Since I was a child, I listened to the story about Alaric’s treasure. Alaric I, (about 370 – Cosenza, 410), was King of the Visigoths from 395 to his death. He was the author of the famous sack of Rome in 410, after which he died suddenly in my own city. According to legend, he was buried with his treasures in the river bed of the Busento in Cosenza. The slaves, who had worked on the temporary detour of the river, were killed for keeping the secret on the burial site.
The treasure was a fabulous booty of twenty-five tons of gold and 150 silver on which my visual artist’s imagination stopped to make the legend visible in an artistic way. I therefore intended to start the artistic project “Treasure of King Alaric”, a dreamlike journey in search of those coins.
Just through the artist’s dream I have therefore found those twenty-five tons of gold and 150 of silver that will gradually be included in my new works of art. The precious metals will be brought back to light under the typical shape of the coins, shaped by me, in the imaginary dream.
The coins of Alaricus-Matragrano will then rest on a support, initially dark in color, in a harmony of forms conveyed to me.
The entire cycle of the works will then form the legendary treasure of King Alaric.
The works will be immersed in the market for Italian and international collectors.