In Ticino’s northern forests, hidden in a quiet river valley, stands La Congiunta—a gallery by Swiss architect Peter Märkli, dedicated to sculptor Hans Josephsohn’s haunting bronze works. This building, set against snow-capped peaks and embraced by pine forests, feels eternal, as though it predates human consciousness.

La Congiunta, meaning "conjoint," aptly describes the gallery’s relationship with its surroundings and its unity with the art within. Märkli’s design is strikingly simple: a series of directional spaces, arranged like a quiet street, softly lit by natural light that shifts subtly throughout the day. This minimalist architecture, resembling ancient stone sanctuaries, allows Josephsohn's sculptures to reveal themselves as weathered, timeless forms.

The collaboration between architect and artist was symbiotic. Märkli, deeply moved by Josephsohn’s emotional depth, found in his work a shared language that helped him shape La Congiunta into a sacred space for sculpture alone. The gallery’s single key, kept at a nearby tavern in the town of Giornico, turns each visit into an intimate pilgrimage, connecting the village to a wider world of art and architecture enthusiasts who come to this unassuming place, finding a bridge between past and present, solitude and connection.