On a crisp winter’s day, locals gather in a Southern Italian piazza, in the shadow of a 13th century convent, to raise a visionary new architectural structure. It takes a village to hoist the spired earth-toned building — though it’s made of cardboard. These villagers built the terraced work, designed by artist Olivier Grossetête, brick by paper brick with their bare hands. It is a testament to the cultural citizenship underpinning the story of renewal in Matera — 2019 European Capital of Culture.

The construction of the cardboard monument was part of the 2018 celebrations, ahead of Matera 2019 — echoing the town tradition of fabricating a papier-mâché float for the Festival of the Patron Saint ‘Madonna della Bruna’. Over the course of the coming year, exhibitions and events taking place throughout this Neolithic-meets-Digital Age city will draw from the community’s grassroots strength to introduce the world to its culture of innovative reinvention.