alive at the same time, there is an imaginary backstage before emerging to open the curtain. A jester's silent presence that winks a "CUCU”, this is the title of the art piece but also an old card game and a typical surprise trick. The element is strongly emphasized in the conceptual stage of the work that is not a joke or game, but is structurally a set of three directions that are not perfectly parallel or in perspective. These lines that divide the work depict three typical streets in Rome’s historical centre, immersed in an almost Amazonic vegetation, loaded with green, which is the decisive colour of the whole piece and with the mysterious parrot presenting it to us. If it was not for Carla Pitarelli’s distinguishable poetic works, the unconditional love she feels for Rome as her home town and her love for nature, natural light and colour, which are all domineering aspects of her work, then this piece would be one unsolvable enigma. "CUCU", being joyful and amusing as it is, clownishly depicts Roman life which is chaotic but very human at the same time, due to its quiet and remote streets, then surrounded by a dreamt lush rainforest found in the urban reality, if only one can live life well. So, beyond the images evoking a paradoxical atmosphere of "Quiet Chaos", the Roman roads are frames of a city overshadowed by the boughs of green trees that depict a sheltering roof, a decorative frame that is cradled and refreshed by their peaceful naturalness.

Emanuela Torlonia Dottorini