Maya Lin, an American artist, may have put it best when she said, “I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That’s art to me.” This is exactly what Italian artist Giuliano Mauri did when he created Cattedrale Vegetale, also known as Tree Cathedral. He has planted two groves of trees, that will eventually grow to be two breathtaking basilicas.
Giuliano Mauri is an Italian artist who is best known for his design in natural architecture.
He’s participated in numerous architecture collaborations such as Venice Biennale, Milan Triennale, and Biennale of Penne.
He decided to create something even more breathtaking than his previous works when he started working on the Tree Cathedral.
Working with branches and the trunks of trees, he began to set the structure for this Tree Cathedral.
He created cages with tree stumps. Once these cages were complete, he planted two groves of trees, including 80 hornbean saplings within these cages which will eventually grow into large trees.
The idea of this is that nature will come along and fill in the gaps as the wood disintegrates with time.
The Tree Cathedral consists of 42 columns which form a basilica of five aisles.
This specific project used 1,800 spruce trunks, along with 600 chestnut tree branches which are then secured together using 6,000 meters of hazelnut twigs. They did this by using traditional methods of intertwining and weaving.
As they begin to grow, it will create a natural roof over this cathedral.
The cathedral is huge, and you must see it in person to actually appreciate the sheer size of this place.
It took months to create and takes up 650 sq. meters of space. It’s more than 90 feet long, 80 feet wide, and the height ranges anywhere from 16 feet tall up to 70 feet tall!
Mauri started to create this vision in 2001. After passing away in 2009, the cathedral was completed in 2010 and is now a memorial to Mauri and his work.
The Tree Cathedral can be found at the foot of Mount Arera, which is located in Northern Italy.
More Info: Guiliana Mauri
Mauri definitely had a vision and was able to turn that vision into a beautiful piece of art and architecture! This place looks absolutely beautiful and I would love to go see it in person one day. It is great that his memory will live on for many, many years to come thanks to this beautiful Tree Cathedral.