A PERGOLA OF MULBERRY TREES AT THE SFORZESCO CASTLE

Milano (MI), 2019

Homage to Leonardo, the other pergola

On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci and the extraordinary reopening to the public of the Sale delle Asse after the restoration, in the Cortile delle Armi of the Castello Sforzesco, a Pergola of mulberry trees comes to life, a real reproduction of the decoration that the Master designed on the walls and ceiling of the Sala della Asse, then called the Camera dei Moroni, in 1498.

 

In fact, the project intends to bring the Sala delle Asse closer to the knowledge of an increasingly wider public, taking it ‘outside’ to propose a different point of view, more purely botanical and landscape-related: the creation of a ‘living’ pergola of mulberry trees offers a ‘opportunity that goes beyond experiments, offering an absolutely real experience and allowing tourists and visitors not only to learn about Leonardo’s work in its ‘real’ translation, but also to physically ‘live’ the experience of a pergola just as it could be conceived and created according to ancient techniques, in the Milanese years of Leonardo da Vinci.

 

In the Sala delle Asse, in fact, a specific type of pergola is represented, where the structure is created directly with the vegetal element: it is the living organism, the tree itself, appropriately cultivated and modelled, which creates the pergola, up to become true green architecture.

 

In fact, tree pergolas are widely described in various late medieval and Renaissance treatises and illustrated in many engravings, demonstrating their presence in the gardens of that era.

The project consists in the creation of a wooden structure, suitable for outdoor use, which faithfully reproduces the shapes and proportions of the Sala delle Asse, reduced in scale to give it real dimensions and allow the 16 mulberry trees (Morus alba) , prepare with the right pruning to adapt to the structure on which they will grow.

 

From season to season, the branches of new growth will be fixed to the roof frame so as to ‘guide’ them in the desired direction: in this way the plants will be modeled according to the desired shape, i.e. the same as the vault of the Sala delle Asse.