The Palomonte Test

A necessary project, a cultural and social reconnaissance of the territory through its tangible and intangible heritage, telling the story of today’s Italy—an Italy that deals with emergencies only when they happen and carries them inside for decades. May the fragile backbone of our Peninsula become a place for experimentation, research, and conservation, with you and with those you will train. An honour that Palomonte is the first village to be thoroughly investigated by PIC.
– Simone Valitutto, former Deputy Mayor of Palomonte

The Palomonte experience went beyond simple, fruitful cooperation with a municipal administration. The enthusiasm, passion, and competence of Mayor Mariano Casciano’s council – supported from 2017 to 2022 by the wonderful Simone Valitutto, Valentina Rizzi, and Elisa Panza – allowed us to thoroughly verify the potential of this project while feeling welcomed and treated as friends. We also thank journalist Antonello Caporale of Il Fatto Quotidiano, who connected us with this community, his own.

Alongside the photographic documentation of all the tangible heritage of Palomonte, the population opened up and shared their stories through over 25 hours of interviews, weaving together past, present, and future. Ammì – Arte, Memoria, Materia, Identità (Art, Memory, Matter, Identity) is a first elaboration born from this exceptional repository of individual and collective memories, and from the encounter with the fragile, contested, and wonderful space of that borderland from which they originate. Creating this mini-documentary convinced us of the necessity of this type of collection in future campaigns. Because the fate of stones and souls is intimately connected.

The Irpinia earthquake struck at 19:34 on Sunday, 23 November 1980: a strong tremor lasting about 90 seconds. It hit an area of 17,000 km² with a magnitude of 6.9. It caused approximately 280,000 displaced people, 8,848 injured, and 2,914 deaths. Palomonte was among the 506 municipalities severely affected by those 90 seconds, by the subsequent seismic swarm, and by the many further destructions, omissions, and dispersions that this immense territory was forced to endure and partly inflicted upon itself in the following decades.

“The earthquake never ends,” Uncle Tulind reminded us. We cannot prevent the earth from shaking, but we can ask communities to learn those tragic lessons, treasure them, and take care of their material and spiritual heritage, of their territories. Celebrations are not needed; we only need to listen again to the millennial stories and the voices that have crossed our mixed land. It is necessary, now more than ever, not to be enchanted by those false myths that have contributed to making it more dangerous and uglier. Progress, the future, come from the gaze of Janus, the god of thresholds, transitions, and rebirths, who looks to the past to prepare the future.

Some shots taken in the days following the earthquake:

Radio MPA

Radio MPA is a regional radio station in Campania based in Palomonte, a point of reference for neighbouring communities, which for years has promoted information on social and cultural themes. During our documentation campaign, we were invited several times on air to talk live about the project and share its developments as they happened. Below you can listen to our contributions.

A sample of the campaign:

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