ROSSO FUOCO RUBEDO - IL FUOCO DELL’ARTE, TRA SACRIFICIO E METAMORFOSI MOSTRA D'ARTE CONTEMPORANEA AL PALAZZO BARONALE DI NOVOLI IN PROGRAMMA ALLA FÒCARA 2026

Here is the translation of the Italian text into English:

**CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION “Rosso Fuoco Rubedo - The Fire of Art, Between Sacrifice and Metamorphosis” curated by Gianni De Serio and Massimo Nardi at the Palazzo Baronale Novoli from January 11 to January 18, 2026, featuring artists: Dario Agrimi; Lendaro Glauco Camilles; Giulia Carluccio; Giovanni Carpignano; Mariangela Cassano; Pierluca Cetera; Angelo Cortese; Franco Cortese; Fernando De Filippi; Martina De Matteis; Paolo De Santoli; Paolo Desario; Pietro De Scisciolo; Gianni De Serio; Antonio Giannini; Polina Karpunina; Walter Loparco; Antonio Laurelli; Christian Loretti; Francesca Mazzeo; Mauro Antonio Mezzina; Massimo Nardi; Antonio Miglietta; Sara Rizzo; Carla Sello; Alessandro Serio; Francesco Siani; Angela Silletta; Federica Claudia Soldani; Donatella Stamer; Annibale Trani; and Antonella Ventola.**

The Mediterranean Fire Project is told as the bond between cultures, art, and territory.

The Mediterranean Fire project originates from an intellect that goes well beyond individual logic, flourishing in collective diversity where plurality, varied and differentiated, does not compete but cooperates in creating a larger meaning, a unique entity of immense value since antiquity: “the community.”

Internationally renowned artists and scholars, professors and students, an explosion of voices, stories, meanings, visions, and sensations, each with its strength, each with its dignity, each with its voice but all of equal intensity and with the same value. Indeed, it is in the diversity of perspectives, the diversity of cultural and artistic experiences, that culture burns like an ever-impetuous fire throughout the centuries.

It should not be surprising that the “Mediterranean Fire Project” embraces a multitude of diverse personalities from the most complex to the simplest, from the most astute to those slowly building themselves up and, like a small spark, seeking to shine its light. It is, in fact, a child of this land and the cultures of the communities that border on the Mediterranean; it is a disruptive force that stirs souls and amplifies the receptivity of our minds. It is the offspring of our history and an indissoluble bond between the human and the unknown, between “I” and “being”; it is the distinguishing element of our culture and of the beautiful and complicated bond between us and our territory.

The Mediterranean Fire project goes far beyond the strict connection between events and activities; it aims to connect us all through a higher reflection on our ability to express our voice and to recognize and promote the profound links that bind us to our traditions and make our culture the significant engine of innovation.

“The importance of fire as an element of salvific ceremonies and celebrations of the earth’s fertility,” explains the project’s creator Prof. Tiziano Margiotta, “represents Mediterranean culture, which recognizes fire as the primary element in the evolution of social forms and territorial development.”

To better understand the essence of the Mediterranean Fire Project – which sees Prof. Gianni De Serio engaged as artistic director and Prof. Filippo De Filippi as the general coordinator of the project, with curatorship by De Serio and Massimo Nardi – it is necessary to refer to the concepts expressed by the creator of the project, who emphasizes that “the MEDITERRANEAN FIRE project is born with the aim of combining art, tradition, and territory through the vector of fire: the fire of art and life (creative industry); the tradition and rites of fire (cultural industry); the warmth of fire, between sociality and entrepreneurship: life, death, and ‘miracles’ of the olive tree, vine, and wine (socio-productive territorial district). Through a series of long-term artistic, cultural, and scientific initiatives, the project aims to promote the territory and the cultures of the communities bordering the Mediterranean, systematizing the contributions of artists, institutions, and local actors, imagining amplifying the cultural perimeter and social geography of the ‘Focara’: no longer a unique event but a point of arrival and rebirth, just as fire is a state of destruction and regeneration.”

In other words, a project oriented towards researching the cultural, social, and affective elements that unite the communities bordering the Mediterranean, aimed at tracing that “collective intelligence” developed in parallel like an entanglement among the various Mediterranean communities, which have grown around the absence and presence of fire. At the same time, a project that promotes contaminations through cultural vectors, such as the conference on the theme “HUMANS and FIRES: of Art, Saints, and Harvests”; the series of art exhibitions “Rosso Fuoco Rubedo - The Fire of Art, Between Sacrifice and Metamorphosis,” and a series of workshops led by anthropologists, scholars, artists, and musicians, aimed at promoting cultural contaminations, supported by typical musical and artistic performances of Mediterranean peoples' traditions.

Specifically, during the conference on the theme “HUMANS and FIRES: of Art, Saints, and Harvests,” there will be greetings from the University of Salento, Confindustria Lecce, the Mayor of Novoli, and the project coordinator Prof. Filippo De Filippi. Among the speakers will be: Prof. Derrick de Kerckhove, Visiting Professor (Toronto) Director (MediaDuemila); Prof. Cosimo Accoto, Research Affiliate & Fellow (MIT), Adjunct Professor (UNIMORE); Prof. Donato Martucci, Professor of Cultural Anthropology (Unisalento and ABA Lecce); Prof. Giacomo Fronzi, Professor (UNIBA); Prof. Tiziano Margiotta, Professor (ABA Lecce), Visiting Professor (Shenyang University – China); Prof. Fernando De Filippi, Artist & Emeritus Director (ABA Brera Milano).

Moderator: Prof. Roberto Lacarbonara, Professor (ABA Lecce), Journalist (Repubblica).

The art exhibition “Rosso Fuoco Rubedo - The Fire of Art, Between Sacrifice and Metamorphosis,” curated by Prof. Gianni De Serio and Massimo Nardi, will take place at the Palazzo Baronale Novoli with the vernissage on January 11, 2026, at 10:30 AM.

Additionally, a competition called “Mediterranean Young Filmmakers Award” has been established. As part of the Mediterranean Fire initiatives – from January 11 to 18, 2026 – there will be screenings and awards for selected short films curated by Prof. Giacomo Toriano at the Teatro Comunale of Novoli.

Furthermore, on the sidelines of the conference on January 15, 2026, there will be the awarding of titles of “Bearer of the Fire of Art 2026,” and the high title of “Ambassador of the Mediterranean Fire 2026” to Prof. Derrick de Kerckhove and other artists.

Prof. Giulia Netti

**ROSSO FUOCO RUBEDO**

as part of the MEDITERRANEAN FIRE project

during the feast of St. Anthony the Abbot Fòcara 2026

PALAZZO BARONALE DI NOVOLI

January 11/18, 2026

Curated by Gianni De Serio and Massimo Nardi

Texts by Marco De Luca (Mayor of the Municipality of Novoli)

Federica Pizzuto (Councilor for Tourism and Marketing of the Municipality of Novoli)

Tiziano Margiotta, Gianni De Serio, Roberto Lacarbonara, Cosimo Accoto, Derrick de Kerckhove.

Marketing and cultural promotion manager Giulia Netti with Francesca Mazzeo

Graphic project Mariangela Cassano with Dario De Luca and Alessandro Serio.

Outdoor space setup Francesco Viola

Transport of works and setup assistance Giuseppe Coce
Web: www.ilsitodellarte.com/2026...