In the darkest and most hidden ravines of our peninsula there are stories capable of shining with their own light, such as that of the suggestive Andromeda theater. Born from the idea of a visionary pastor by the name of Lawrence Queen, the theater stands on the heights of Santo Stefano Quisquina, a small village in the province of Agrigento. From here the viewer can not help but enjoy a breathtaking view, where i Sicani mountains they run until they flatten themselves into the sea in front of the island of Pantelleria.
Il Andromeda theater, is a pearl of beauty. A mythological aura remains on the theater, inherited from it Greek culture who colonized the island. Like the beautiful and shy Andromeda, daughter of the proud Cassiopeia, even the theater hides its magnificence from the eyes of many. It is necessary to climb a steep climb to reach it, but what you will find up there will reward your every effort.
The theater of Andromeda in the dreamy eyes of a shepherd
Lawrence Queen has a great gift. That of teaching something through simplicity, a characteristic that has marked his entire existence. Born in 1960. He is the son of a Sicilian shepherd, and in the wake of the family tradition, from an early age he dedicated himself to sheep-farming.
Just to carry on his father's business, he is forced to give up his studies very soon. The curiosity, however, is not only behind the school desks. So the young Lorenzo began to steal his sister's books to satiate his own hunger for culture.
In spite of everything, the desire to know not only slips on the pages of a book, but the fantasy that those words ignite, seeks a practical application in reality. Thus, still self-taught, the dreaming shepherd first began to work on Wood, and then the Stone. On the heights of Rocca locality, Fraction Santo Stefano Quisquina, led in the 70s to graze his flock. As if pervaded by a feeling of ecstasy, he stayed up there until dusk, as if he wanted to enjoy the sunset show. Lorenzo was convinced that there was something magical there, and he imagined turning his sheep into stones that one after the other would give shape to his theater.
An open-air stage
Il Andromeda theater It consists of well 108 stones which are arranged around the central stage. Looking at it from above, you can also see how the installation of Lawrence Queen faithfully reproduce the constellation of Andromeda.
A surrounding wall rotates around the entire space to open onto a portal, inside which the setting sun will be set. The summer solstice seen from the Andromeda Theater it is a unique and unforgettable show. Spectators silently watch the horizon waiting for the sun to go down longest day of the year. What is created is a magical atmosphere. Everything seems suspended, and the long-awaited night will bring the stars of Andromeda Theater to mingle with those of the sky. However, not only its visitors became aware of the uniqueness of the theater: last year the project was also the protagonist during the Venice Biennale. Thus the dreams of a shepherd from the province of Agrigento have conquered reality.
