V. Marte

The fifth heaven — Mars — on an isolated rural tower in the Basilicata countryside.

Le Cabine del Paradiso – V. Marte is a mural created by artist Neve in September 2021 on an isolated transmission tower in Pienza, commissioned by E-Distribuzione (Enel Group) under the patronage of the Ministero della Cultura.

One of nine electrical distribution cabins across Italy commissioned by E-Distribuzione for the 700th anniversary of Dante's death, each corresponding to a Heaven of the Paradiso read through a hermetic and alchemical framework. The project carries the patronage of the Ministero della Cultura and uses Aerlite photocatalytic paint. The fifth Heaven is Mars (Marte) — the sphere of crusaders and warriors who fought and died in service of a cause greater than themselves. Here Dante meets his ancestor Cacciaguida, who died in the Crusades and speaks of lineage, courage, and the cost of commitment. In the alchemical tradition, Mars is iron — the metal of will, of the sword, of the force that cuts through. The installation for Mars is formally unlike all the others in the project: not a compact cabin in an urban setting, but a tall, isolated electrical transmission tower standing alone in the open Basilicata countryside. Rolling hills, scattered trees, an unpaved track through rocky terrain — and rising from it, a single tall black pylon visible from a great distance. Its full vertical face carries the painted image: a figure in dramatic Caravaggesque light, the ♂ symbol of Mars glowing in pink-red against the black ground. The isolation is the meaning. The warrior stands alone, exposed, in terrain that offers no cover. The tower — the only vertical element in the landscape — becomes a sentinel.