?

“It is an intimate space  that belongs to me. Moreover, in Japan there is much understanding of my work”.

Where can we see your art? Are you planning an exhibit in Chianti?

“Not for now, maybe in the future. I have a website www.deboraantonello.com and some of my jewelry can be found at VersoxVerso, Carlo Fagiani‘s shop in Panzano“.

Luisa Carretti