Arco dei Padri
Costituenti

“L’Arco muta qui del tutto la sua tradizionale valenza storica di ornamento trionfale, ponendosi piuttosto come segno di continuità territoriale tra l’anfiteatro di Bleso e Villa d’Este, quasi raccordo immaginifico, nella complessiva potenza architettonica di Tivoli, e fluido passaggio tra luoghi eminenti”.

(A. Pomodoro)

Created by Arnaldo Pomodoro and completed in 2009 on the occasion of the redevelopment work, commissioned by the municipality of Tivoli and co-financed by the Province of Rome and the Lazio Region, of the area that circumscribes Villa d’Este, the large 7-meter arch, made of bronze and steel, stands in the center of Piazza Garibaldi.

At first glance, the base of the arch appears to rise from an accumulation of debris in the form of spheres and scales that, in size and morphological regularity, seem to have come from afar. Geometric concretions of matter, resembling natural forms but overall referring us to a coherent structure, as if to emphasize the connection between randomness of nature and human intervention (mimetic attempt of artificial creation to simulate the natural one).

The arch appears to be formed by two gushes of water that join at the point where they taper, becoming a continuous flow and mutual nourishment of the twin pools below. The latter might thus allude, respectively, to the past and present of Tivoli, which has always forged its identity and history on the element of water.

Arnaldo Pomodoro (1926-2025) was an internationally renowned sculptor and goldsmith. Indeed, his works can be found in the world’s most important cities including Los Angeles, Dublin, Copenhagen, Brisbane, Rome and numerous other locations. These are mostly works intended to occupy outdoor spaces, and thus to enter into dialogue with the community and its everyday space; in all his works what dominates is the adherence to essential geometric forms, preferring spherical ones in addition to the cube and cone.