Prata D’Ansidonia by Studio Francesca Storaro
The archaeological site of the ancient Roman city of Peltuinum has been beautifully illuminated with exciting transitions of white light, under the impeccable lighting design and artistic direction of architect and lighting designer Francesca Storaro, thanks to the Mayor of Prata d’Ansidonia, Paolo Eusani.
Founded by the Romans in the 1st century B.C. in the territory previously inhabited by the Vestini, Peltuinum—now part of the municipality of Prata d’Ansidonia, in the province of L’Aquila—played a strategic role in controlling the trade routes linked to transhumance paths. By the turn of the 1st century A.D., the urban area of Peltuinum was strengthened with the construction of a city wall and a monumental area featuring a temple overlooking a large forum and a theater, reflecting the city’s cultural vitality.
Francesca Storaro unveils the thinking behind the concept she created: “Its ancient role as a commercial hub in the transhumance road network is the main essence behind the birth of this city: TRANSHUMANCE, the seasonal migration of flocks, herds, and shepherds moving from pastures located in hilly or mountainous areas (in the summer) to those in the plains (in the winter), following the natural paths of the trattoria. The word ‘transhumance’ derives from the verb ‘transumare,’ meaning ‘to cross,’ and ‘to pass over the land.’ It is therefore a PASSAGE, a JOURNEY, a CROSSING, and I wanted to translate this concept through the language of light, to make a journey through the LIGHT itself. The journey through the color temperature is the journey through the white light itself, the transition from the Sun to the Moon, from warm Solar tones to cool Lunar tones. It is a journey, a TRANSHUMANCE OF LIGHT, from Day to Night, from Summer to Winter (the seasons of transhumance), from the Sun to the Moon.”
