Braida Copetti Sculpture Park

From ancient germanic origins the term “braida” together with all its variations Braia, Breda, Bra, Brera– is still in use in the extensive Po Valley area. It is generally used to indicate a suburban meadow, in the Friulan landscape however it has taken on a more significant meaning over time: an enclosed farm or estate, with an adjoining farmhouse, where fruit trees, ornamental plants and vines are found. Spreading through the Slavic area, the expression is more commonly associated with the vine, translating as “pergolato di viti”in Slovenian and “filari di viti” in Serbo-Croat.

For many years the 17,000m2 of land where the Braida Copetti stands was used for the cultivation of corn. In 2007 the current owners bought the farmhouse and the adjoining fields which were no longer productive.

The Copetti family started an environmental reclaiming project with the aim of transforming these fields into a modern Braida where traditional elements would be re-proposed and revisited.

The only pre-existing elements are the vineyard and the locust tree woodland which have been preserved and enclosed, as has the rest of the property, by a hedge of  decorative white hornbeam and field maple. The gravel avenue adorned by mulberry trees (one of the most characteristic plants of the countryside in Friuli) leads from the entrance all the way to the courtyard of the Copetti house and separates the roccolo from the utie.

The roccolo is a hunting post used since medieval times by bird catchers in the mountain and foothill areas of the Triveneto region. In Braida Copetti you can find an artificial hill (the roccoli were always found on the slopes to inercept the birds better), on which are eighteen adult white hornbeam plants in the shape of two concentric circles. Utie were also places for bird catching made from hornbeam hedges. In Braida Copetti they assume an architectural form of eight rooms used as exhibition spaces for the sculptures that recall the “teatri di verzura” [green theatres] typical in Italianate gardens from the 18th century. Further south three enclosed fields surrounded by rustic hedges have been created that recall the perpendicular fields typical of the pre-industrial Friulan landscape and which has also been put to the same use as exhibition spaces.

Close to the roccolo is the piastra lapidea [stone tile] cordoned by stone and set in a formal manner to create squares that are filled ornamental and aromatic plants. In front of this, parallel to the vine, extend thirty-seven pomarium fruit trees (seven cherry and thirty apple trees, with a total of six varieties).

Setting out from its boundary and heading south you pass under two double rows of ornamental apple trees, that lead to a row of sixteen privets. Reaching its end, as you near the side of the house closest to the Natisone River, the layout of the plants becomes less geometric, the roses (shrub roses, kerria japonicas, dog-roses, climbers), the forsythia and the hazels alternate with small woodlands of silver poplar, Mediterranean hackberry, nettle trees, field maples, holms, manna ashes, wild cherry trees. Linking everything with the pre-existing black locust woodland, are about twenty shrubs of different species and dimensions. Overall since 2010 over two thousand examples of about fifty species have been planted.

In June 2014 the conclusion of work on the main architectural pathwayswas celebrated with an event entitled “Stanze in Braida” [rooms in the Braida] (with reference to the recently finished enclosed fields), where a dialogue was created especially for the occasion between photographs of Roberto Kusterle and a sculpture by Giacomo Manzù, the fawn, placed in the centre of the roccolo for the event.

If the project design was subjected to modifications and changes, the final result remained the same: the Braida had to become the natural environment to fully appreciate the Copetti collection. In August 2016 another sculpture by Manzù, a 341cm bronze cardinal, symbolically represented a “foundation stone”. Since then the space has always been filled with very large artworks, by different artists using a variety of materials (bronze, marble, concrete, steel), made by contemporary artists and 20th century Friulan masters, as well as famous Italian and international names.

Their placement is in agreement with the artist, or in the case of deceased artists, is the result of the Copettis’ sensibilities. But nothing is unchangeable or final, in fact the park is a living entity in every aspect. From a naturalistic point of view, the vegetation grows, sows its seeds from which grow new shrubs and trees. Not all plants have the same life cycle, some are seasonal, others are moved or replaced. At the same time, the sculpture collection is also growing, evolving and changing constantly, presenting new works and welcoming new artists.

The park is also alive thanks to the shows and events organised for you by the owner, showcasing different artistic forms and linking to more general cultural aspects. The Braida therefore collaborates with numerous institutions – administrations, museums, schools and universities – and intends to make its spaces always more accessible, involving the local community as well as visitors who come from outside the region.

In June 2014 the conclusion of work on the main architectural pathwayswas celebrated with an event entitled “Stanze in Braida” [rooms in the Braida] (with reference to the recently finished enclosed fields), where a dialogue was created especially for the occasion between photographs of Roberto Kusterle and a sculpture by Giacomo Manzù, the fawn, placed in the centre of the roccolo for the event.

Free entry; booking not necessary. Guided visits every Friday at 17.30, book yours via email at info@copettiantiquari.com or call us at +39 392 5598729 .

If the project design was subjected to modifications and changes, the final result remained the same: the Braida had to become the natural environment to fully appreciate the Copetti collection. In August 2016 another sculpture by Manzù, a 341cm bronze cardinal, symbolically represented a “foundation stone”. Since then the space has always been filled with very large artworks, by different artists using a variety of materials (bronze, marble, concrete, steel), made by contemporary artists and 20th century Friulan masters, as well as famous Italian and international names.

Their placement is in agreement with the artist, or in the case of deceased artists, is the result of the Copettis’ sensibilities. But nothing is unchangeable or final, in fact the park is a living entity in every aspect. From a naturalistic point of view, the vegetation grows, sows its seeds from which grow new shrubs and trees. Not all plants have the same life cycle, some are seasonal, others are moved or replaced. At the same time, the sculpture collection is also growing, evolving and changing constantly, presenting new works and welcoming new artists.

The park is also alive thanks to the shows and events organised for you by the owner, showcasing different artistic forms and linking to more general cultural aspects. The Braida therefore collaborates with numerous institutions – administrations, museums, schools and universities – and intends to make its spaces always more accessible, involving the local community as well as visitors who come from outside the region.