A luminous and delicate line leaves an indelible mark on the castle’s architecture, and the museum itself—seemingly enclosed within an austere and static structure—opens outward, amplifying its presence within the surrounding landscape.

Since July 21, the Castello Gamba – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Aosta Valley has taken on a new face, thanks to the permanent installation of “Orbita” (Orbit), a work by Massimo Uberti.

Composed of an imposing yet lightweight steel structure, both visually and physically, the piece features a flowing line of warm LED light that follows the supporting frame for a total length of 65 meters, 20 meters wide and 13 meters deep. The artist conceived this luminous ellipse to encircle the top of the castle and embrace its perimeter. Positioned at the level of the central tower, the orbit—visible from afar, both by day and night—is unique in Europe, transforming the museum into an iconic image recognizable worldwide.

The work, which reshapes the identity of Castello Gamba, was developed by Casa Testori in collaboration with the artist, commissioned by the Department for Historical and Artistic Heritage and the Management of Cultural Sites of the Superintendence of the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, and realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture, which funded it through the PAC – Contemporary Art Plan 2020, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity.

An orbit in which the building—and the artworks it houses—form the generative center, the sun around which everything revolves. The castle’s severe structure is pierced and lightened by a contemporary sign that enhances its cultural radiance, placing it into a new cycle of transmission.

Thus, the museum becomes a pivotal and ideal “engine,” a collective sun around which its “satellites”—the shared expectations of beauty and contemporary knowledge—revolve.

The presentation of the Orbita installation in the Altana was made possible with the contribution of CVA Energie.