‘Man is the most mimic of all beings and by means of mimicry he acquires all knowledge’ – Aristotle poetics (IV,2).
With more anthropological precision, man is integrally mimicking animal. That is to say, only man “understands” the interactions of the Real. We must start with interaction: we are nothing more than receptors of Interactions, of which the Cosmos resonates in that immense universal echo of which we can never know all the vibrations in its infinite whirlwind of energy. We do not perceive vibrations below or above a certain intensity. Of the waves normally selected, the most important are the light waves through which we perceive objects, the elements of Nature. These objects reverberate in us, thanks to the eyes that replay them, microscopically or macroscopically, becoming more or less vividly aware of them. There are vibrations that we also pick up through air, heat and a few other vibrational currents that we receive and that we can by analogy build up in us in what we call our invisible world.
The Usage as a Cure. Certainly not consumption, nor abuse. Care as “original totality” implies that man’s noblest inclination, being there, comes before all behaviour and all situations. The use of places. In the marvellous setting of the Bay of S. Teresa di Lerici, we propose 3 days of contemplation, play, dialogues, workshop practices. The temporal dimension of the residence is structured on the rhythm of community and conviviality. In contrast to a noisy and agitated society, the Mimesis residency proposes an immersive experience in which to practice an emptying of time within a collective dimension. Each day is marked by three activities accompanied by corresponding moments of absence, individual spaces of emptiness to be experienced in the places, in the natural heritage that surrounds it. The activities and meals are the spaces of conviviality, understood as the experience of living together in a different place and time. The guests and participants will stay overnight in the Scuola di Mare with the intention of creating a temporary community that interacts and confronts for the duration of the seminar.
Course programme:
Thursday: Arrival and welcome, Dinner, Introduction to the site and walk around St. Teresa’s Bay, Evening Dialogue
Friday: * Breath, Breakfast, Workshop ‘The Use of Bodies’, Lunch, ‘The Way of Water’, * Breath, Dinner with ‘Night Boat Drift’
Saturday: * Breath, ‘The Way of Water’, Breakfast, Workshop ‘The Use of Bodies’, Lunch, ‘The Way of Land’, * Breath, Dinner
Sunday: * Breath, Breakfast, ‘Ways of Water and Earth’, Lunch, Closing Dialogue
Use of bodies workshop. The use of bodies is not a system, it is perhaps a way, more a subtle way of constructing a process of deactivation from one’s own automatisms, from the (ordinary) risk of systematic stiffening and from the repetition of oneself and one’s “relational repertoire”. Gestures, breaths, glances, sounds, stumbling, will lead to the awakening of an other tactile world of trust and listening to oneself, to the other, to Nature, contributing to the discovery of hidden potentialities and unexpected tastes. The game is to integrate this approach in the multiple paths proposed: of water, of earth and of sky in the gamble of a new being, together.
….A continuous line separates the realm of the sea from the land: two distinct worlds, two modes of existence, two forms of breathing….
The Way of the Earth: In this experience we will observe the world “above”, the one that has chosen the solidity of the earth, the balance of the air, and apparent stability as a condition for life. We will move among the adaptive forms of plants that have evolutionarily decided to remain still. In that stillness, they have developed complex strategies of resistance, learning to inhabit extreme spaces, such as those found along the coasts: salty, hot, arid, windy and changeable deserts. Through a sensory approach we will gather information and impressions from the landscape. This process will allow us to connect more deeply with the earth, rediscovering that “indistinct green” that forms a constant – and often forgotten – backdrop to our existence. This workshop invites an attentive, respectful, corporeal exploration: to understand how the earth can be inhabited, touched, listened to. To learn to read the traces of plant life and grasp its silent power.
The Way of Seawater: This experience will be dedicated to the world “below the tide line”, populated by those organisms that have adapted to live in an environment of constant change, where air and water alternate in a rhythm driven by the tide. Sunrise and sunset represent two important moments, of awakening and preparation for rest, in which the species, both in movement and on the seabed, manifest themselves, and their attentive observation, in a moment of peace and quiet free from human disturbance, allows us to create a profound connection with the environment and the life that populates it. We will try, in these moments of alternating light and shadow, to observe the species that live in the bay of St. Teresa, discovering the wonder of a biodiversity that takes up space, that lives and adapts when everything around, outside, changes. This workshop will be an exploration of life at sea through feeling, through personal perception, through an immersive experience in an environment – water – that we perceive as distant but from which we originate.
The teaching staff includes researchers with backgrounds in ecology, both terrestrial and marine, psychologists, philosophers and drama teachers, role-playing experts and trainers, and sea practitioners, all with proven experience and from nationally accredited research institutions, training organisations and associations.
Chiara Lombardi. PhD in experimental marine ecology since 2008, ENEA researcher since 2010, she studies the responses of calcifying marine organisms forming underwater architectures threatened by climate change and their role within climate change adaptation strategies. Author of more than 80 publications and coordinator of national and international research projects. Since 2021 she has been coordinating Smart Bay Santa Teresa, a cooperation platform for the creation of the first fully sustainable “Nature human ecosystem” established by ENEA, CNR, INGV, the Municipality of Lerici, Scuola di Mare Santa Teresa and Cooperativa di Mitilicoltori Associati. A scuba diving and snorkelling guide, she has been carrying out Citizen Science activities for over 20 years, participating in and coordinating residential training courses on the theme of the sea, in collaboration with Parks and Marine Protected Areas and Associations, both for the general public and Universities.
