Consecrated bronze bells suspended in the tower of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the bells of Fano Adriano have marked the rhythm of community life for centuries: prayer and work, celebration and mourning, alarm and summons. Rung by hand, either from below by pulling the ropes or from the bell tower itself by … Read more
As evening falls, in the evocative light of torches and coloured spotlights, Ornano Grande is transformed into Jerusalem. Against the stone walls, the Apostles sit solemnly before the washing of the feet; beneath a colonnade, the High Priests wait; Roman soldiers in armour escort Christ, placing a crown of thorns upon his head. It is … Read more
On the Teramo side of Gran Sasso, among the vegetable gardens and trees surrounding his home in Molino Vecchio, Fausto Iezzi moves with the ease of a demiurge, intent on shaping a vast vegetal family. He knows each of his plants individually, pruning them, joining them and mending them together. He stops in front of … Read more
In a kitchen in Castel Castagna, in the Sicilian Valley, Monica Di Gaetano cuts a now cold and firm milk custard into diamond shapes, coats the pieces first in flour and then in beaten egg, before sliding them into hot oil. Within moments, the morsels puff up and turn golden; once drained, a quick coating … Read more
Nearby the stable, in the farmyard of Case Venane, shepherd Luigi De Angelis spends part of his days sitting and carving wood. Branches of manna ash, cornelian cherry and olive, beneath the blade of his pocketknife, are transformed into dogs, horses, eagles and snakes, into small carved faces, votive objects and protective artefacts. Ordinary objects … Read more
In the vegetable garden at Molino Vecchio, at the foot of the Teramo side of Gran Sasso, Fausto Iezzi walks along rows of tomatoes supported by cane shelters. He stops at each plant, observes it, checks it, and with his fingers removes the small shoots emerging at the axil of the leaves, between the stem … Read more
In a stable at Case Venane, near San Giorgio, music from a radio accompanies the days of a small flock of sheep and goats. The animals spend their time indoors in an unusual tranquillity, interrupted from time to time by the occasional distant bleat; once a day, they graze in the surrounding area, accompanied by … Read more
Every summer, on the eastern slope of the Laga Mountains, the flocks return to the high-altitude pastures of Cesacastina; they have spent the winter in the countryside on the outskirts of Rome, in the area surrounding the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love. For generations, transhumant dynasties have rented winter grazing lands in the … Read more
Among uninterrupted rows of sheep bells, remains of cars and means of transport, shepherds’ huts and yokes hanging on the walls, along a labyrinthine route where objects occupy every corner and passageway, an entire universe in miniature suddenly comes into view: a meticulous constellation of places and occupations, of distant everyday lives woven together like … Read more
At dawn on the first of September, pilgrims begin the long ascent from Piana del Fiume towards the hermitage of Saint Colomba, suspended at 1,234 metres on the slopes of Mount Infornace. The path crosses a steep and humid beech forest, guardian of the visible signs of human devotion and of manifestations believed to be … Read more