Art Parks To Visit With Children

From an early age, children are “natural artists”: their thoughts, their expressions are not codified or filtered by rules and they are free to manifest themselves through often incredibly creative drawings and words. This is why we should approach them to art from an early age and let them “live” it freely. Mark Rothko, an American expressionist painter and teacher, argued that to bring children closer to art, it was necessary to start with contemporary art “the closest to their way of being and their language”. So what better way than to visit the art parks with them, combining a trip or a weekend in the open air with an immersion in the world of art? In this article we have brought together the most beautiful art parks, magical places where Art and Nature coexist.

Arte Sella, Trentino Alto Adige

Stones smelling of moss, majestic trees, nature and its noises, art and its colors. One of the best known artistic parks: the wood of the Val di Sella awaits us to guide us along a path made of art and emotion, beauty and amazement. Two kilometers of open-air museum, with works by great artists scattered along the ArteNatura Route: 23 masterpieces of natural art to admire and contemplate for a long time. At the end of the route the Malga Costa area, with other works of art, including the Vegetal Cathedral and the Sella Theater “Il Cubo”. Finally, Villa Strobele can also be visited, where Arte Sella was born, and its large garden, containing other works. Open all the year.

Bosco d’Arte of Stenico, Trentino Alto Adige

Another artistic path with works scattered in nature: the Stenico Art Forest, right above the town south of the Brenta Dolomites, will amaze visitors for the perfect integration between contemporary art and nature. The forest is accessible by reservation the day before with a guided tour. Open all the year. The nearby castle is also worth seeing.

Ledro Land Art, Trentino Alto Adige

In Pieve di Ledro, 39 km from Stenico, Land Art is a path that crosses the pine forest of Pur, along the Assat stream. During the summer, freely accessible works of land art are created, some are permanent, others will disappear after the summer, others will be transformed by time and the surrounding environment. What remains, fortunately unchanged, is the sense of discovery and wonder. Open all year and freely accessible.

Art Park, Verzegnis, Friuli Venezia Giulia

For years Egidio Marzona, a collector originally from Verzegnis has been inviting internationally renowned artists to stay in Carnia and in exchange to create large-scale sculptures and works of art outdoors on his own grounds. In recent years works by artists such as Mario Merz, Sol Lewitt, Bruce Nauman, Richard Long, Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, Giuseppe Penone and others have arisen in the lawn in the center of the hamlet and in some neighboring spaces. The park is open and can be visited freely all year round. Audio guides available for free at the Antica Osteria Stella D’oro in Villa di Verzegnis near the park. Open all the yearand freely accessible.

Sojo Park, Pievasciata, Veneto

In Lusiana, Vicenza, the Sojo Park was born from the work of Diego Morlin, a landscape architect who, since 2005, in his three hectares of woods decided to carry out an experiment to combine environmental protection with the expressiveness of art. After ten years there are 82 installations by different artists, made with corten steel, stone, wood, stoneware.

The works have been conceived not only to integrate perfectly into the environment but also to modify themselves due to the work of time and climate, changing shape and size. This is why the visible works are never the same, year after year: one of the most spectacular artistic parks in Italy. The guided tour lasts about three hours, if you can try to do it with the architect Morlin himself, emotions are guaranteed. Open all year round only on weekends and holidays.

Rossini Art Site, Monza Brianza

In Briosco, in a ten-hectare park on the Brianza hills, the contemporary art collection of Alberto Rossini is exhibited, an entrepreneur and industrialist who in thirty years has combined entrepreneurial genius in the plastic mold sector with a passion for art from the late twentieth century, among which works by Pietro Consagra, Bruno Munari, Giò Pomodoro, Fausto Melotti, Andrea Cascella and Grazia Varisco stand out, just to name a few. The park access pavilion is also of artistic importance, designed by New York architect James Wines, exponent of Green Architecture.

During the year, from April to October, the museum often hosts green events for families and educational workshops. Once you have paid for the ticket (there is a cumulative one for families), you can stay all day, and enjoy the park for a picnic, to lie in the sun, approach the horses in the enclosure. There are no dining options, but it’s a good idea to bring supplies for a nice open air lunch. Open from March to November.