Arte Sella is a large Nature Art exhibition visible in the woods and meadows of Val di Sella in Borgo Valsugana.
Arte Sella is a magical place where art and nature have been coming together and merging for over 30 years. Every year, this open-air museum is enriched with new works by international artists invited to create their Art in Nature works, made exclusively with natural elements from the area: rock, wood, earth, foliage. These works are then completed and shaped by nature and the passing seasons: here art is integrated and becomes something alive and changing.
Arte Sella has become part of international networks such as Elan (European Land Art Network) and Grandi Giardini Italiani. There are many works to admire, hidden in the woods or resting on the sides of the valley. The Vegetable Cathedral, a gothic cathedral with 12 m high naves and 80 columns of interwoven branches occupying an area of 1,220 square metres, is very impressive. Or, for all the children, there is the "navicella", in which it is possible to enter and dream of flying, or even a large wooden nest, perhaps of a dinosaur...
Arte Sella routes
There are three routes that lead you to admire the works of art created in Val di Sella: the Malga Costa area, the Montura path and the Villa Strobele garden route. The Malga Costa Area offers a large park, which can be visited for a fee, where you can find, among other things, the Vegetal Cathedral and the Sella Theatre "Il Cubo", the Trabucco di Montagna and the Terzo Paradiso - La trincea della pace. At Malga Costa there is a refreshment point, an information point, services and an area accessible to the disabled who can reach it by car. The flat ring is about 1 km long and hosts about fifty works. It was created at the beginning of 2000.
The Sentiero Montura connects the garden of Villa Strobele with the area of Malga Costa. It is 4 km long and is suitable for a family walk to immerse yourself in the nature of the valley.
The last path is around Villa Strobele and its garden, where you can admire other works created by world-famous architects. This is where the idea for Arte Sella was initially born.
Sky Museum
Sky Museum is the new Arte Sella project in collaboration with the Municipality of Borgo Valsugana, which has led to the creation of a series of art installations in the historic centre of Borgo Valsugana.
For the first time three artistic work are present in the town centre, marking the start of a multi-year project to enhance the architectural and landscape qualities. The first work was commissioned to the English artist Stuart Ian Frost who, together with Arte Sella, decided to use a large oak tree felled by a heavy storm. The work, located in the garden of the Istituto d'istruzione superiore Alcide de Gasperi (Alcide de Gasperi High School), near the Valsugana cycle path, consists of two large trunks from the same tree, skilfully worked. The significance of this creation invites us to understand the fragility of nature and to take care of it.
Edoardo Tresoldi designed Controfacciata, a succession of four-metre high wire mesh volumes for the "Casa della Comunità" in Borgo Valsugana. The installation reveals the decorative features of four Renaissance-inspired aedicules, conceived as an inverse expression of form. Usually conceived as an ornament to the building, the aedicules become the antithesis of their own function and, emptied of the material they are made of, prepare to welcome the changing succession of natural phenomena and celebrate the landscape. French artist Cédric Le Borgne has proposed a light, floating work: The Flying Man. This too is made of wire mesh and is placed near the Venetian bridge, thus creating a visual continuity with Edoardo Tresoldi's work and drawing the observer's attention to the river Brenta and its relationship with the mountain horizon, framed by the profiles of the houses in the historic centre.
Prices and opening hours
Malga Costa area and Vegetable Cathedral
November, December, January and February: daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
March, April, May, October: daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
June, July, August, September: daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
December 25th closed.
During the winter period the visit to Arte Sella starts at the Malga Costa area.
The times are indicative and may vary depending on weather conditions. In winter, due to particularly adverse conditions, Malga Costa may be closed. We recommend that you call +39 0461 761029 (Malga Costa) or the administration office +39 0461 751251.
Prices | Arte Sella
- Adults € 10.00 per person.
Discounted ticket € 5.00 per person:
- children from 11 to 16 years.
Discounted ticket € 8.00 per person:
- Groups of more than 25 units;
- Paper Ticket Holders of the MUSE, Mart (MartRovereto, Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero, Galleria Civica di Trento), Castello del Buonconsiglio, Thun Castle, Castel Beseno, Castel Stenico;
- Card holders "Amici del Mart";
- Individual membership holders MUSE;
- Card holders CLub Vantaggi Trenta;
- Touring Club Members;
- FAI members
- Area Arte card holders;
- TRA (Treviso Ricerca Arte) members;
- Reduced Arte Sella voucher Holders.
Free entrance:
- Residents of Borgo Valsugana.
- Children under 10 years of age;
- Disabled with a companion;
- Guest Card holders;
- Holders of Museum pass;
- Free voucher Holders Montura/Arte Sella;
- Free voucher Holders Arte Sella;
- CoopApi Operators.
How to get to Arte Sella
Arte Sella is located near Borgo Valsugana (35 km from Trento and 100 km from Padua), reachable by the SS 47. Once in Borgo Valsugana, follow the signs for Malga Costa along the Val di Sella provincial road 40. The Giardino di Villa Strobele is 10 km from the centre, Malga Costa 13 km.
By plane:
- Catullo of Verona and Marco Polo of Venice. A bus service connects the airports to the railway stations.
By train:
- Borgo Valsugana is served by the Trento-Bassano-Venice and Venice-Bassano-Trento lines, stop in the centre of town.
By bus:
- To reach Val di Sella you have to drive along a mountain road, which has some narrow sections. It is therefore advisable not to use buses with more than 52 seats. From 1st July to 31st August the transit of coaches between Colonia Paradiso and Carlon is forbidden from 10.00 to 12.00 and from 17.00 to 19.00.
