It has already been over a week since I arrived in Prato. I’m still trying to find my way around.  Walking is easy except using  the crosswalks at these round-abouts, here in Santa Lucia gets me all turned around. Then I’m not sure which street I am on anymore. Learning landmarks is helpful since street names aren’t always apparent.

With the help of a friendly bus driver we figured out how to
purchase a monthly bus ticket. So now I will no longer need to worry about how long each ticket lasts or where to get it punched.

We did take off to the coast for the weekend. I will write more about that in another post.

So now I’m back to discovering art in Prato and Santa Lucia. We’ve noticed some of the public art. I’m not sure any of these murals are officially commissioned the way they are in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The under the bridge art is a pleasant surprise. Even if some is more like graffiti, it is still contemporary artistic expression.

The three landscapes below look like fine art frescoes.

The sculpture along the river path between Santa Lucia and Prato is perfectly nestled between to the benches and beautifully echoes the landscape. Unfortunately, I could not find the name of the piece or the artist who created it.

We were lucky to stumble across this installation art near the University train station.

The title of the piece is “il viandante e la sua ombra” (the wanderer and his shadow). Using Google translate I understand this is the work of sculptor Ignazio Fresu. It was inspired by the work of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

For the more historical art I hope to visit the museum in Prato where Fra Filippo Lippi frescoes are displayed.

Since it was closed last Saturday when we tried to visit, it looks like we will need to wait until later in the month to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art Liugi Pecci. There is currently construction there and that seems to be when it be open, although the new building isn’t scheduled to open until
2013.

So where do the local artists exhibit their work? I don’t see any small galleries equivalent to our Riverside Arts Center, Rivers Edge Art Gallery or Black Door Gallery back in Michigan.

I wish I had attempted to communicate with the woman artist I saw painting at the Medieval Festival in Prato last week. Hopefully, I will be able to uncover more about the art scene here in the coming weeks.