Effatà

"Effatà", which means "Open yourself" in Aramaic, is an invitation that goes beyond words, reaching the heart of our humanity. To open oneself is the first gesture of welcome, a movement that transforms. It is the very nature of the earth—it is not inert matter but alive, pulsating, in constant dialogue with those who work and shape it.

From this awareness comes Effatà - The Earth is Alive, an exhibition that merges art and solidarity to support the construction of a Family Home in Uganda.

In the hands of Margherita Grasselli— a Roman artist always attentive to social issues—earth becomes a story. Her Bambine (girls) in clay carry whispered memories, the beauty of imperfections, the strength of fragility. Every crack, every fissure, is a sign of life, of transformation. These are faceless Bambine, so that those who observe them can recognize themselves in them, see their own stories reflected, and feel part of something greater.

Some, in lighter shades, represent the women of Casa Costa 1956—guardians of care, hospitality, and welcome. Others, shaped from darker clay, bear the names and stories of five African girls, witnesses to the reality that the Family Home, run by the Effatà Charity Organisation (the recipient of this solidarity initiative), will welcome in Nakibanga, on Lake Victoria, Uganda.

Each Bambina on display is a seal of transformation: the earth, by embracing and allowing itself to be shaped, becomes a symbol of care and beauty. Past and future intertwine, hands create, and hearts receive. To shape is already an act of listening—an invitation to recognize and embrace the stories that surround us. Because every life deserves to be seen, welcomed, and supported.

And just as clay allows itself to be transformed, so too will the Family Home be a place of transformation. Not just a shelter, but a space of opportunity, where mothers and children who have experienced abandonment, illness, and hardship can feel welcomed, loved, and cared for. Because dignity is not given—it is built, step by step, by creating places where people can grow and nurture their humanity.

But a home is more than just a roof—it is a heart beating in unison with the community. The playground will be open to the children of the village, the land will provide fruit, vegetables, and milk to exchange and share, and artisans will pass on their knowledge and skills. It will be a living place, where people meet, learn, and support one another.

Like the earth, which embraces, preserves, and gives back, this home, too, will be a cradle of life—a place where care becomes the future.

Clay and earth thus intertwine in a broader narrative. The same philosophy that guides Simone Cantafio, Executive Chef of Hotel La Perla, resonates in this exhibition: the earth is alive, and in the hands of those who work it, it becomes something unique. It is not just matter, but experience, memory, identity. And it is precisely here that the Bambine of artist Margherita Grasselli find their place—alongside a vision that recognizes the earth not just as something to be shaped, but as an entity with which to dialogue, to respect, to listen to.

Just as a dish tells the story of those who made it possible, these sculptures tell the story of those building a better future.

Each Bambina in the exhibition is not just a work of art but carries a message of hope and possibility. A bearer of the future, a witness to a home that is being built, to a welcome that is becoming reality.

Every gesture, no matter how small, is a building block of this dream.

Open yourself to this vision. Open yourself to the beauty of encounter. Open yourself to change. Effatà.

Art exhibition with free entry, open daily in March from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the restaurant La Stüa de Michil in Hotel La Perla in Corvara in Badia (BZ).

All exhibited works are for sale, with 20% of the proceeds supporting the construction of the Family Home in Uganda.

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