The Lagorai She-wolf

From the wreckage of storm Vaia comes a sculpture by Marco Martalar

The Lagorai She-wolf is at 1,600 metres asl, in the hamlet of Vetriolo, the highest hot springs in Europe. She is 6 metres tall and made with 2,000 pieces of wood scraps, a sculpture by Marco Martalar.

Lupa Lagorai | © Dejan Bilic - Apt Valsugana

A sculpture made with the wood wreckage from storm Vaia

Just like the famous Winged Vaia Dragon and The Vaia Stag on Alpe Cimbra, this piece of art was made from the wood from trees that were destroyed by storm Vaia. On the night of 29 October 2018, this relentless storm unleashed its hurricane-force winds and deeply wounded our mountains. On that night, Vetriolo was the hardest hit, with uprooted trees and entire forests destroyed.

As in all of his sculptures, Martalar did non paint or treat the wood used to make the Lagorai She-wolf to protect it, rather he left the material in its natural state The She-wolf is destined to gradually disappear as time, wind, and snow take their toll on it. 

 

Where is the Lagorai She-wolf?

The Lagorai She-wolf, with her head raised to the sky, is an uplifting sculpture. In order to see it you must go to 1,600 metres asl and reach a clearing that opens up to the Valsugana and its two lakes, Caldonazzo and Levico. 

Once you have parked your car in Vetriolo, you can walk the Pian de la Casara forest road for approximately one kilometre which is near the car park for the paragliding and hang gliding launch pad.

Foresta dell'Eremo

Storm Adrian (Vaia)

On 29 October 2018, a hurricane-force wind that reached speeds in excess of 200 km/h in Trentino left scars across our mountains. This extreme weather event, which originated in the Atlantic, flattened millions of trees, destroying tens of thousands of hectares of Alpine forest. In Europe, the storm was named after Vaia Jakobs, the manager of a multinational German company.

Her name has been immortalised in this way thanks to her brother Skouras, who had an original idea for a Christmas gift in 2017: he submitted her name to the Meteorology Institute at the University of Berlin to be assigned randomly to a specific event. A gesture of love which ultimately backfired: after all, the name Vaia stands for peace, not destruction, with the meaning of “palm leaves”, like those the crowd waved to welcome Jesus upon his return to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Trentino Tree Agreement

... a pact with the forest to promote responsible, sustainable use for the collective good
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Published on 06/06/2023