Exactly a year ago on this day, the trunks of seven chestnut trees on the hotel terrace were daubed by seven artists from Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia (“Too Much Art,” July 16, 2011). This was a part of an Istrian program whose objective was to make nature closer to people through art. Denis Visintin from the Pazin Municipal Museum brought the artists to Motovun. The Motovun Municipality, which rents out the terrace to the hotel, was wholeheartedly behind it. I was horrified by what I saw back then. But I hoped the paints the artists had used would wash away after at most a year. I was wrong, of course. They used the best paints on offer. That is, the most lasting ones. It is thus time to put down their names, exactly as they are signed on the trees. By the way, each name comes together with the name of the country. In alphabetical order, from Croatia we have M. Petrović and Adrijana Šuran; from Italy we have Alan and Sofia; and from Slovenia we have Lara Kobal, Renata Tegelj, and T. Tegelj. It is they who have made nature closer to people in a lasting way. Let their names be known to all.

Addendum (July 16, 2023)

I am happy to report that the paint is nigh invisible on the chestnut trees on the hotel terrace after twelve years. At long last, the attempt to make nature closer to people through art can be safely forgotten. I just checked, and there are only a few smudges of paint here and there, but anyone unacquainted with the erstwhile program would not even notice them any longer. Three out of seven trees are gone by now, though (“Four and a Half Chestnut Trees,” July 8, 2017). Sadly, only one or two of them are likely to be around as many years later. What with climate change and various diseases that attack chestnut trees, their future is far from bright. So much for the stupendous program that brought together so many valiant artists from these parts…