The CONCERTINO per il mare exhibition focuses on a large research project by Renato Leotta (1982, lives and works in Turin and Syracuse) which has its roots in the observation of the ecosystem of the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea. Proposing a possible form of interspecies communication, the artist interpreted the internal structure of Posidonia oceanica leaves by reading them as if they were a musical score. This process produced sound tracks audible to the human ear which Leotta organized into a sound installation and an actual live concert. Bringing attention to the importance of a circular ecosystem, CONCERTINO per il mare invites you to listen to stories of migration, adaptation, encounters and struggles for survival through time, from a distant past to an uncertain future. Set up in the historic rooms of the Castle, the exhibition presents the sound installation for the first time in dialogue with a series of photographic prints made with experimental techniques and the original scores on which the artist transcribed the musical notes and made notes on the project.

Posidonia oceanica is an aquatic plant endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. The species originated more than one hundred million years ago from land plants and evolved by adapting to the marine environment. Posidonia meadows host a variety of life forms, are of great importance for the health of the sea and protect the neighboring territories from erosion. Increasing coastal anthropization has led, in recent decades, to a significant decline in Posidonia meadows. Known as the lungs of the Mediterranean, Posidonia produces oxygen and the artist's choice to have the music performed by wind instruments can be traced back to this vital function.

The exhibition presents for the first time in Italy the project commissioned by Castello di Rivoli and the Istanbul Biennale, winner of the tenth edition of the Italian Council, an international support program to support Italian contemporary art, promoted by the General Directorate of Contemporary Creativity of Ministry of Culture. The work was initially exhibited at the 17th Istanbul Biennial in 2022, where it was installed at the Hammam Çinili, a 16th-century Ottoman building.

Directed by Giampaolo Pretto, the live concert Ondina. Concerto for the Sea in three movements is performed by the Turin Philharmonic Orchestra, after the debut with the musicians of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, and thanks to the collaboration with the composer Federico Bisozzi, on the inauguration days of the Istanbul Biennial.