Park attraction · Rainbow MagicLand · Valmontone · 2011
The Count of Cagliostro.
The attraction dedicated to the eighteenth-century Palermitan Masonic alchemist — esoteric façade sculpted in fibreglass, alchemical symbols in relief, atmosphere of a cabinet of curiosities.
Behind the scenes
Esoteric symbols,
child-friendly.
Esoteric magic is the most complex theme to render for a family park: it must deliver the thrill without sliding into adult macabre, must be mysterious but not frightening, dense with symbols but readable at a glance.
The symbols in relief
The symbols sculpted on the façade come from the alchemical and Masonic tradition: the Eye of Providence in the triangle, the five-pointed star, the compass and square, the pelican, Solomon's hexagram. They are sculpted in bas-relief in the polystyrene before lacquering, so the raking light of sunset at the park highlights them.
The alchemical-laboratory palette
Burnished gold on dark brown is the palette of ancient alchemical books — Salomon Trismosin's Splendor Solis, the cabalistic codices of the Biblioteca Marciana. The acrylic paints are applied in successive glazes, with charcoal shadows in the reliefs to render the depth of antique engraving.
The Masonic architecture
The twisted columns at the sides of the façade recall the iconography of Solomon's Temple — Jachin and Boaz, the two pillars that according to Masonic tradition held up the temple's entrance. They are sculpted in full round, with decorated capitals. The upper arch is a broken baroque tympanum, with the hexagrammatic cipher at the centre.
18th c.
the historical era of the Count of Cagliostro (Palermo 1743 — San Leo 1795)
25 May 2011
the park opening date in Valmontone
Burnished gold
the alchemical-laboratory palette rendered in acrylic paints
Second life
The esoteric tradition
in the park.
The Cagliostro façade is still in place at the park today — it survived the transition of management from Rainbow Spa to Pillarstone Italy (KKR) in 2018, and the park rebrand to MagicLand. The acrylic paints have been touched up, but the sculpted structure is the original one we delivered for the opening.
The technique of eighteenth-century esoteric scenography applied here entered our repertoire. We find it again in the baroque scenographies of Young Pope by Sorrentino — four quadrigae of the San Marco Loggia with hand-applied gold leaf — and in the twisted columns of the private rooms at the Art Café in Villa Borghese with their neoclassical metallised finish.
Tech sheet
All production data
- Attraction
- Cagliostro · Rainbow MagicLand · Valmontone (Rome)
- Opening
- 25 May 2011 · park opening day
- Client
- Alfa Park Srl for Rainbow Spa (Iginio Straffi) · today Pillarstone Italy / KKR (MagicLand)
- Subject
- Giuseppe Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro (Palermo 1743 — San Leo 1795) · alchemist, occultist, Mason
- Piece delivered
- Monumental scenographic façade in fibreglass · alchemical and Masonic symbols in relief · Temple-of-Solomon twisted columns · baroque upper arch with hexagrammatic cipher at the centre
- Iconography
- Eye of Providence in the triangle · five-pointed star · compass and square · pelican · Solomon's hexagram · Jachin and Boaz columns
- Techniques
- High-density expanded polystyrene hand-carved · symbols in bas-relief · layered fibreglass stiffening · finish in gold-bronze acrylic glazes with charcoal shadows
- Iconographic references
- Sixteenth and seventeenth-century alchemical books — Salomon Trismosin's Splendor Solis · cabalistic codices of the Biblioteca Marciana · Masonic iconography of Solomon's Temple
- Our role
- Complete delivery of the façade · sculpting, stiffening, polychrome glazing, transport to the park and installation
- Second life
- Façade still installed at the park · chromatically retouched over time · survived the Rainbow-to-MagicLand rebrand of 2018