Massimo Baldini's Ancona Revisited at Mole Vanvitelliana

The exhibition 'Ancona Revisited' by photographer Massimo Baldini opened on April 18, 2026, at the Mole Vanvitelliana in Ancona, Italy, and runs until June 14, 2026. The show was presented by the city's culture councillor Marta Paraventi. It predates Ancona's designation as Italian Capital of Culture 2028. Baldini's urban photographs capture the city's essence through a local's perspective, part of his larger 'Italia Revisited' project previously shown in Bologna, Ravenna, Freiburg (Germany), and Rheinfelden (Switzerland). The work references photographers Luigi Ghirri, Olivo Barbieri, and Gabriele Basilico, and the seminal 1984 book 'Viaggio in Italia'. Baldini's approach is influenced by the poet Franco Scataglini (1930–1994), whose verses in Ancona dialect accompany the images. Scataglini's poetry was brought to national attention by critic Franco Brevini, who also wrote the catalog introduction published by Affinità Elettive. The exhibition includes a video interview with Scataglini. The installation was designed by architect Fabio Pandolfi, who oversaw the renovation of the venue. The photographs depict the port city's industrial and architectural elements—containers, cranes, railways, ochre and rust tones—without human presence, evoking a sense of place through visual synecdoche.