From 14 January to 19 June 2025 at the Sant'Orsola complex in Florence, the IMForest025 (Itinerant Mediterranean Forest), the project promoted by the non-profit organisation LWCircus-Onlus, will start. It will cross Europe with the aim of enhancing environmentally compromised landscapes.
The journey begins in the cloister of the Complex of Sant'Orsola, in the historical centre of Florence. This space, which has remained inaccessible for years, will host the first portion of the forest, called SOForest025. From 14 January to 19 June 2025, the public will be able to visit the forest by reservation. The inauguration, scheduled for 14 January, will include talks, concerts and artistic performances with prominent guests such as polar explorer Mike Horn, Olympic gold medallist Vincent Defrasne, and Marina Cervera, director of the 13th International Landscape Biennial in Barcelona.
IMForest025 and SOForest025 thus build a gesture of climate activism, offering the opportunity to experience how reforestation can improve people's lives, for example by counteracting the heat island phenomenon. After Florence, the project will go beyond the museum walls, enriching itself with specimens - to more than 100 trees and embracing the city's public space - and in the autumn will leave for new destinations, such as Barcelona and Valencia, heavily hit by flooding last year.
During the inauguration on 14 January, with a programme of open talks, concerts and performances related to the theme of the urban forest, internationally renowned experts and artists will speak, including polar explorer Mike Horn, Olympic gold medallist Vincent Defrasne, the executive director of the 13th International Landscape Biennial in Barcelona Marina Cervera Asinara National Park director Vittorio Gazale, international landscape architects Henri Bava (Paris) and Karin Helms (Oslo), French lithophonist (sculptor and stone player) Tony Di Napoli, performer Gavino Murgia and deaf actors from the Laboratorio Silenzio.
Booking required: apiras.lwcircus@gmail.com
From 14 January to 19 June 2025, the public can visit the forest by appointment.
