On the occasion of the Italian National Day, the Embassy of Italy in Doha is delighted to share with all the friends of Italy the special e-gift “Le Piazze (In)visibili”, edited by Marco Delogu, dedicated to the stunning beauty of art and architecture of Italian piazzas
The title “Piazze (In)visibili – (In)visible squares” is inspired by the book “Invisible Cities” by the renown Italian writer Italo Calvino, a novel describing fictitious cities that are narrated by Marco Polo. The volume features art photographs of twenty Italian piazzas, taken between the end of March and the beginning of May, when Italy, like much of the rest of the world, found itself in the difficult confinement phase. The photographs are accompanied by short original texts by Italian writers connected to those places and piazzas by memories, experiences and literary references.
Preface by H.E. Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy
When we speak of Italy abroad, it is impossible not to consider the historical and cultural heritage that attract millions of tourists to our country each year. When we think of Italy’s cities and countless towns that draw visitors from all over the world, the picture that immediately springs to
mind is the piazza, which is both the frame and the canvas depicting the palazzos, churches and the daily life that goes on around them. The piazza has become synonymous with cultural heritage, but it is also a place for meetings and social interaction, for trade and the discussion of ideas. As Italo Calvino wrote in Invisible Cities (whose title inspired this book), “every time you enter the piazza, you find yourself caught in a dialogue”.
During the last few months, when cities ground to a standstill in order to contain the pandemic that had gripped the world and encounters between people became “gatherings” to be avoided – a situation to which, I’d like to stress, Italians reacted with a commendable sense of responsibility –
the piazza has momentarily lost its social function and has acquired a novel one as a physical open space, rediscovering formerly hidden architectural lines and new perspectives of light. Architecture has come to the fore, like in a paint De Chirico, and the piazzas have revealed their clean lines, as
their designers had imagined them.
All of this is illustrated in the images of this book, edited by Marco Delogu, which features art photographs of twenty Italian piazzas, taken between the end of March and the beginning of May, when Italy, like much of the rest of the world, found itself in the difficult confinement phase. The
photographs are accompanied by short original texts by Italian writers connected to those places and piazzas by memories, experiences and literary references.
On the occasion of Italian Republic Day, on June 2, we decided to give this book to all those abroad who will gather virtually this year to celebrate the date, in anticipation of when they’ll be able to do it in person again. It is another way of underscoring the role that the world of Italian culture and creativity can and must perform to accompany the reopening and relaunching of our national economy overseas, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to support. We are aware that we are facing great challenges, but nonetheless believe that we have the ability to rise to them and draw the impetus needed to overcome them from our sights firmly set on the future.
