Artist Recreates Ancient Italian Cathedral Using Wire Mesh

In the 13th century CE, worshippers abandoned Basilica di Siponto, an early Christian cathedral, after earthquakes damaged their place of prayer. The ancient building was constructed between the 11th and 12th centuries in Siponto, a port town in the southern Italian region of Puglia.

To pay homage to the region’s history, Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi recently reconstructed the church on its original archaeological site, the present-day Archaeological Park of Siponto. However, Dezeen reports that Tresoldi—who’s known for his large-scale wire sculptures—took a unique approach: He fashioned the Basilica di Siponto’s walls, Romanesque domes, arched windows, and columns entirely from hundreds of yards of wire mesh. Several life-size mesh figurines stand inside the church, adding a ghostly presence to the airy installation.

Designboom writes that Tresoldi created the work in conjunction with MiBACT, the local ministry of cultural heritage and activities, and the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Puglia. The permanent installation serves as a bridge between the past and the present; it evokes the original appearance of the early church, but it’s also “able to vivify and update the relationship between the ancient and the contemporary,” according to Simone Pallotta, an Italian curator of public and urban art.

Check out more photos of the recreated Basilica di Siponto below, or visit Tresoldi’s website to see more of his works.

[h/t Dezeen]

All images courtesy of Edoardo Tresoldi and the Blind Eye Factory.