It all began with the view from our window - Miravalle (from the Italian ammira valle - admire the valley).
That is why this story is called MIRAVALLE.
I started to read and research about nature in Valle d’Aosta. I soon discovered that three of the highest peaks in Alps are right here - Monte Bianco /Mont Blanc (4810m), Monte Rosa (4634m), and Monte Cervino /Matterhorn (4478m).
From that point, my interest in continuing to paint and dedicate a story to the nature here began to expand. The impression I had with the glaciers was so strong when I saw them up close for the first time. I could feel their power, and at the same time, I could see how climate change is making them weaker and how these changes have a significant impact on the entire natural system around them.
The Grand Glacier of Verra of Monte Rosa and the Glacier of Cervino were imediately my choises.
The Grand Glacier of Verra, as a part of Monte Rosa (Grande ghiacciaio di Verra, Monte Rosa) we see almost every day and I don't think I will ever stop admiring it. He is up there, high and far away, and you can see it so clearly and powerfully, as it is holding everything together. It is the king at the top of Val d’Ayas!
Just bellow the front end of glacier lies its jewel, the beautiful Blue lake (Lago Blu, Val d'Ayas Monte Rosa).
In September, 2023, from Cervinia to Zermatt, from the Plateau Rosa/Testa Grigia station to Piccolo Cervino/Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, connected by the new cableway, I was above the glacier (Ghiacciaio del Cervino). The feeling when you see giant crevasses and the colors inside them… it's a mix of fear and magic. For me, it was great inspiration and a must-do peace of artwork.
That year, another important decision was made, realized in 2024. Switzerland and Italy redrew their shared border over Cervino/Matterhorn top, forced by melting glaciers that, along with vast snowfields, define large sections of the territorial boundary between the two countries. The trigger for this change is a concern - climate change, which has caused significant glacial melt since at least the 1970s.
Mont Blanc glacier was the last glacier I chose. Interestingly, I first saw the glaciers of Mont Blanc when I visited the Helbronner point, using the Skyway Monte Bianco cableway.
The Miage Glacier (Ghiacciao del Miage, Monte Bianco), the main glacier on the italian side of the Mont Blanc massif, today represents a true open-air scientific laboratory. The largest black glacier in the Italian Alpes, it transformed from a white to a black glacier at the end of the 19th century. This transformation has affected its dynamics and serves as an excellent model of evolution between the Neoglacial and the Little Ice Age, offering paleogeomorphological and paleoclimatic testimony. One of the forests surrounding Mont Blanc leaves us astonished - the forest that grows directly on the Miage glacier. Today, the situation with this glacier is in critical condition. Its surface has sunk by about thirty meters in its frontal sector since the 1990s - almost a meter per year.
On the lower right side of the glacier in Val Veny, a heart-shaped lake has formed, Lake of Miage (Lago del Miage). This beautiful glacier lake is characterized by a particular phenomenon. From its edges, you can see the movements of the glacier that drops blocks into the water.
Finally, at the end of this journey, there is The sky above the valley (Il cielo sopra val d’Ayas), one of the few remaining dark skies (ital. il cielo nero) in the world. Aosta valley is surrounded by a natural ring of mountains high enough to shield the place from the light pollution of nearby large cities, such as Aosta, Turin in Piedmont, and Milan in Lombardy. At the same time, these mountains leave most of the sky visible. The sky is very dark, and we can see many stars, the Milky Way, and even the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye.
Valle d’Aosta is a perfect destination for nature lovers, with its green valleys and fairy-tale castles. Tourists visit Aosta Valley for its vast natural landscapes and experiences, but not everyone knows that here you can find a Starlight Stellar Park in Saint-Barthélemy, where you can stargaze and dream while looking at the amazing sky. Saint-Barthélemy obtained the Starlight Stellar Park Certification from Fundación Starlight del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, a certification recognized for UNESCO.
The story consisting of 11 pieces.
The elements I have chosen for my paintings, the mountains which bring snow, protect the glaciers, produce water and are under this beautiful "black sky", create a system, without which would be no unique world of flora and fauna of Aosta Valley.
Personally, I dedicate this work to my father Goran Kronja, a passionate nature lover, and to Gianni's father Emilio Marsella, a great artist who devoted his oeuvre to the nature and culture of his homeland.
... I wish they could have seen it...
