Loving a territory also means rewarding it for the well-being received: it is from this need that Hypermaremma was born in 2019, an environmental art project dedicated to the Maremma

If you have not yet heard of Hypermaremma it is good to start with a clarification: it is pronounced àipermaremma, otherwise the risk is to confuse the brand with that of a supermarket.

So we're not talking about a supermarket, what then? Surely a rather precise area of ​​Italy has to do with it, the Maremma, in reality, wanting to be even more precise, Hypermaremma was born in the lower Maremma, the wildest one and full of contrasts.

The one where hills and cliffs coexist, countryside and beaches, historic villages and luxury villas, cowboys and fishermen. The one that when you start visiting it, as a tourist, you almost always return there. And it is precisely from the love for this land of two friends who frequented it since childhood that Hypermaremma was born in 2019: an event that aims to involve a territory of uncontaminated nature through the intervention of contemporary artists.

Yes, because, in addition to holidays in Ansedonia, contemporary art is the other great passion, which later became a profession, which unites Giorgio Galotti and Carlo Pratis.

Both gallery owners, on long summer days, with their gaze stretched towards the island of Giannutri, began to wonder what they could have done for this territory that has so much and continues to offer them. "There is a passing tourism, here in the lower Maremma, but many are faithful tourists, in love with the nature still wild that the area offers - tells us Giorgio Galotti - and there is also a cultured tourism that runs away from the city to get drunk with green and blue, but which perhaps is missing something.

With Hypermaremma we wanted to start building that something, creating a new connection between territory and art".

Thanks to the enthusiasm of Giorgio and Carlo, Matteo D'Aloja, collector and manager, who takes care of the communication and sponsorship aspects and is leading Hypermaremma to be recognized as an international festival, immediately joined the oproject.

Let's go back to the present and to the fourth edition of the review, finally, after two complicated years, free to express itself throughout the territory and, above all, to welcome people.

There are seven site specific interventions planned for this season, from the first, inaugurated on April 16 on the beach of Ansedonia, the monumental work of Giuseppe Gallo The jugglers of harmony , to the latest environmental work created by Claudia Comte In nature nothing exists alone (the inauguration is scheduled for July 16), up to Le fatiche di A.C. by Gianni Politi, who grew up in the Argentario since he was a child, which will be presented to the public on 30 July.

Do you think that this kind of initiative can concretely involve the territory and those who live there?

"There are several aspects of Hypermaremma that concern the close contact with the territory: the works must always be designed for and in relation to a specific place in the area, often the artists involved have their own personal history with the Maremma, we ask artists to work in collaboration with artisans and local companies and, finally, they are all works with free access located in strategic points, often visible even from a distance or in points of passage, in short, you can meet them on your path even without knowing it.

Then there is the communication that we wanted to distribute in the area with large and engaging neon yellow posters, hung on the walls of villages, towns, cities, just like the billboards of festivals, one of the most popular recreational activities in Tuscany. We would like to activate the area even out of season: this area, in fact, suffers from a tourist stasis that lasts several months a year.

You started in 2019 and, I imagine, carried out the project with a little effort during the years of the pandemic: now, how do you imagine the future of the exhibition?

"The first year we focused on the artists of our galleries and organized Hypermaremma in three chapters formed by collective exhibitions, one at Rocca Aldobrandesca in Capalbio, the second in Archaeological Park of the Ancient City of Cosa and the third in the Archaeological Museum , both in Ansedonia.

In 2020 we obviously had to review our programs (we usually start planning the show in December) and we still wanted to be there even with just one work. The luminous installation, involving and significant even for the period in which it appeared, is Spazio Amato by Massimo Uberti, located in a field that runs along the Lake of Burano, home to a WWF Oasis: the intervention has become permanent and anyone can enjoy it, from sunset until midnight.

In 2021 we started again with a constellation of works that involved a large slice of the Maremma territory and as regards the future I would say that our path proceeds in two clear directions: 1) to get to 'conquer' the islands 2) to involve international artists who can talk about this land even outside the border."