From Friday 1 March at 4.30 p.m., the art exhibition promoted by the cultural association Il Gabbiano under the patronage of the Municipality of Pisa entitled 'La Mente e l'Anima' will open at the Church of S.Maria della Spina with works by Daniela Maccheroni and Rachele Carol Odello.

The exhibition will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from 08:30 to 12:30 and from 15:30 to 18:30.

Last day of opening on Sunday 17 March.

The event entitled 'The Mind and the Soul' at the church of Santa Maria della Spina is promoted by two artists, Daniela Maccheroni and Rachele Carol Odello, who have created an installation of absolute spirituality in this sacred place, attempting, as reported in a critical text by professor Ilario Luperini, 'a fruitful dialogue not only with the ecclesiastical space, but also with the sculptural works of Nino and Andrea Pisano, excellent examples of 14th-century Italian art.... .with the modesty of one who well knows the aesthetic elevation of those sublime presences, but also with the intention of showing their creative passion, elevated spirituality and technical mastery".

Daniela Maccheroni and Rachele Odello met in 2013, during the production of a play devised by Daniela Maccheroni on the subject of 'madness', a theme for which both artists have a keen sensitivity and which is addressed again in the exhibition at the Church of S. Maria della Spina.

The exhibition includes the installation of a work, placed in the centre of the Church, by Daniela Carol Odello, represented by two winged figures holding up a large scroll with phrases evoking the Mishkan, the tabernacle built by the Jews in the desert, as a visible sign of God's presence in their midst, demonstrating that God dwells in our daily acts and in the depths of our souls.

On the sides of the church are the paintings by Daniela Maccheroni "who has always grappled with the world of the marginalised, with their suffering: defeated people, the object of abuse, confined in extremely precarious physical and psychological conditions", as critic Ilario Luperini writes: "the artist knows how to identify with the deep pain of the characters she represents; their suffering is her suffering. Deep down, however, Maccheroni glimpses a consoling glow in such darkness: it is the relief of faith, the hope of a salvific intervention from above. Therefore, the action of the two artists in the Church of Santa Maria della Spina can be considered a unitary installation, rather than an exhibition of individual works. With a spiritual sharing at its basis: God is not hiding behind a statue but is right here! Perceiving his presence with the mind and soul is a wonderful journey, a journey of love".

The exhibition with free admission will be open to the public at the Church of S. Maria della Spina from 1 to 17 March 2024 with the following opening times:

Inauguration FRIDAY 1 March at 16:30

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.