Patrizia Menegoni. Researcher, naturalist, PhD in Botanical Sciences, she deals with the analysis and monitoring of environmental transformations as a result of anthropic pressures and impacts through the use of plants as bio-indicators; with plant ecology applied to territorial planning and the enhancement of the natural, agricultural and landscape heritage; with emerging pollutants and the relationship between the ecosystem, the technosystem and the economy. She has been: director of Environmental project soluzioni per l’ambiente srl, a service company for scientific publishing and environmental studies; Head of the ENEA ‘Sustainable Management of Agroecosystems’ laboratory, a research area dedicated to environmental analysis for a concrete application of sustainability principles. Author of more than 100 articles, responsible for various scientific communication projects for the promotion of Flora d’Italia, she works on the construction of research places oriented towards confrontation, co-design, creativity and collective growth.
Andrea De Magistris. Philosopher, educator and theatre director active for more than 15 years in theatre research and performing arts. Artistic director of Dynamis, he collaborates with architects, scientists, urban planners, sociologists, philosophers, theologians, with training projects, performances, situational events, dialogues and workshop practices in theatres, festivals, museums, universities, monasteries and many other unconventional spaces. The work starts from a conceptual approach with a theatrical matrix, makes use of a bodily relational framework and may employ some techniques and practices derived from dance, martial arts, and the influences of oriental philosophies, all aimed at critical thinking. In recent years, he has focused his work on the connection between art and science, aimed mainly at an inner conversion and the creation of temporary communities of conviviality.
Giovanna Nisi. Pedagogist and clinical psychologist, specialised in mindfulness and emotional management. She has gained experience in school, health and socio-legal contexts, accompanying individuals and groups on paths of growth and awareness. In ENEA she deals with health and safety, psychological wellbeing, psychosocial research and training, also offering a psychological listening space dedicated to employees. He conducts courses on leadership with emotional intelligence, social skills management and relational awareness, with a constant focus on personal and collective improvement. She collaborates with the European Institute of Positive Psychology in training projects that focus on the development of personal and relational resources. Specialised in working with groups, she considers them a powerful transformative tool for observing, reflecting, confronting and developing; contexts in which relational dynamics, words and even silences become fertile ground for evolving, creating meaningful connections and nurturing awareness.
Marco Bonin. Software developer, geologist and amateur creator of board and role-playing games. For over twenty years he has been combining technical rigour, creative thinking and passion, moving between the worlds of programming, nature and imagination. Trained as a geologist with a master’s degree in Geological Sciences, he has delved into subjects such as sedimentology, micropaleontology and geological mapping, also collaborating on the cataloguing and management of museum exhibits. At the same time, he built a solid career in the IT sector as an analyst and team leader, developing complex software projects. Passionate about storytelling and game design, he has always cultivated an interest in role-playing games, understood as tools capable of generating empathy, collective imagination and awareness.
Created within Smart Bay S. Teresa, the initiative is part of the Biodiversity Gateway of the National Biodiversity Future Centre (NBFC) and is included in the LTER Long Term Ecological Monitoring Network Pathways for the Eastern Ligurian Sea Site; the course is also being implemented in collaboration with the European Institute of Positive Psychology (IEPP) and with the involvement of the CUG, which promotes psychological wellbeing to encourage reflection processes and to explore new forms of awareness and human-nature relations.
General information: Check-in on Thursday 28 from 18:30, Check-out on Sunday 31 from 16:00
What to bring: Santa Teresa Bay is a special ecosystem that Scuola di Mare together with Smart Bay S. Teresa (https://smartbaysteresa.com) are trying to maintain and protect in a context of strong human pressure. The guests of the Bay are called to integrate themselves in this spirit and try to live the bay and the experience at Scuola di Mare in an eco-sustainable way, similar to a boat experience whose fundamentals are: collaboration and sharing, conscious use of resources (water), reduction of waste and pollution (plastic and soap). For this reason, each participant is requested to bring: personal water bottle: drinking water from the base is used, environmentally friendly soaps (no courtesy kits are provided), personal bathrobe/shower towel, sleeping bag/blanket
For sea activities: participants are requested to bring personal mask, snorkel and fins. Swimming trunks will be provided by the organisation for those who need them.
For land activities: comfortable shoes and clothing for walking.
Clothing: windproof, hat, swimming costume, sun cream.
Accommodation: The accommodation at Scuola di Mare is all arranged with bunk beds in rooms of 2 to 8 beds. Each room has its own private bathroom. Hair dryers are not provided.
Participation fee: 300.00 euro per person. Fee includes: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners, 3 nights, lectures, workshops and excursions (snorkelling and walking), membership fee and insurance coverage for the activities. There may be fuel fees to be shared (25.00 – 30.00 euro per person), which will be better specified at the start of the curse depending on the number of attendees. Receipt: Scuola di Mare will issue a receipt. It is necessary to provide data (name + surname, place of residence, tax code and email address).
Registration will be open until 31/07/2025. Acceptance to the course will be communicated via email by Scuola di Mare by 10/08/2025 together with the instructions for the payment of the participation fee
Parking instructions: For those coming by car, it is possible to park the car in the vicinity of Scuola di Mare in a dedicated space, specifically a shared parking space with a gravel surface (P). On the other hand, it is NOT PERMITTED to park or park in the small space in front of the white Scuola di Mare gate (PROHIBITION), which must be left free and available for Scuola di Mare vehicles.
Here to better understand the philosophy of Scuola di Mare and the approach this very special place to live all the best experience possible; How to reach Scuola di Mare,Tel.: +39 348 8183008
