What is the statue of the little mermaid on the Cervia harbor?

Milano Marittima, July 28, 2025 – From Friday, August 8, the Mare d'Arte Festival event will become the imposing work Non basta il canto delle sirene by Valerio Berruti, permanently located on the north quay of the Cervia canal port, on the Milano Marittima side.

The work is a rare example of a monumental sculpture completely surrounded by the sea and depicts a six-meter-tall mermaid-child, whose patinated bronze profile will stand out shining above the sea where it meets the port, and who, as darkness falls, will light up as if emerging from the water.

Valerio Berruti emphasized, “I've always thought of my work as a metaphor that transcends childhood imagery . I'm not bothered—quite the contrary—by knowing that people identify with my work when they think back to their own childhood, a happy time for many. However, I'd like to convey the message that all human beings are absolutely equal and that we must take care of the world we live in, recognizing that everything is fleeting and delicate, just like childhood.”

The work will be illuminated for the first time with a special play of lights thanks to the project created for the occasion by Hera Luce and the inauguration is scheduled for Friday 8 August from 8 pm at Mosquito Beach 236.

Born in Alba in 1977, the artist expresses himself through the ancient technique of fresco, sculpture, and video animation to create essential images inspired by the suspended world of childhood, the time in life when everything is yet to happen. The installation of the work " Non basta il canto delle sirene" (The Sirens' Song Is Not Enough) marks the final chapter of the Mare d'Arte Festival, the first edition of the event that transformed Milano Marittima into an open-air cultural hub for the entire summer.