Luca Di Luzio's 'Atlas Ego Imago Mundi' at Palazzo Mattei in Rome

Luca Di Luzio (Rome, 1986) presents 'Atlas Ego Imago Mundi' at Palazzo Mattei, home of the Italian Geographical Society in Rome, through May 14, 2026. Curated by Anna Cestelli Guidi, the exhibition features about 40 maps, three large canvases, and a hand-bound book created between 2015 and 2023. Di Luzio uses his body as a palette, pressing skin directly onto paper or canvas to generate imaginary geographies. The project is conceptually rooted in Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, reproduced on the cover of the artist's codex 'Atlas'. Di Luzio's subjective cartography replaces scientific rigor with arbitrary meridians and parallels, creating a sense of déjà vu. The exhibition transforms the body into landscape and world, merging sensory experience with artistic expression. Franco Salvatore, president emeritus of the Italian Geographical Society, describes the work as a metaphor for an inner journey where observation of the world intertwines with self-perception.