About this project

 

"...It often seems to me that the night is much more alive and richly coloured than the day..."

Vincent Van Gogh, letter to Theo Van Gogh nr 676 Arles, 8/9/1888

 


 

Premise

There are passions that perhaps have been born with us since we were children. Photography and astronomy have always been part of my life path. In the beginning as a simple curiosity, today as a real passion that I have cultivated since, in 2014, I bought my first semi-professional digital camera. From that moment, I started to shoot at the world that surrounded me under the starry night sky. The more I made my first images, the more I understood that my shots could be a very powerful communication channel with which to transmit the love for my land through a different light. Little by little, I started to explore the most beautiful places in Sicily from both a landscape and historical point of view. Each image became the means by which I make the world to know the richness of a land, which throughout history, thanks to its central position in the Mediterranean, has been the cradle of many civilizations.

 

 

 

My Land, My Love

Cassiopea And The Temple of SegestaCassiopea And The Temple of SegestaCassiopea And The Temple of Segesta In my Sicily, more than in the rest of Italy, the history of different cultures have mixed: the Phoenician, the Greek, the Roman, the Arab culture perfectly integrated into the Norman culture. On my land, French history crossed with Spanish history and then became part of the larger country of the "Great Beauty" which is Italy. Today I am proud to be Italian but I know that in my DNA traces of different peoples and cultures can be found. Being part of the Sicilian people is for me like being part of a single people: the people of the world.

 

 

 

Dreamscapes of Sicily !!!!

Today I understand more than ever that this richness can be further enhanced if shown through the dreamy light of the night. Who has never dreamed of looking and traveling to the stars? The dimension of the dream becomes the means to embark on this journey.
 

APOD1 - Trails Of Lights And Fires On Mount Etna - Unesco World Heritage SiteAPOD1 - Trails Of Lights And Fires On Mount Etna - Unesco World Heritage SiteSicily - March 2017, The Volcano Etna woke for the second time in a month.
According to Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the craftsman and smith of gods.
The ancient Greeks and Sicilians believed that he had his abode and his forge under the volcano Etna and that the eruptions were the proof of his mighty work.

From ct.ingv.it: "On the morning of 15 March 2017, a new eruptive episode started at Etna's Southeast Crater. The eruptive vent was located in the area of the former "saddle" between the southeast Crater (SEC) and the New Southeast Crater (NSEC). In the early morning hours of 15 March, a small lava flow started oozing down the south flank of the SEC-NSEC cone complex. Then the eruptive activity rapidly intensified with nearly constant Strombolian explosions that generated amounts of volcanic ash dispersed in the atmosphere. The lava flow had reached the base of the cone and was slowly expanding on the gently sloping terrain toward south.”

The landscape was enlightened by the gentle light of the Moon showing the “Sciara”, the black volcanic, rocks covered by a thick layer of snow.
From the top crater a fountain of lava left traces on the sky in front of a curtain of gentle lights pictured by the stars rotating around Polaris.

Today I understand more than ever that this richness can be further enhanced if shown through the dreamy light of the night. Who has never dreamed of looking and traveling to the stars? The dimension of the dream becomes the means to embark on this journey.

I would like everyone to dream like me after admiring my images and reading my stories. A photograph cannot be defined as such if it does not tell a story. Only in this way anyone who looks at one of my shots will be able to dream of being virtually with me in the fantastic landscapes of Sicily.

He will be able to breathe the scents of fresh spring grass or feel the cold on his face under the crystalline winter sky.
He will be able to listen to the sound of the sea waves, breathe the sweet and pungent taste of the salt and at the same time admire the arch of the summer Milky Way rising and extending over the celestial vault.
 
He will be amazed in an autumn cloaked in the warm colors of the Etna woods, which, illuminated by the light of the moon and lava, mix with the turquoise of the sky.

My photographs also offer the opportunity to travel in time and dream of being in Segesta during the night and to imagine how life could unfold around its Doric temple. Through them you can relive the atmosphere of the Pantalica valley, imagining the fires of the villages that illuminate the cliffs with thousands of tombs carved into the rock.

 

 

 

One People, One Sky

Celestial Alignment Over Sicilian ShoreCelestial Alignment Over Sicilian Shore

Thanks to the night sky I can travel and take you with me to distant places and times by accessing the dimension of dreams. The sky is therefore a precious resource that we must protect because, through it, we can rediscover the pleasure of dreaming, appreciating the beauty and history of our land ... but let me tell you ... of our world. One people under one sky !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 

My Biography