Academy of Fine Arts – SARAJEVO, BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA
INSTALLATION VIEW
CHIESA DI SANTA CATERINA A FORMIELLO – NAPLES, ITALY
INSTALLATION VIEW
THE EVENT
CASTEL DELL’ OVO – NAPLES, ITALY
installation view
PALAZZO PENNE – NAPLES, ITALY
INSTALLATION VIEW
THE EVENT
Basilica del Patire – Corigliano Rossano, Italy
INSTALLATION VIEW
LUMINA
Sarajevo, Academy of Fine Arts
On the occasion of the 2023 Italian Design Day, the building of the Academy of Fine Arts of Sarajevo was transformed by Lumina, the light installation by light artist Franz Cerami.
After illuminating some of the most renowned monuments in Italian and international cities, Cerami brought his latest creation to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The installation was inaugurated on March 9, in the presence of, among others, Deputy Mayor Haris Bašić, with strong participation from the Italian community and the international public.
During the opening, Franz Cerami shared the meaning of the work with the audience:
“Lumina tells the story of light — the light of popular celebrations, the light of encounter. Sarajevo has always been a symbolic meeting place between different cultures, from East to West, a crossroads of diverse lights.”
For the façade of the Academy of Fine Arts, Cerami envisioned a fluid, moving light installation, like a wave that moves, connects, and transforms.
Reflecting on the installation, the Italian Ambassador in Sarajevo, Marco Di Ruzza, emphasized how the wide public appreciation of the event once again demonstrated the affection and admiration of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian public — beyond political, ethnic, or religious distinctions — for Italian culture, art, and lifestyle.
“Culture and sport,” Ambassador Di Ruzza stated, “are essential tools for the Embassy’s work, not only to strengthen relations between our two countries, but also to encourage internal reconciliation processes, particularly among younger generations.”
Lumina also symbolically conveyed a wish for a brighter future for Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, marked by growth, stability, and concrete progress along the path toward European integrationAcademy of Fine Arts
Napoli, Santa Caterina a Formiello
On March 26, 2023, the historic center of Naples came alive with Parade, a vibrant celebration combining music and light. The event featured concerts and the inauguration of Lumina, alongside the lively participation of young musicians from the “Canta, Suona e Cammina” bands.
After illuminating the Academy of Fine Arts of Sarajevo earlier in March, Cerami brought Lumina back to Naples, transforming the façade of the Church of Santa Caterina a Formiello into a dynamic spectacle of light and forms. The installation celebrates light in its many forms — the glow of popular festivities, the light of human encounter, and the convergence of diverse illuminations in motion.
The Parade included performances by musical bands throughout the historic streets, culminating in a performance at the church. The official presentation of Lumina took place in Piazza Enrico De Nicola, turning the church into a luminous stage in dialogue with the city.
Part of the Music in Sacred Spaces project, funded by the Campania Region (POC 2014–2020) and promoted in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Naples, Scabec, and the Fare Chiesa e Città Foundation, the event combined the visual power of light with the energy of over 300 young musicians, creating a shared experience that illuminated Naples’ urban and cultural heritage.
Napoli, Castel dell’Ovo
With Lumina, Castel dell’Ovo is transformed into a luminous narrative surface, where contemporary video art engages with one of Naples’ most iconic landmarks.
For this project, Franz Cerami created four new video works — Magica I, Magica II, Fire, and Lumina — projected onto the castle’s façade in dialogue with contributions from students of the Digital Storytelling Lab.
Visible every evening from sunset until January 1, 2021, the installation was realized with the support of Voiello, the historic pasta brand founded in 1879, and promoted by the Municipality of Naples in collaboration with Suor Orsola Benincasa University.
The works unfold as a visual journey through myth, imagination, and collective memory. From the siren Parthenope and Virgil’s egg, symbols of the city’s origins, to Mount Vesuvius and the iconic face of San Gennaro; from festive illuminations to figures drawn from 18th-century Neapolitan painting, the imagery weaves together layers of Naples’ cultural identity.
Curated by Dominique Lora and accompanied by music by Claudio del Preposto, the project merges drawing, architecture, and digital imagery, transforming the historic façade into a dynamic field of light.
The cycle concludes with the image of an ear of wheat, a symbol of prosperity and abundance, extending a wish of renewal to the city.
Alongside Cerami’s works, additional installations by Andrea Nappo, Alessandro Tione, and Greta Pischedda — Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow — were presented within Scaramantica 2020, expanding the narrative through multiple artistic perspectives.
Through light, color, and movement, Lumina reinterprets Naples’ visual heritage in a contemporary language, bridging memory and the present while turning the castle into a shared space of imagination.
Napoli, Palazzo Penne
Lumina illuminates the inner courtyard façade of Palazzo Penne, transforming the historic architecture into a vibrant field of moving light and color.
The installation by Franz Cerami reinterprets, through digital languages, the chromatic patterns and geometric structures of traditional festive illuminations, animating them in dialogue with music.
Set in the heart of Naples’ historic center, the work offers an immersive experience in which architecture becomes an active surface, capable of absorbing and reflecting light, rhythm, and movement.
The project is part of a broader process of regeneration and refunctionalization of Palazzo Penne, envisioned as the future House of Architecture of Naples, where contemporary artistic practices engage in dialogue with historical space.
Inspired by the luminous effects and chromatic richness of the festive illuminations that fill the city’s streets during popular celebrations, Lumina explores the meaning of light and its impact on human perception.
Through this performing artwork, Cerami reshapes visual structures and invents polymorphic, ever-changing maps, where Mediterranean colors merge with the rhythmic repetition of traditional incandescent bulbs.
The installation evokes a visual language that celebrates the cyclical renewal of life, deeply rooted in Neapolitan culture, where rituals intertwine elements of spirituality, scientific illumination, and popular devotion.
Corigliano Rossano, Italy
With Lumina, the Neapolitan artist Franz Cerami brings his research on light to Corigliano-Rossano, presenting a project dedicated to the enhancement of churches and cultural heritage sites. Conceived as a diffuse installation, the work fosters connection and participation through contemporary visual language.
Inspired by the tradition of festive illuminations, Cerami reinterprets ancient luminarie using digital tools, reshaping their chromatic patterns and geometries and animating them to the rhythm of music.
Projected onto the Basilica of the Patire, the installation transforms architecture into a luminous, dynamic surface. The result is an explosion of moving light and color that unfolds in the night, activating perception and emotion.
In a place rich in spirituality such as the Basilica of the Patire, the work suggests a dialogue between light as the magic of the ephemeral and the sacred as an ineffable essence, renewing the relationship between contemporary art and historical space.
Through Lumina, the project contributes to the valorization of the city’s historical and artistic heritage, reinforcing the bond between tradition and the present.