Iginio De Luca's sound installation travels Rome's periphery on a water truck

Italian artist Iginio De Luca (born 1966 in Formia) has created 'Histoires d'eau', a mobile sound installation that travels through the peripheral Roman neighborhoods of Mandrione and Quadraro along the Acquedotto Felice. The work is part of the broader project 'Il racconto dell’Acqua', curated by Adriana Polveroni for Municipio VII of Rome. De Luca uses a water truck (autobotte) as a resonating chamber to broadcast recorded voices, stories, memories, and dreams collected from local residents. The title references the 1958 short film by François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. The artist chose the water truck to highlight the paradox of water as a public good that is paid for due to political and administrative negligence, creating a contemporary metaphor in dialogue with the ancient aqueduct. The installation moves along streets including via del Mandrione, via Casilina vecchia, and via di Tor Fiscale. De Luca was guided by local ciceroni Paolo Assenza and Maurizio Prierfranceschi to interview diverse residents. One particularly moving testimony was a woman's silence in August, which De Luca preserved in the sound track as the most emotional moment. The project aims to give voice to those who live in and animate these neighborhoods.