Yellow giant bench

Hike to Ekar Peak along Master Patrick's Trail

INTRODUCTION TO THE ITINERARY

The Path of Maestro Patrizio is an emotional path, a ring, with slightly uphill sections, easy to walk and suitable for the family (length about 3.7 km).

This path was named after the master and naturalist Patrizio Rigoni, a teacher and a highly esteemed person on the Plateau, who preferred teaching in the open air to the classroom and who made respect and knowledge of nature, its laws and its secrets a privileged topic of his lessons.

Researcher, writer, taxidermist and photographer, Patrizio Rigoni (1939-2008) was an unforgettable educator at the elementary school. The Naturalistic Museum of Asiago founded in 1999 thanks to the passion and donations of Maestro Patrizio Rigoni, whose dioramas (showcases in which elements belonging to the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom are presented in a reconstruction of the natural environment), collections of photos, books and documents on the highland flora and fauna are an important part of the museum's collection is also dedicated to him. The path wants to be a projection towards the outside of the Naturalistic Museum and its dioramas, for this reason it was decided to call it Quinto Diorama in Natura.

HOW TO GET TO THE STARTING POINT

Starting from Asiago by car, proceed in the direction of Bassano del Grappa to Osteria Fontanella (along the SP 72). After passing the latter, immediately after the curve, take the first road on the left and go all the way up until you reach the entrance of the Cima Ekar Observation Station area, where you can park your car. The entrance to the path is on the right and is marked by a special plaque.

THE PATH AND THE ARTISTIC INSTALLATIONS

The path of Maestro Patrizio is a non-demanding path , of about 3.7 km, which crosses many of the environments that characterize the Asiago plateau: beech forests, fir forests, pastures and alpine pools. All between beautiful views.

Colorful stakes and symbols painted on the trees (similar to a smiley face), which you can see along the way, indicate the way forward.

Along the way there are more than 20 artistic installations, including sculptures, paintings and engravings, made by various artists and by the children of the schools of the Plateau (mostly with biodegradable materials). Each work recalls and proposes a reflection on naturalistic, landscape and didactic aspects. We mention some that have particularly impressed us (in order of appearance).

The first installation you come across (on the left) is "The classroom in the woods" by the teacher Gianna and her students. Following we find the "Embrace to the tree" by Gianluca Rodeghiero Bardoa, which represents an embrace of life and nature, around a spruce trunk broken by the Vaia storm of 2018, to symbolize that with love you can overcome any difficulty.

The attention is then attracted by "The soul of the Woods" by Carla Collesei Billi, an Asian artist. It is an anthropomorphic bust in semi-refractory clay cooked at 1000 ° and then cold painted, in which the head equipped with a stage of deer horns symbolizes the mystical union between man and animal. The green color of the figure alludes to the vegetation, the blue instead recalls the incredible sky that on clear days overlooks meadows and woods of the Plateau.

Then we find the "Announcement of Spring" by Diego Rossi, a cedar wood sculpture depicting two spring crocuses, flowers that are born as soon as the snow melts and that symbolize the rebirth of life that is renewed every year.

We meet, therefore, the "Ibex" by Eros Lazzaretti, William Rossi and Pietro Baù of Sasso di Asiago, made with carving, that is, with the sole use of the chainsaw. And then "Brise" by Piero Rossi, that is three large boletus made of spruce, the "Boboli" by Diego Silvagni Patao, that is the snails made of cut out sheet metal beaten cantilevered and painted, the "Gallo Cedrone" by Diego Silvagni Patao and Willy Povoledo, also in cut sheet metal and painted with acrylic, "Bubo Bubo" by Eros Lazzaretti, representing an owl, and the "Bear" by William Rossi, a spruce wood sculpture placed at the entrance of a natural cave.

Near these last installations, you can stop for a stop on a wooden bench and beautifully painted stumps with scenes of skiers and hikers on the snow in Asiago. Shortly after there is "Nostalgia" by Joe Dalle Ave, a suggestive cedar wood sculpture representing a family unit.

Later we are fascinated by the "Alpeggio Verticale" by Valentina Carli, Giulio Rigoni and Antonio Busellato, an installation consisting of vertical metal plates on which are reported thoughts taken from the writings of the master Patrizio, from which all his love for nature and the woods shines through. The effect is very suggestive, also because the totems reflect vertically the sky and the landscape and the words of the master seem to float in the air.

At the beautiful Malga Campo di Costalunga, where during the summer season you can stop for a genuine snack or lunch, hanging on an external wall of one of the two buildings, we find the "Rogazione sulla Luna" by Silvano Ferret, a sculpture made of pine wood from valle d'Aosta.

After the hut we meet "Le Luci del Bosco" by Christian Panozzo and Katia Gattolin, who have enhanced an old semi-abandoned artifact located along the path, painting it with acrylic tempera painting on the four walls, on the idea of the tireless teacher Gianna Fracaro among the collaborators of the Naturalistic Museum of Asiago.

Then we find the "Virata" by Fabrizio Muraro: an eagle, carved in wood, which turns and symbolically touches the sky with one wing and the earth with the other.

A work that attracts curiosity is the giant yellow bench by Marco Pancrazio made of white fir. It is an "out of scale" bench, whose measures are doubled compared to a classic bench. The artist, realizing it, wanted to give way, to those who wish, to get on the bench (at which there is a special ladder supplied) and to take a souvenir photo a stone's throw from the sky, with his gaze turned towards our magnificent plateau. From here, in fact, you can enjoy a wonderful view of Asiago and the central basin of the plateau.

Heading towards the final part of the route, we meet "Windows on the Plateau" by Gianangelo Longhini, a 2.70 m high cedar wood sculpture, composed of a series of holes or frames through which the visitor can observe various views of the Plateau.

The route ends at the Cima Ekar Observation Station, which houses the Copernicus astronomical telescope, the largest in Italy. Together with the Asiago Astrophysical Observatory in Pennar, it is the most important observation center of optical astronomy in our country.

Leaving the observation station area, you reached the starting point.

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PHOTO GALLERY OF THE MAESTRO PATRIZIO ITINERARY