Everything began from the SNIA Viscosa plant in Varedo, which I have observed from my window since childhood. One day when I was at high school I finally managed to gain entry to this vast abandoned factory. On that day, which I'll never forget, something amazing changed my way of looking at the world. I discovered another dimension, made of dust, abandonment and silence. By means of photography I tried to capture the atmosphere that reigned inside this abandoned temple of work.
Later, I started to search and explore more abandoned places, slowly discovering my hidden interest into industrial history and culture. I visit other kinds of disused buildings too, such as asylums, houses and churches, but as time goes by, I have focused my photographic research mostly on industry. Why this? I really don't have a clear reason, but I will try to give you the best explanation. Since my first picture, I unconsciously decided that I would have shown the unknown beauty that I saw right where it wasn't supposed to be.
My personal interest in history led me to dig into the past of each place I visit, searching for dates, facts, figures and old pictures. It's the hardest part of the work, but I find it strictly necessary. The results of this are traceable in the historical page of a place, which must be read before - or after, if you choose - looking at galleries. The decision to show geographical locations of places caused in me some trouble, mostly because it could be used by people, such as vandals, who don't respect these places and what they represent. In the end, I decided to show the location name for completeness.
Why "Still Alive"? These two words represent my philosophy about abandoned places: the heartbeat of life is in every little detail, in the nature that slowly grows up on men's work, in fascinating lights and amazing colours. An important contribution to my thoughts was given by a very special movie called "Stalker", directed by Andrej Tarkovskij.
With my photographs I want to free the soul of an age from a long sleep and turn it into palpable memories. At least that is what I hope to achieve!
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