The Renaissance in Natural Light: Photographs by Vincenzo Castella

Fresh perspectives on five iconic Italian sites: Vincenzo Castella captures the shimmer of a church dome rising from the lagoon of Venice, the delicate but powerful arches of a monastery, and much more.

These portraits of religious structures are as clear and direct as a Dutch painting, because Castella uses natural light, large-format negatives, and a meticulous printing process. He deliberately avoids the convention of immortalizing the “masterpiece” locale and focuses instead on evocative features. The exhibition alternates panoramic views with architectural details to build a meditative journey that is anchored in reality.

Locations:
San Giorgio Maggiore church, Venice
Santa Maria delle Grazie church, Milan
Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, Florence
Certosa di Pavia monastery, Pavia
Sant’Andrea basilica, Mantua

This registration is for the opening reception on November 17, 6 PM – 7 PM. After that day, the exhibition will remain open and NO registration will be needed. Opening hours will be weekdays, 10 AM – 4 PM, throughout the semester.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Vincenzo Castella was born in Naples in 1952 and now lives in Milan. He was initially inspired by the work of American photographers such as Paul Strand and Walker Evans; in 1984 he took part in Luigi Ghirri’s project “Viaggio in Italia.”
In the late 1990s, Castella began doing aerial work and large-format color photography, anticipating a trend in contemporary photography that would later define an entire generation of artists. This is when he began creating his renowned aerial views of European cities, which explore themes of distance and dislocation in a non-narrative way.
Since 2006, Castella has been creating installations using large-format negatives. His works are featured in major exhibitions and collections in Italy and abroad: MAXXI (Museo Nazionale delle arti del XXI Secolo) in Rome, MUFOCO (Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea) in Cinisello Balsamo, the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation in Turin, the Tate Modern in London, the Fine Arts Museum in Houston, and at the Venice Biennale and at Basel’s Art Unlimited. In 2023, he had a one-man exhibition at the Triennale di Milano.

THE CONTEXT FOR THIS EXHIBITION
This event is part of the Academy's (IOCH), established in 2016 by Executive Director Barbara Faedda and dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and study of cultural heritage.
To mark its 10th anniversary, the IOCH is presenting the first of a series of initiatives with Italy’s (ICCD; the Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation)—an institution within the Ministry of Culture that develops national standards and tools for the cataloguing and documentation of archaeological, architectural, art history, and ethno-anthropological heritage. The ICCD’s photography collection was launched in the late 19th century to document Italy’s cultural heritage for preservation purposes; the Institute now has approximately 6 million photographic prints. This exhibition was developed as the culmination of the ICCD’s project to acquire, conserve, and promote a body of 50 photographic works by Vincenzo Castella (works acquired thanks to funding from the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture).

CO-SPONSOR
ICCD (Central Institute for Cataloging and Documentation), Rome
CURATOR
Francesca Fabiani, Head of Contemporary Photography at ICCD
Part of the Academy's

Images of Mantua; Vincenzo Castella ©ICCD Collection, Rome