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Petra (Latin for rock) is the most magic place of the Near East and is now classified by UNESCO.
Capital in the 3rd century BC, Petra was the symbol of the fulfilment of the Nabateen civilization, a people of nomads whoarrived from the arabic peninsula and had been living in the erea since the 5th century BC.
Because it was invisible in the montains, Petra was easy to defend.
During six centuries more than 700 monuments were carved out of the rock, the famous monastery is one of many. This wonder is several kilometers long. Arriving and seeing the wonderful ingenuity, technical nature and beauty make forget all these hours of walk to get there. One has to walk 8 to 10 hours for two days, a difficult and sometimes painful march.
But Petra, that was once called Redku (multi-coloured drawing), dazzled us because of the beauty of the rocks, of which the famous Siq, main access road to Petra that ends on the Khazneh (Treasure) after walking one and a half kilometers among beautifully coloured cliffs of 100 meters high.
Shaped by sand and wind, these sandstones show a remarkable palette of colours, from yellow to purple, from red or orange to green and blue.
When we came home, the images dwelled between memories and dreams and were an exceptional source of inspiration for Guidi that resulted in a blazing abstract painting. Petra is part of Guidi’s artistic legacy, and he was himself aware of that: little in number but grand in quality.
