Who is Dolomiti?

I ran into you when wandering around St. Magdalena in Villnöß (South Tyrol in Northern Italy). That was a cold early Summer day.  Many shops were still close. I could hear the children playing in the background, but I didn’t see anyone else around. I crossed the footbridge and followed the sound.  Kids were having a break between classes; everybody was having fun on the playground.  Boys were kicking the ball on the mini football field, while girls were taking turns for a swing.  That was how I found you.  You just stood there quiet and calm.  Who are you?  How should I say Hi to you?  Does it matter if I said “Good morning!” “Guten Morgen!” “Bonum Mane!” “Buongiorno!” or “早安!”  You just stood still and stayed silent. Yes!  You are one face of the landscape.  But who are you, Really?

dolomiti_07

Note: The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park and many other regional parks are located in the Dolomites. In August 2009, the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The art installation was created by the Italian sculptor Gerald Moroder. He is the Winner of the competition “Gesichter einer Landschaft” (Faces of a Landscape) in St. Magdalena in Villnöß for the Nature Park House Puez-Geisler.  I think that the art installation is one of the most beautiful interpretations of the Book of Genesis, how God created the world in 7 days.  The concept and the artwork have been well integrated into the Alpine landscape and the man-made structure.  In a way, a human has guided other people to a place to learn different things.  It takes many years for humans to learn from each other to live on their own and it will take many more years for humans to learn from other creatures to care for each other.

There are two buildings Nature Park House and the elementary school juxtaposed at an angle in the building complex with the ridge lines of the surrounding hills in the background.  Both buildings and the footbridge were designed by Burger Rudacs Architekten in München.


According to Moroder’s statement, he installed seven cubes that representing the 7 days of creation. He had each cube engraved with the Latin explanation of the creation. On the sixth-day human was created, this is represented malleably as the only member of the creation. The seventh day is dedicated to rest and thus remains unlabeled.  The short description was roughly translated from the German,

Die 7 Würfel stellen die 7 tage der Schöpfung dar Jeder Würfel trägt die lateinische Erklärung des Geschaffenen.  Am sechsten Tag wurde der Mensch geschaffen, dieser wird als einziges Glied der Kreation plastisch dargestellt.  Der siebte Tag is der  Ruhe gewidmet und bleibt somit unbeschriftet.

Das werk soll auf die Schönheit und Größe des Geschaffenen aufmerksam machen.

Here are seven cubes + one

01_Monday
1st Day: creavit deus caelum et terram | God created the heaven and the earth
02_Tuesday
2nd Day: fiat firmamentum | Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters
03_Wednesday
3rd Day: germinet terra herbam | Let the land produce
04_Thursday
4th Day: fiant luminaria | Let there be lights
05_Friday
5th Day: creavit omnem animam viventem | God created every living creature
06_Saturday
6th Day: The Human Being
07_Sunday
7th Day: The void

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