CHRISTIAN BASETTI
Va, pensiero

" [...] Oh my homeland, so beautiful but lost,
Oh remembrance so beloved, but so painful.

Golden harp inspiring the great Poets,
Why are you so silent and abandoning yourself to tears?
Rekindle memories in our hearts,
Tell us again about about our glorious past! [...]"

These are the famous verses of italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, contained in the "Va, Pensiero", lyric by Nabucco, which inspired my project based on the beauty of ancient Italian decadent places.
I have been practicing this photographic genre for several years and I have traveled to various European countries to capture the most beautiful buildings in decline but it is always to Italy that I turn my heart, with a patriotic feeling.
The Italian architectural style is a well recognizable heritage of our past. Normally, those who watch photos of these places are confronted with scenes of obvious decadence and melancholy. Beauty is hidden under a layer of neglect, dust and ruin. But underneath, for those who know how to grasp it, the charm and elegance are maintained. I am inspired by the style of Caravaggio and immortalize environments with an almost pictorial approach, ideally conforming to the period in which they existed, where the lights cut the darkness going to emphasize the ancient elements and arousing a fleeting glimmer of pride in the oppressive layer of melancholy, in places most likely destined to collapse, swept away by time.

Author
Christian Basetti lives in Milan.
Passionate about architectural photography, he feels the challenge of making the shots talk about the great works built, as if they were silent narcissistic creatures waiting for someone to express their greatness.
Since 2015, he has been passionate about ancient decadent places, giving voice to these structures full of melancholy charm.
With a style aimed at aesthetics it is never limited to the documentary aspect, but wants to show the pride of places destined to be erased from time, inspired by Caravaggio's style in the representation of environments, as if the photographs were paintings.

Website
www.christianbasetti.com

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