The competition begins in 2017 and has therefore reached its fourth edition. It was created to enhance the beautiful Piazza Tanucci (called the “parlor of the Casentino Valley”), ideal location of the competition, and at the same time enrich the Biennale event with an initiative of great artistic quality.
For each edition of the competition a theme is chosen by the Organizing Committee with the patronage of the National Park of the Casentino Forests and is communicated well in advance to potential artisans and artists via the official website of the Biennale and the various social media. The theme chosen for this XXV edition is “Lightness“. By rules, the works in the competition must be original projects and are evaluated by a special international jury made up of master blacksmiths, architects, and/or designers who work under the control and endorsement of a notary. The first 3 ranking works are awarded a prize and they become property of the Biennale association, meant to be used as street furniture in different areas of the village.Â
According to the rules, the works must be made of metal (not necessarily iron), but the presence of other materials is also permitted up to a maximum of 20% of the structure. The theme of the last edition, coinciding with the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, who had close ties with the Casentino, was “And then we went out to see the stars again” (“E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle”) and the first three ranking artists were:
The first and third works are nowadays housed in the Iron Museum which is located inside the old Stia wool mill, while the second work is located in a green area in Piazza Mazzini
