Texturia mari. Biennale Stretto 2022

Texturia Mari is a neologism, a new word that encapsulates memories, history and myths related to the Mediterranean Sea. It can be translated as interweaving, intersections or memories of the Seas because, to quote Braudel, the Mediterranean is “a thousand things together. It is not one landscape, but numerous landscapes. It is not one sea, but a complex of seas. It is not one civilisation, but a number of civilisations, piled one above the other.”
Texturia Mari is configured as a large floating and itinerant nassa, or lobster pot, that collects untold stories along its journey, to rediscover forgotten places full of experience and charm.

It is a place where stories of the past and the present are told, with the gaze always directed towards the future. It is a space where different cultures, languages and signs are intertwined to construct a multi-faceted and colourful interweaving that speaks of the Mediterranean, Sicily, Calabria and Italy, but also of the Middle Eastern countries that have left indelible traces here.

The Nassa, or lobster pot, begins its journey at the Strait, the hub of the Mediterranean, and makes stops as it travels. Buoys along the coasts of Sicily and Calabria serves as hospitable moorings, physical connections between land and sea, between the hidden realities and shores of a land that has so much to tell.

It is here that the Nassa generates intersections and memories: a pattern that is not only territorial but cultural; a woven texture that arises from encounters, expressing different identities and speaking of people and cultures belonging to a single territory, to a single vision.
Texturia Mari is an amplifier of invisible heritage and local culture, but also much more: it is a theatre of identities, a place for exchange and dialogue, where cultural meetings and performances take place, ranging from dance to theatre, and from music to design.

The proposal “Texturia Mari – Metaproject for a floating and itinerant museum in the shape of a lobster pot” won the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and Messina Award in the Communication Design category. The award is an initiative promoted by the “Biennale dello Stretto” (Biennale of the Strait)—the first International Exhibition of Art, Architecture, Landscape, Writing, Video, and Photography of the Strait—born from the “Invisible Mediterraneans” project. The latter was conceived and developed by Alfonso Femia in 2018 with the support of “500×100,” the permanent laboratory that since 2015 has investigated the integration of disciplines—from architecture to writing—in urban design, gathering insights and ideas to understand how the world of design is evolving.

Following research into the hidden potential of the Mediterranean Sea that began in 2018, the “Biennale dello Stretto” launched a “Call to Action” in 2022 aimed at the design world. Designers were invited to pair a “water word” with a project proposal to collect innovative ideas and future visions for the region.