“Sancte Michael Archangele,
Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
defende nos in proelio“
Like religious paintings created to narrate deeds capable of taking root in the collective imagination, Albanova tells a story of possible redemption.
The project takes shape through figures of saints, brigandesses, and mothers, restoring the fierce and determined face of a femininity capable of shaping the destinies of marginalized communities.
On the occasion of the AMA Festival, commissioned by the Municipality of Maddaloni (CE) and curated by Luca Molinari, the narrative focuses on a feminine reinterpretation of the iconography of Saint Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of the city.
The site-specific work manifests as a monumental banner over seven meters high, conceived for the altar of the Baroque church of Santa Maria de' Commendatis—an architectural heritage site owned by the Municipality of Maddaloni, restored and returned to the community during the festival.
Albanova is the result of a choral creation process spanning more than eight months through the practice of sewing. Entirely handmade by Teresa and the women of her maternal lineage, the tapestry becomes a cry for redemption.
The choice of the iconographic reference to the Archangel Michael responds to a dual necessity: a territorial bond through homage to the patron saint of Maddaloni, and a historical memory referencing the province of Terra di Lavoro, which the fascist regime renamed “Albanova” in 1927.
The work thus situates itself within the context of territorial struggles against biocide and destructive industrial speculation, precisely in the months when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned the Italian state for violating Article 2 of the Convention: the right to life for those living in the “Terra dei Fuochi” (Land of Fires), to which the municipality of Maddaloni formally belongs..
A feminine banner reclaims a place of worship and power to offer a vision of a different Mezzogiorno.
An Archangel becomes an Archangela.
An altar projected toward the sky becomes a banner for a land that must be healed, a land from which the evil of entombed toxic poisons must be uprooted.
