LAMPEDUSA'S GATEWAY TO EUROPE

A particularly poignant moment during Pope Leone XIV's recent visit to the Island of Lampedusa (Sicily), was his gesture of stepping through “The Doorway to Europe”, a towering archway standing on the promontory representing the first visible sign of Italy for immigrant boats coming across the Mediterranean from north Africa.

The five-metre high sculpture, unveiled in 2008, is the work of Mimmo Paladino, one of the founders of the Italian Transavantguard Movement. Representing a massive open doorway, it is built of galvanized iron and dazzles in the sunlight thanks to its facings of refracted ceramic tiles that dazzle like a beacon in the sunlight.

Conceived as a tribute to the memory of the thousands of immigrants who have lost their lives in the sea crossing from North Africa to Europe, it was commissioned by the AVANI Foundation, which funded most of the total cost of 150,000 euros, with the support of the Italian non-governmental charity organization Alternativa Giovani of Lampedusa.

M.STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.092297.1302 https://www.alternativagiovani.it