After Christo’s Floating Piers on Lake Iseo, another Lombard lake has been transformed into an open-air art gallery. A series of white floating islands resembling lotus flowers have been installed on the Lower Lake of Mantova, part of the Ocno’s Archipelago exhibition by architect Joseph Grima.
In the coming months, the islands will host concerts, conferences, screenings and theater performances dedicated to the city’s relationship with water. The goal is to turn the lake into a major gathering point of Mantova’s urban life. Some key events related to Mantova as Italian Capital of Culture will be held on the installation.
The name of the installation comes from mythology: Ocno was a demigod, son of the fortune teller Manto; to honor his deceased mother, Ocno built a town on the Mincio river, where the family had settled after they were summoned back to living with humans.
The first scheduled event is a concert by the Mantua Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli.
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