Walking through the park is like a treasure hunt recalled from childhood. Fattoria di Celle is a

Fausto Melotti, “Themes and Variations II,” 1981, stainless steel.

manmade natural wonder in which the artists are free to take their inspiration from a seemingly endless variety of locations. George Trakas, the Canadian sculptor known primarily for his architectural, large-sized works, created his “Pathway of Love,” 1982, in a small stream that meanders through a wooded glen. Trakas’ trail is made of wood, steel, terra cotta and iron, and at points is indistinguishable from its surroundings.

Here the viewer is no longer a passive observer, but an active seeker of beauty. The work leads one through forests, up hills and under bridges with a series of carefully placed steps, platforms and ramps, and the fact that the endpoint is unknown only adds to the sense of adventure. In one corner of the rolling hills, just off a main path, there is a dense bamboo forest. It is immediately clear that something is amiss, as the continuity of the stems is broken. Only upon closer inspection does one see the solid marble shapes of “Melencolia II,” 2002, seemingly dropped by the invisible hands of Robert Morris, the American minimalist, and Claudio Parmiggiani, an exponent of the Italian Arte Povera movement.

The idea of commissioning artists to create an open-air museum of contemporary sculpture came to Gori in the 1970s. At that time, artists were interested in creating temporary works that could only be understood in terms of a specific location or setting. Gori wished to combine the contemporary idea of site-specific sculpture with the permanence of traditional art. The first installations at Celle were inaugurated in 1982. Since then he has continued to invite internationally acclaimed artists to create artworks specifically for his park.