Christian Caliandro's reflections on a decaying Southern Italian town
Christian Caliandro reflects on Petrosa Jonica, a Southern Italian town marked by decay and neglect. He describes exposed electrical wires as a metaphor for forgotten history, and recounts a local carpenter's term "seccato" (dried up) to capture the town's irreversible decline. The essay contrasts the town's past as a white provolone on a hill with its present state of crumbling buildings, abandoned construction sites, and a sense of suspension between life and death. Caliandro, an art historian and member of Symbola Foundation's scientific committee, teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.
Key facts
- Christian Caliandro is an art historian and member of Symbola Foundation's scientific committee.
- He teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.
- The essay focuses on Petrosa Jonica, a town in Southern Italy.
- The town is described as decayed and forgotten.
- A local carpenter used the term 'seccato' (dried up) to describe the town.
- The town's decline is dated from the late 1990s to early 2010s.
- Caliandro lived in Petrosa Jonica for his first ten years and visited regularly thereafter.
- The essay was published on Artribune.
Entities
Artists
- Christian Caliandro
- Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Institutions
- Artribune
- Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze
- Symbola Fondazione per le Qualità italiane
Locations
- Petrosa Jonica
- Taranto
- Italy
- Roma
- Milano
- Firenze