To live in Salento, even for a short time, means immersing oneself in a special environment, rich with meanings tied to the earth, air and water - all this geographically connected to the Finibus Terrae (currently Santa Maria di Leuca, but formerly, Otranto).

These lands, considered infertile and dry, are the fortunate synthesis of a cultural and naturalistic enrichment to which the early pilgrims, travelling along the Holy Land-Rome-Santiago de Compostella route, contributed. This enrichment is evidenced today by those signs of intense mystical-religiosity which the pilgrims ‘donated’, as though designating us the trustees of this cultural treasure, which, when it is not ransacked, often still remains neglected.

I have worked and travelled a lot, with visions of Salento in my head which called for and imposed their exploitation. While involved in creation and in making art, their compelling attraction transformed itself within me, into a sense of responsibility: the urge to intervene, by using and making available acquaintances and contacts forged through time, in order to call attention to the existing cultural signs and to create new ones through the stones ("ri-segni").

As was the case in Cannole, today, in Santa Maria di Leuca, the possibility presents itself to intervene, within a specific area, by involving sculptors of international renown who will probably only make the geografical acquaintance of Salento on this occasion.

Thanks to the receptiveness of the Cultural Assessor Prof. Fernando Marzo and the Director of the Caroli Hotels, Dott. Attilio Caputo, it is possible for me once again to realise an international sculpture symposium in Salento.

The International Sculpture Symposium "in Pietra Leccese" which will be held in 2003 in Santa Maria di Leuca will continue a path upon which I embarked with the desire to intervene upon the public spaces of Salento, already rich with deep cultural markings, with the intention of heightening awareness through the re-appropriation of the traditions and cultural roots that make Salento so fertile.

I am re-proposing this initiative in its international dimension and I will also contribute as an artist, endeavouring to obtain the maximum result, because I am deeply convinced that this is a pure way of producing culture - the exchanges among the artists in the atelier, the encounters with the public, the curious observers, the visits to sites with age-old olive trees, dry walls, dolmen and menhirs, will pay back my commitment, as will seeing the sculptures, in which sensations, which link themselves back to tradition and constitute an enrichment to the territory, are captured.

This year the sculptures will be created around a theme - we wish to draw attention to the myth of Leukos (= whiteness). We find ourselves in the heart of the Mediterranean, a short distance from Greece, and it is natural for this region to be impregnated with myths and traditions which go back to the dawn of time. The white town of Leuca is connected to the mythical figure of Leucasia, the beautiful mermaid with the white skin, who sang divinely, attracting sailors with her heavenly melodies. This poetic myth will be an element of study and inspiration for the artists, who will, however, work freely and pour into their forms of expression this and other inspirations derived during their stay in Leuca.

My wish is that this path may be long and fertile and I thank in advance all those whose contributions (particularly those whose value may seem unrecognised) make it all possible.

Prof. Mario Calcagnile
Artistic Director