The Winds of Maloja

Kathrin Siegrist’s work “Aria Adiabatica”, made up of pieces of fabric floating in the courtyard of Torre Belvedere, enters into a dialogue with the wind and playfully follows its currents.

However, the wind in Maloja is out of the ordinary: unlike typical Alpine air currents, it blows, in a manner of speaking, in the opposite direction, ascending the Val Bregaglia and crossing over into the Upper Engadin. This unique thermal phenomenon is often accompanied by the “Maloja Snake” — a compact cloud band resembling the body of a serpent winding through the mountains.

This meteorological spectacle also seems to be echoed in a painting by Hannes Gruber, which depicts the village of Maloja in bold brushstrokes and appears to suggest an animal-like, misty figure in the background.