WELCOME TO L’AQUILA
◼︎ My little cousin Benedetta is thrilled about our little adventure thru the streets of L’Aquila. It is not snowing anymore down here, but the atmosphere is now set by the amazing smell of food spreading all over the town. Home is in the air.
◼︎ “L’Aquila era una bella città. D'estate la notte faceva fresco e la primavera degli Abruzzi era la più bella d'Italia. Ma quel che era bello era l'autunno per andare a caccia nei boschi di castagni.”
-Ernest Hemingway.
WONDERFULL MOODS:
◼︎ Ten years ago this area was struck by a 5,9MMS earthquake: at 3:32am my bed started shaking, even if my house is almost hundred kilometers away from the epicenter, making me realize that somewhere not too far away people were having an awful night. A handful of hours later we realized how bad it was: 309 victims, over 1600 injured and over 10 billions in damages.
A DARK & BRUTAL HISTORY:
A HISTORIC DESTINATION:
◼︎ “In fondo, questo luogo (Roma), il più indecente fra tutti sulla terra per il poeta di Zarathustra, luogo che non avevo scelto liberamente, mi infastidiva oltre misura; tentavo di evadere – volevo andare all'Aquila, l'antitesi di Roma, fondata in odio a Roma, come il luogo che un giorno io fonderò, in ricordo di un ateo e nemico della Chiesa comme il faut, uno degli esseri a me più affini, il grande imperatore Federico II di Svevia. Ma in tutto questo c'era un destino: dovetti tornare indietro”
- Friedrich Nietzsche primavera Romana 1883.
◼︎ Studying & sketching the different stages of seismic rehabilitation. Most of our Italian engineers & physicists are very good in their tasks, but I can’t say the same thing about constructors. The majority of deaths during earthquakes is mostly related to cheap constructions and often involves forged paperwork’s and fake analysis. Greed & corruption are the real Italian enemy. Start fighting your inner bitch if you really want to make a positive impact on the worldTropea - May 2020
LEARNING THE MISTAKES:
◼︎ “The earthquake occurred at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) at the relatively shallow depth of 9.46 kilometres (5.88 mi) and with an epicentre at approximately 90 kilometres (60 mi) north-east of Rome, near the city of L'Aquila. The earthquake was reported to measure 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale”.
ON EVERY NEWS STATION:
◼︎ “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
– Anthony Bourdain.
FEEDING THE SOUL HERE:
◼︎ Rebuilding a town after an earthquake it is not that different from a man who is rebuilding his interior world after a massive life changing experience. A lot of similar patterns & plenty of different routes to follow. Because science and history are always the best spaceships for the future, as well as the only jumpstart towards your destination.
ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD:
My mom used to own a newsstand when I was a kid and I worked there every weekend or every non school days, therefore it was an easy choice for me to build my upcoming store with that similar concept and look. A place where I can showcase, sell and promote all my products in a very organized way, without leaving my natural environment, the streets.
PIAZZA DUOMO:
CELLNET N’2513:
Fontana delle 99 cannelle, detail from March 2019
CELLNET N’2514:
Fontana delle 99 cannelle, detail from March 2019
CELLNET N’2515:
Fontana delle 99 cannelle, detail from March 2019
Fontana Delle 99 Cannelle is a unique piece of architecture in the city of L’Aquila. Built in the 13th century, it is still surrounded in legends, and the original meaning of the 99 (actually 93) sculpted stone faces is still a mystery. Have you heard any stories about it yet?
