CI-LENTO
Art, Wine and Territory
A project born from the relationship between Carlo Brunelli, Tenuta San Giovanni and the landscape of Cilento. With a territory, with those who care for it, and with the time required for something meaningful to happen.
The project took shape in Cilento, between Punta Tresino and Tenuta San Giovanni, where a series of canvases were left outdoors for extended periods, exposed to wind, sea salt, sunlight and the natural processes of the place.
Not to control their transformation.
But to enter into a relationship with it.
The works that emerged tell the story of an encounter between human gesture and natural processes, between intention and unpredictability, between presence and waiting.
An invitation to slow down and observe how time continues to work on matter, just as it works on people and places.
The Project
In 2025, I was invited to an artist residency at Tenuta San Giovanni, in the heart of Cilento.
During this period, I began an artistic exploration based on listening to the territory and allowing nature to become an active participant in the creative process.
The canvases were laid on the ground, exposed to the elements and left within the landscape for months.
Wind, sea salt, rain, sunlight, sand and time gradually generated marks, layers and transformations that could never have been designed in advance.
The work was not about altering the territory.
It was about creating the conditions for the territory to express itself.
From this experience came CI-LENTO: a project that brings together contemporary art, nature and local culture through a collaboration with Mario Corrado and Tenuta San Giovanni.
Tafoni
Memories of Time
The main body of work within the project takes inspiration from the tafoni, the natural cavities found in the rocks of Punta Tresino.
Forms slowly shaped by the combined action of wind, sea salt, light and time.
They are not the result of a sudden gesture, but of a continuous process.
For this reason, they became a metaphor for the project itself.
Like the tafoni, the artworks are born from the encounter of different forces.
Each mark tells a story of transformation.
Each trace preserves the memory of time.
Each surface becomes a testimony to the relationship between human beings and nature.
The Verona Experience
On April 13 and 14, 2026, during Vinitaly, CI-LENTO was presented through two invitation-only evenings at Carlo Brunelli’s studio in Verona.
The project brought together art, wine and territory, creating an experience rooted in the cultural identity of Cilento and in the deep relationship between people and the land they inhabit.
Alongside the artworks, guests were invited to experience a selection of wines from Tenuta San Giovanni, accompanied by products from the Campania DOP and IGP traditions, chosen for their connection to local culture and their commitment to quality.
The intention was not simply to present artworks or products, but to create a space where different forms of craftsmanship could enter into dialogue.
A space where contemporary artistic research, agriculture, food culture and the knowledge passed down through generations could reveal a common origin: a profound respect for the territory and for the slow processes through which nature is transformed into culture.
Through stories, flavours and artworks, the evenings offered an opportunity to experience the values that inspired the project and to reflect on the relationship between place, time and human presence.
The evenings were conceived as an invitation to slow down and experience a territory through multiple senses.
Artworks, wine, food and conversation became different expressions of the same relationship: one rooted in care, time and a deep connection with the living world.
A shared experience where culture was not presented as something to consume, but as something to inhabit together.
PARTICIPANTS / COLLABORATORS
Artist
Carlo Brunelli
Territory & Hospitality
Tenuta San Giovanni
Collaboration
Mario Corrado
Wine Selection
Tenuta San Giovanni
Food Experience
Campania DOP & IGP Producers
THANKS
Special thanks to Mario Corrado and Tenuta San Giovanni for their hospitality, trust and commitment to preserving and sharing the cultural and environmental heritage of Cilento.
Their generosity and vision made this project possible.