Mantova.. e dopo la notte viene il giorno

LET THERE BE LIGHT ON MANTUA!

I began this photographic volume by photographing Mantua’s famous lakes.

In order to take the first shot, using the zoom, I forced my husband to stand in the middle of a busy road: this course of action earned me a tirade of verbal abuse, but what can I say? When I want something, it takes more than verbal abuse to stand in my way!

I found the lakes inspired a feeling of great peace and poetry. They are the essential substrate of this city, which emerges from their midst in all its splendour.

The lack of night time pictures of Palazzo Te is no oversight on my part, but a consequence of the scant lighting of this famous building, so I have instead included the occasional photograph by day.

I have tried to capture the monuments of Mantua, but also its porticoes, to which I am so drawn, and so I say again: what is a city without porticoes? In such a place you find yourself walking the cold, hard streets, without the warmth and protection that only porticoes can offer.

In addition to all this, you may note a number of women deliberately posing for my camera and smiling, because by day nearly all women display a certain narcissistic-exhibitionist trait, but it is also because of the excellent relationship I have always had as a photographer when portraying the fairer sex, not to mention the cheerful, jovial nature of the townspeople of Mantua.

Another recurrent subject in all my volumes are bars, where you always encounter the kind of friendly atmosphere that lets you strike up a conversation with people you have never met before. Then there are the lights, the colours of the interiors, the illuminated signs, in other words the dazzling colours that characterize them, which always attracted me. Lastly, the people that gather in these bars to while away a pleasant hour or two, are more relaxed and carefree. That is why, apart from my professional interest, I often pop into one or two of these places.

I have also noticed that, even in winter, youngsters and others no longer in the springtime of their youth continue to sit at outdoor bars, a sign of the open, sociable nature of the people of Mantua.

Mantua is a UNESCO world heritage site and deservingly so, as it is a harmonious city that boasts beautiful monuments and piazzas, not to mention a magnificent castle, all of which I have endeavoured to show in my photographs, alongside the subjects I instinctively enjoy portraying, for reasons already explained.

I end with a fond closing salutation to Mantua and its wonderful townsfolk, who are the reason for my numerous trips to this small yet great dream city.