The architect Álvaro Siza has a new sculpture to be executed outside the Monastery of Leça do Balio, in Matosinhos, which is part of the project "Caminho da Arte". The ambition is to add contemporary art to the heritage that already exists on the Caminhos de Santiago
The new sculpture, which will remind and welcome the pilgrims, is composed of the "temple", a white concrete structure 20x20 metres wide, and the "walker", a marble sculpture 1.90 metres high.
"The idea of verticality present in the sculpture revives the Gothic of the 12th century," said architect António Choupina, who presented the work. The sculpture that is still being built "will be an ample space of recollection for all walkers".
The route, which starts in Santiago de Compostela and ends in Oporto Cathedral, has 261 kilometres, and the complexity of the project is "evident", according to architect Paula Silva: "It is a giant amount of cultural heritage that is still being researched".
The "Art Trail" will be officially presented in June 2023, when Pope Francis comes to World Youth Day in Lisbon, said Pedro Pinto, director of Lionesa, responsible for the project. The project will be implemented over the next four years.
The number of works that will be implemented along the 261 kilometres "is not yet known", but the Lionesa manager estimates that there will be "between 60 and 100". The initiative "will have the participation of several national and international plastic artists", Paula Silva assured.
The exhibition "The Way of Art" was part of the presentation of the new image of the Lionesa Group, at the same time as Happiness Camp, the biggest European event focused on happiness in a professional context, was taking place. The presentation session was closed by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Rita Marques, who congratulated the project and mentioned that "tourism and art are two lungs of the same body".