“Intrusions” of contemporary art in places of worship: the “Calamita Cosmica” in the ex church of Santissima Trinità in Annunziata in Foligno

Abstract

Calamita Cosmica is the name that the artist Gino De Dominicis gave to one of his sculptures representing a gigantic skeleton. In 2001, after several relocations, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Foligno bought the work of art and placed it into the old church of Santissima Trinità in Annunziata in Foligno. This intervention represents a particular example of re-using an ecclesiastical space, where a single work found a perfect location and an appropriate exhibition strategy. After the analysis of similar experiences, this paper proposes a consideration about the reuse of churches as contemporary art galleries and about its coexistence with the sacred place.