The story continues in
the documentary.
Chapter One
Aielli is a hill town in Abruzzo where public walls have become part of the town’s cultural life. Known as Borgo Universo, it brings together art, astronomy and local memory in an open-air landscape shaped by artists and residents alike.
HORA was created here, on a wall facing the everyday life of the town — not as an object placed apart from Aielli, but as a new chapter within its living public archive.
Hora is a traditional circle dance from Moldova: a shared movement in which each person holds the next.
In Aielli, this gesture becomes a meeting point between Moldova and Italy. The mural carries the idea of community across borders, placing a familiar Moldovan symbol within a town that understands the power of gathering around art.
The Mural
HORA is a public mural created in Aielli in 2026 by Moldovan artist Radu Dumbravă. Born from an initiative by H.E. Oleg Nica, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Italy, and Alexandru Cornițel, the project creates a cultural dialogue between Moldova and Italy, in the heart of Borgo Universo.
At the centre of the work, six dancers in traditional dress form a hora, suspended within a universe of stars and luminous spirals. Their circle evokes unity, memory and belonging: no one is first and no one is last. The vine, the barrels and the vineyards recall Moldova's roots, its hospitality and a winemaking culture passed down from generation to generation.
For our people, the hora is not simply a dance, but a mirror of the national soul. It embodies who we are — resilient, hardworking and dreamers — and reminds us that tradition is the compass that keeps a community's memory alive. Today, on this wall in Aielli, it becomes a bridge between two communities and an invitation to recognise, beyond any border, the same pursuit of beauty, closeness and humanity.
Sketches, preparation, the slow work on the wall itself, and the town's first reactions as the mural took shape.
Portraits and voices from the town that welcomed the wall — captured in the documentary as the mural came together.
The story continues in
the documentary.
