“Contemplation is a mandatory step in Formentera, just like losing yourself in one of its sunsets or surrendering to the slow movement of the waves that paint your thoughts in shades of blue. A strong memory lingers in those who long to return because leaving the island always comes with the same desire: to come back as soon as possible.” This is how Paola speaks about “her” island, the place she has chosen as home, splitting her time between a life spent traveling between Palma, Bologna, and Milan. Lighthouses, towers, dunes, beaches—these come to life in her watercolors. Through her drawings, her nostalgic gaze deceives the mind, making it easy to imagine oneself as the protagonist of her paintings—perhaps at Caló des Mort or sitting in the square of San Francesc, sipping coffee. Her paintings are visual stories that depict an island far removed from the glitz, footballers, and celebrities. Paola portrays a place defined by slow seasons, silence, and the endless sea—“the only way I know Formentera.”

It was on an April evening, in a restaurant of mutual friends, that I met Paola and her husband, Angelo, in front of a roasted pork knuckle with potatoes (yes, you read that right, pork knuckle in Formentera!). A friendship that grows stronger with every return to the island. A friendship that turns into a collaboration, bringing Paola’s watercolors from the deep blue of the sea and the reds of the sunsets to snowy mountains and blooming meadows. Through Sentier, Paola rediscovers a connection to her past. The watercolors she paints for Sentier remind her of her family and the mountain trips from her childhood.