Zoo di Mesocco

“Lo Zoo di Mesocco” - Series of 13 mural interventions realized along a path that crosses the districts of the Municipality of Mesocco, Switzerland, curated by mMoMAm (Mini Museum of Modern Art Misox). 2024.

The “Zoo di Mesocco” is a project curated by mMoMAm (Mini museum of Modern Art Misox) in Mesocco, Switzerland, an alpine town of 1323 inhabitants with a great natural and historical heritage, located on the south of the Mesolcina Valley on the road to the San Bernardino Pass.

The idea is to unite in a sustainable path, to be covered on foot, all the hamlets of the Municipality of Mesocco, which extend for about 18 kilometers, with a series of targeted mural interventions dedicated to different animal species, both local and exotic.

The common thread that was thought to conceptually unite the different stages is that of cohabitation and balance between man and nature, where in addition to a general reflection stimulated by the set of works, different concepts were explored for each animal, working on the sense of participation, on comparison, on different perspectives, and interacting directly with the peculiarities of the different locations.

The project was initially introduced with a small surprise intervention in August 2023, officially launched in December 2023 with the sale of a limited edition print ("Unboxed”), realized from May to July 2024 and inaugurated the 24th of August 2024.

Long track

Three routes have been designed to guide visitors: a short one (2 km) that goes around the centre of Mesocco and touches 5 stages, a medium one (4.7 km) that also reaches the other side of the Moesa river and touches 7 stages, a long one (6.8 km) that reaches 9 stages. The other paintings are not yet included in the first three official routes, although they remain freely visitable: two are located near the long tour, while two others are located respectively in the hamlets of Pian San Giacomo (about 5 km from the centre of Mesocco) and San Bernardino (about 14 km from the centre). The complete tour of all the works goes from 700 meters to about 1600 meters above sea level. The organization of guided tours is foreseen.