The sculpture “Rosa dos Ventos” is the result of an artistic residency carried out by the German artist Volker Schnüttgen in Aldeia do Pontido, within the framework of the Artistic and Community Interventions Program “In Minho there is no better town than mine!”, promoted by the “Minho In” consortium that integrates the 24 municipalities of Minho.

The starting point of the artist’s proposal was the natural and heritage characteristics of Aldeia do Pontido. In this sense, the intervention aims to enhance the poetry of the place, with its intact nature, with the presence of an oak forest and a heritage complex with traditional granite architecture. The artist understands sculpture as a pattern that establishes a sign, marks the place, creating the symbolic space that can be discovered. Wood (oak, native wood) and stone (granite, so typical of the Minho region) were the raw materials used, two materials so different that the artist worked while maintaining their identity.

The piece is located in a place close to the Queimadela Dam, at a point completely open to the water mirror, being the ideal place to place the “Rose of the Winds” that guides us and prevents us from getting lost, something crucial at a crossing point for numerous hikers and walkers. To see and enjoy this work of art, visitors only need to follow the circuit on foot along the edge of the dam.

Volkner Schnüttgen is an internationally renowned artist, with his sculptural work represented throughout the world, a fact that adds value to the urban collection of Fafe, a collection that the City Council intends to improve and increase every day.

According to the author, “the rose of the winds” is a work to interpret and read with the soul. It is made by the artist, but most of it is made by nature. Anyone who appreciates this work can read it with the soul. The stones that are there were placed so that people can sit and appreciate it from different points of view, from different cardinal points, interpreting the piece and life itself as they want and feel.”