Andrea Loreni

“ZEN & TIGHTROPE WALKING”

The only specialized italian funambulist in crossing great heights.

Andrea Loreni zen funambolo, speaker, keynote
English · Italian

Andrea Loreni is the only Italian tightrope walker specialized in high-altitude crossings. He graduated in Theoretical Philosophy.

In 1997 he began to do street theater, moved by the need to know a type of truth different from the speculative logic proposed by western philosophical thought. Since 2006 he has been walking by cable to great heights where he experiences that kind of objective truth, given by the absolute presence of himself, in the here and now.

 

Andrea Loreni has traveled kilometers by cables stretched in the skies of many Italian cities, including his city, Turin, and then Bologna, Rome, Venice, Florence, Genoa, Brescia, Trieste and abroad, he has walked the skies of Switzerland, Serbia, Israel, Thailand and over the Sogen-ji temple lake in Japan.

 

The intuition of the absolute that he had walking on the wires brought him closer to the practice of Zen meditation that he would deepen in the Sogen-Ji monastery in Okayama in Japan, under the guidance of Shodo Harada Roshi. In his research path, Andrea Loreni combines Zen and tightrope walking, as privileged access routes to artistic and existential authenticity.

After years of walking on wires and Zen meditation, the need to share experiences and reflections was increasingly present in Andrea Loreni. Trainer and speaker at various TED events, universities, banks, multinationals and companies, Andrea Loreni offers motivational talks, theoretical and experimental workshops, on the management of imbalance and change, on the acceptance of fear and risk and on efficiency under pressure .

He is collaborating with Giulia Schiavone, PhD in the Department of Human Sciences for Education “Riccardo Massa” of the University of Milan-Bicocca, to deepen his research on the most transversal aspects of the tightrope, to study its value as an instrument not only of «performance» but also of transformation, used as a vehicle for growth and personal transformation. In this sense, he has also started a collaboration with the Center Européen de Funambulisme in Brussels.

Andrea Loreni is the author of the book “Zen and Tightrope walking(2019) and in 2020, Short tightrope walking course for those who walk with the wind. Seven steps to go through life“.

Zen & Tightrope walking.

The big change.

Imbalance management.

Face fear and risk.

Efficiency under pressure.

Your own way.

Zen & Tightrope Walking.

Zen and Tightrope Walking take us on a journey in search of authenticity, balance, and our other selves. In this book, author Andrea Loreni, Italy's most famous tightrope walker, recounts his experience at the Sogen-ji Monastery in Japan, where he learned the art of Zen meditation. He shares the story of his return to the Temple, embarking on the journey that later became a documentary, delving into the experiences and feelings of both the man and the tightrope walker. Lastly, the book is enriched with a glimpse into the practice of walking the tightrope.

Loreni immerses us in this world of cables, ropes, and koan practice with simple and immediate language, mirroring the same skill with which he walks suspended at 160 meters in the air and the ease and joy he exudes. Everything that happens on the wire becomes dialogue and sharing. Each movement of the body becomes nourishment for the mind, every step is exploration, and every outstretched hand is food for thought on life's themes.

Zen & Tightrope Walking.

Short Tightrope Walking Course for Those Who Walk with the Wind.

Andrea Loreni, a tightrope walker and passionate about Eastern philosophy, explains how, thanks to the art of tightrope walking, he learned to confront fear and live in balance. For Loreni, the wire becomes an inner exercise as well: "When you're there, memories, fears, and expectations cease to exist. And if you're not afraid of being afraid, you can open the door behind which the absolute lies."

In this book, Loreni shares his experiences and teachings with his readers, which can be inspiring for anyone. A brief guide to "walking the existential tightrope" for all.

Short Tightrope Walking Course for Those Who Walk with the Wind.