Ancient solitudes

Among woods, seascapes, and silence: Costantino Paolicchi’s painted narrative at the Fortino

From January 16 through March 11, 2026, the Fortino Leopoldo I will host the solo exhibition “Ancient Solitudes.” The opening is scheduled for Friday, January 16, at 4:30 p.m., introducing a journey through nature, memory, and the identity of place, shaped by more than thirty years of artistic research.

The exhibition presents a wide-ranging pictorial itinerary spanning over three decades of research, placing at its center the deep relationship between humanity, nature, and memory. Trees, woods, and seascapes form the thematic core of a figurative yet visionary painting style that restores to the landscape an intimate and identity-defining dimension. The seascapes evoke the artist’s family roots in Forte dei Marmi and his experiences along the Versilia coastline, while the woods, pine groves, mountain waterways, and Lunigiana landscapes become interior spaces – repositories of silence, emotion, and layered time.

The exhibition unfolds across the Fortino’s three levels: the first floor features works from the 1990s; the second floor is dedicated to seascapes; and the upper level is home to the “identity trees,” as defined by art critic and historian Nicola Micieli. This curatorial structure guides visitors through a coherent journey, interweaving personal roots and shared landscapes.

The exhibition will remain open through March 11, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., closed on Mondays. Free admission.