The sculptor Marco Martalar, pseudonym of Marco Martello, enchants art enthusiasts with his spectacular artworks
Image gallery: Marco Martalar
Marco Martello was born in Róana, a village on the Asiago plateau in the Veneto region. His works are inspired by his birthplace and nature. Unlike other artists, he doesn't exhibit his works in art galleries but in quiet places in nature which he chooses carefully. His statues all convey important messages and are made of natural materials, such as tree trunks, roots and wood. Following the Vaia storm, which hit millions of trees in this area in 2018, he realised numerous masterpieces by using uprooted trees to bring life back to a devastated area.
The sculptures highlight the relationship between humans and nature. Before building his masterpieces, Marco devotes particular attention to collecting the most suitable wooden pieces for his sculptures. The assembly is very slow as every piece needs to be placed by hand in respect of the shapes and sizes of the creature.
Some of his most famous works in Trentino include La Lupa del Lagorai (the she-wolf of Lagorai, 2022) in Levico Terme, l'Aquila di Vaia (the eagle of Vaia, 2023) in Grigno, Terra e Cielo (the earth and the sky, 2023) at the Maso Poli farm in Pressano di Lavis, il Cavallo di Strembo (the horse of Strembo, 2023) in Strembo, il Drago Vaia Regeneration (the Dragon of Vaia Regeneration, 2024) and the La Frau - Madre Natura (La Frau - Mother Nature, 2023), both in Lavarone, the Grifone di Vaia (the griffon of Vaia, 2023) in Tesino, the Orso del Pradel (the bear of Pradel, 2025) in Molveno, the Radicosauro (Radicosaurus, 2025), at Lake Santa Giustina in Predaia, the Cervo del Fertazza (the Fertazza deer, 2025) in Selva di Cadore and the Guàna del Primiero (2025) in Primiero San Martino di Castrozza.
The Guàna del Primiero
This statue was built in 2025 in Primiero San Martino di Castrozza and is inspired by the legend of the Guàne nymphs who used to live near the Sass de le Guàne below Castel Pietra, in perfect harmony with the lakes and streams. According to this legend, these mythical female creatures were engaged to men and many of them had families as well, on condition that nobody asked them who they were. If their husband insisted on discovering their secrets, they disappeared without ever returning. If someone tried to follow or annoy them they jumped into the water, turned into otters and disappeared. The otter is still the symbol of the community of Primiero.
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