Following a devastating storm, Italian artist Marco Martalar was inspired to turn the devastation into something beautiful. An gigantic dragon, perched atop a mountain in Italy’s northern Trentino area, has become a symbol of Mother Nature’s might. Martalar fashioned the amazing creature out of the storm’s strewn branches, transforming sorrow into art.
The Vaia storm ravaged northern Italy in 2018. A massive quantity of woodland was devastated by winds of up to 125 miles per hour. Over 18,000 trees were uprooted in Trentino alone as a result of the terrible storm, which was unprecedented. Martalar’s perception of his art was forever changed after meeting Vaia. He tells My Modern Met, “The style of sculpture I was making previously no longer made sense.” “So I started repurposing what the storm had obliterated into art.”
The dragon, which can be found on Lavarone’s Alpe Cimbra, has a unique importance. Martalar sees it as a symbol of nature’s strength and the consequences of disregarding the environment. He spent ten days preparing the project and a month and a half sculpting on-site to build the artwork.
While the dragon isn’t Martalar’s only sculpture made from fallen wood, he deems it his most magnificent. And, even though he’s gone on to other projects, his dragon has become something of a local icon. Others pose with the dragon and photograph it blanketed in snow, serving as a reminder that we should never underestimate Mother Nature’s might.
The Vaia storm inspired Italian sculptor Marco Martalar to build a massive dragon sculpture out of wood.
This year’s storm wreaked havoc on northern Italy’s woodlands, causing over 18,000 trees to collapse in certain areas.
According to Martalar, the hurricane altered him as an artist, and he determined to make art out of its devastation.
His dragon is a representation of Mother Nature’s might.
The Vaia Dragon, which stands atop the Alpe Cimbra near Lavarone, has become a new tourist attraction.