Genius Loci

Genius Loci is the first series of two residencies in historic, active farmsteads (masi) in Val Badia, which - alongside hospitality - are primarily dedicated to livestock farming and agriculture.

In Ladin, a maso is called lüch, which derives from the Latin locus, meaning a specific place or space. It felt natural, then, to title the residency program “Genius Loci.” This Latin phrase (the language of ancient Rome, not of Val Badia, which is Ladin with a “d”!) literally means “the spirit of the place”. Loci is, in fact, the genitive of locus. Genius, on the other hand, is the protective divinity or benevolent force associated with life and locations. For those living in the Roman Empire two millennia ago, every forest, spring, home, or town had its own guardian spirit to be respected and honored.

The individuals (or collectives of no more than two people; details below) selected for the farmstead residency will be tasked with capturing, day by day, the true “genius loci” of the environment they inhabit (we will elaborate on this shortly).