Il parco della fantasia (Fantasy Park)Franco Prato (b. 1938)

In the 1970s, Prato, a former fireman, decided to create a park that could recount a century of history, beginning in 1850. A few years later, he purchased a piece of property, located in Collevario at the western entrance to Macerata, along the main road that connects this town to Sforzacosta. The property is long but thin, bordered on one side by the highway and on the other by the railroad.

Here Prato collected antiques such as old iron pulleys, a French wheel, and relics of World War II, as well as recycled processed or industrial products that he assembled into a variety of works: a colorful totem made with bottle caps and plastic balls, fences made from skis, sculptures made from scraps of motorbikes or bicycles. There are toys and windmills and garden ornaments.

“Cavaliere” Prato, who loves jokes and likes to wear strange hats, loves to explain all of his works to passersby. His greatest wish is to install an English-style lawn, with help from the local mayor’s office. The Fantasy Park is easily viewable from the road.

~Giulia Pettinari

www.costruttoridibabele.net

Macerata, Marche, 62100 it
Latitude/Longitude: 43.298427 / 13.453477

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