Atelier sul Mare

Atelier sul Mare is an artist-designed hotel and contemporary art project at Castel di Tusa. Founded by Antonio Presti in 1991, it forms part of the wider Fiumara d’Arte project, which brings monumental artworks into the landscape of the Tusa valley and its coast.

Why it matters

The hotel treats its rooms as works of art rather than neutral interiors. Artists have conceived individual spaces using painting, sculpture, installation and architectural design, extending the Fiumara d’Arte project from the inland river landscape to the Tyrrhenian shore. The result links contemporary art with the experience of a coastal building.

What to notice

The artist-designed rooms include works associated with Mario Ceroli, Paolo Icaro, Fabrizio Plessi, Maria Lai, Raúl Ruiz, Piero Dorazio and Graziano Marini. Tano Festa’s Monumento per un poeta morto, known as Finestra sul mare, is one of the monumental works in the wider Fiumara d’Arte project. The project also includes rooms by Sislej Xhafa and Mimmo Cuticchio, among others.

Context and history

Antonio Presti conceived Fiumara d’Arte in 1982 and formally presented the project in 1986 with Pietro Consagra’s La materia poteva non esserci. The project developed as a series of monumental works across the Tusa river valley and neighbouring municipalities. In 1991, the Atelier extended that vision to Castel di Tusa through a hotel conceived as an artists’ residency and exhibition space. Fiumara d’Arte received official recognition as a cultural-tourist route in 2006.