International Peperino Sculpture Symposium

A sculpture symposium under the gaze of the Moai

The International Peperino Sculpture Symposium is one of the most original cultural events in the Lazio region: for a few days, usually in May, the Largo Padre Ettore Salimbeni belvedere in Vitorchiano transforms into an open-air sculpture laboratory. Artists and students work live on large blocks of peperino, the grey volcanic stone that has shaped and colored the village for centuries, in front of anyone who wishes to stop and observe. Watching over the site is the famous Vitorchiano Moai, the only statue of its kind outside of Easter Island, carved in 1990 by a group of Rapa Nui artisans from local peperino.

Peperino, the identity stone of Vitorchiano

Peperino is much more than a building material: it is the very identity of Vitorchiano. The houses of the historic center, the walls, the portals, and the fountains of the "suspended village" are entirely modeled in this volcanic stone, extracted for centuries from local quarries. The symposium was created to celebrate this bond: the blocks worked by the sculptors are donated by local quarrying companies, which support the initiative together with the Municipality, renewing the dialogue between the tradition of the quarries and contemporary artistic creation.

From the historic 1990 edition to the rebirth

The idea is rooted in the historic sculpture symposium of 1990, the same year the Moai was gifted to the town. After a long hiatus, the event was reborn in 2023 thanks to the collaboration between the Municipality of Vitorchiano and the Sculpture School of the Rome Academy of Fine Arts, under the curation of sculptor and professor Oriana Impei, who had participated in the original edition. The second edition took place in May 2024 and the third from May 20 to 24, 2026, consolidating a format that combines education, public art, and regional promotion.

How the symposium works

The heart of the event is the live sculpture workshop: from morning to evening, Academy students, guided by their professors, rough out, carve, and finish their works directly in the square. The public can follow every stage of the work for free, from the first mark on the raw block to the finished form, and engage with the artists. The sculptures created tell the story of the memory, identity, and future of the territory, enriching the village's public art heritage.

Exhibitions, conferences, and meetings

A broader cultural program revolves around the sculpture site: a visual arts exhibition featuring sketches and student works set up in the auditorium and cloister of the Sant'Agnese complex, open for several weeks, and a conference in the Town Hall with sculptors, professors, and art historians who delve into the civilization of stone in the Tuscia region, from the Etruscan era to the present day.

Vitorchiano, the suspended village of Tuscia

The symposium is also an invitation to discover Vitorchiano, one of the most evocative villages in the province of Viterbo and the entire Lazio Region: a medieval town perched on a spur of peperino overlooking the gorge of the Vezza stream, just a few kilometers from Viterbo. Between alleys, profferli (external staircases), and panoramic views, a visit to the village perfectly completes a day dedicated to the art of stone.