Marcello Maloberti, in the heart of Cremona, ignites contemporary spirituality with a single word — fragile yet powerful: DIO (in english, GOD). It happens inside the deconsecrated church of San Carlo, where the artist brought to life METRONOTTE, a site-specific intervention that lasted just one night, from 6:00 PM on July 17 to 9:00 AM the following morning. Curated by Giulio Dalvit and produced in collaboration with Galleria Raffaella Cortese, the project transformed the ancient nave into a suspended time, between light and waiting.
At the center of the space, a neon blue sign glows on the floor: DIO, traced with the graphic innocence of a child from Cremona. It’s an ephemeral vision, powered by a truck battery. A simple yet tense gesture: on one hand, a tangible and unstable source of energy; on the other, a sacredness that slowly fades until it disappears completely.
The choice of the battery as the energy source is the key to this site-specific installation. Battery-powered DIO is an oxymoron that speaks to how the sacred today is something to be preserved — almost recharged. Marcello Maloberti is not only referencing the Christian God, but the broader need to cultivate a mystical sense in things, to seek out a light, even a fragile one, even if it’s destined to fade.
Watching over the piece were two security guards in uniform, whose cars remained parked outside the church entrance. They are not symbols, they don’t tell stories: they simply stand there, like museum guards watching over a precious and extremely vulnerable object. Their silence frames the fragility of the light, reinforcing the idea that every manifestation of the sacred must be protected — even when it is on the verge of disappearing.
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Image courtesy of the artist, San Carlo Cremona and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan – Albisola
Photography by Andrea Rossetti
