Abstract: Since the stipulation of the NEA's new guidelines in 1974, works of public art and site-specificity issues became inextricably intertwined. The aim of this paper is to clarify the relationship between works of public art and the specific space they "inhabit." I will develop my analysis by considering three case studies from contemporary public art: Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, Pino Castagna's In pietra alpestra e dura and Mauro Vangi's La Lupa. I will argue that public artworks that are site-specific function possibly following two directions that are dialectically related. On the one hand, public artworks "transform" the space where they are placed. The space can be transformed at three different levels: (i) physical; (ii) phenomenological; and (iii) social-political/cultural. On the other hand, site-specific public artworks "adapt" themselves to the nature of their space. In this sense, public artworks should be influenced (e.g., in terms of their artistic properties or possible meanings) by their site.

Key words: Public Art, Site-specificity, the Nature of Space, Site