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In the Shilin region, in the south-west of China, those are not trees sticking out of the ground like stalagmites in a cave, but imposing filiform rocks that create the illusion of a stone forest.
An almost surreal place, where you find yourself walking through mazes, paths, caves, passages, bridges, stairs and rocks with extraordinary shapes that the people associate with animals, people and objects, giving each a name.
The best known is the Ashima rock: according to popular legend, the forest was the birthplace of a beautiful and courageous girl who fell in love with a boy who did not belong to her own people, and she was therefore forbidden to marry him. To prevent her from running away with him, he was turned into stone along with the surrounding forest, trapping his spirit forever.
This forest, which has been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage site, inspired Leonardo to create a ceramic stone with a rough appearance – strongly characterised by ripples, furrows, and marks made by the weather and the passage of time – but with a soft core and smooth surface that is distinguished by differences in light refraction on the surface of each piece.
