Tarot Garden
THE TAROT GARDEN OF THE ARTIST NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE IS A MYSTERIOUS PARK IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF CAPALBIO, IN MAREMMA, IT OFFERS CYCLOPEAN SCULPTURES AND UNUSUAL MONUMENTAL CONSTRUCTIONS, COVERED WITH EXQUISITE MOSAICS OF MIRRORS, GLASS AND COLORED CERAMICS.
In the wonderful hills near Capalbio, in the Province of Grosseto, precisely in the Garavicchio estate – near the Chiarone-Pescia Fiorentina exit – the Tarot Garden stands out, an extravagant and phantasmagorical artistic park immersed in the Mediterranean scrub of the Tuscan Maremma, in which the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot cards have literally come to life in cyclopean sculptures 10/15 meters high thanks to the imagination of a world-famous French sculptor: Niki de Saint Phalle, born in France in 1930 and died in San Diego (California, USA) on 22 May 2002. What triggered the desire to build this esoteric garden was the influence of the soft shapes and buildings of Antoni Gaudí’s Park Güell in Barcelona. In 1979, with the collaboration of the Swiss sculptor (and companion) Jean Tinguely, the artist then began the construction of the Tarot Garden, at his own expense. The garden appears truly enchanted, it enchants adults and children, as in a fairy tale you meet snakes and wizards, angels and devils, goblins and emperors, sun and moon.
NIKI TRIES TO TRANSMIT THE SENSE OF MAGIC, AMAZING AND MYSTERY INTO HER WORKS. THE GARDEN REPRESENTS THE IDEAL CITY FOR THE ARTIST AND A SORTS OF POETIC EXISTENTIAL MESSAGE.
The sculptures are a mixture of iron and concrete covered with mosaics, ceramics, multicolored precious glass and so on. Over time, some works by other contemporary artists from all over the world were added. Along the paths and hidden niches of the garden, the immense creations take shape, which are based on a traditional but at the same time very personal iconography. You can observe Death riding a horse with a scythe in his hand, the Pope and the High Priestess, a dragon wrapped in a cloak of green mirror, the Emperor’s Castle, the Sun, the Magician with his hand covered in small tiles of mirrors, the Hanged Man inside the tree of life, the stupendous Tower of mirrors, broken by lightning, where a sculpture by Jean Tinguely moves and much more.
The park is followed and administered by the Tarot Garden Foundation, created in 1997 by Niki de Saint Phalle in order to preserve and safeguard the works she created.
The entrance to the Tarot Garden (for a fee, the entrance ticket currently costs 12 Euros, is free on the morning of the first Saturday of the month from November to March) takes place through a large hole that opens along a tuff wall, created by the Swiss architect Mario Botta, which symbolizes the clear separation from the outside world.
Tarot Garden Resources
- Niki de Saint Phalle – The Tarot Garden – The official website of the French artist and the Maremma art park.
