TITLE: Va, pensiero

[..]Oh my homeland, so beautiful but lost,
Oh remembrance so beloved, but so painful.
Golden harp inspiring the great Poets,

Why are you so silent and abandoning yourself to tears?
Rekindle memories in our hearts,
Tell us again about our glorious past![..]


These are the verses of famous italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, contained in the "Va, Pensiero", lyric by Nabucco, which inspired my project based on the beauty of ancient Italian decadent places.
I have been practicing this photographic genre for several years and I have traveled to various European countries to capture the most beautiful buildings in decline but it is always to Italy that I turn my heart, with a patriotic feeling.
The Italian architectural style is a well recognizable heritage of our past. Normally, those who watch photos of these places are confronted with scenes of obvious decadence and melancholy. Beauty is hidden under a layer of neglect, dust and ruin. But underneath, for those who know how to grasp it, the charm and elegance are maintained. I am inspired by the style of Caravaggio and immortalize environments with an almost pictorial approach, ideally conforming to the period in which they existed, where the lights cut the darkness going to emphasize the ancient elements and arousing a fleeting glimmer of pride in the oppressive layer of melancholy, in places most likely destined to collapse, swept away by time.

AUTHOR: Christian Basetti (Italy)

Christian Basetti live in Milan, Italy .
Since 2015, he has been passionate about ancient decadent places, giving voice to these structures full of melancholy charm as if they were silent narcissistic creatures waiting for someone to express their greatness.
These places are often hidden and not easy to enter, it's not just a matter to catch the right light but even a challenge to discover them.
Creator of Forgotten Art-chitectures project, decayed places are not shot just with an usual limited documentary aspect, as many others do, but they are like fine art canvas aimed at aesthetics.


Awards:

2023 PX3 AWARDS

-GOLD AWARD Architecture Interior
-SILVER AWARD Architecture Industrial
-SILVER AWARD Fine art Architecture
+Honorable mention Architecture Historic

2023 IPA AWARDS

3 Honorable mentions(Historic Industrial Interior)

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2022 PX3 AWARDS

-2nd PLACE ABSOLUTE Architecture
-GOLD AWARD Architecture / Historic
-SILVER AWARD Architecture/Fine art
+3 honorable mentions

2022 MIFA AWARDS:

-1°PLACE and "ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR"
-SILVER AWARD - Architecture/Fine art
+ 2 honorable mentions

2022 IPA AWARDS:

-honorable mention Architecture / Interiors

2021 ND AWARDS:

-honorable mentions Architecture / Interiors


2022 MONOCHROME AWARDS:

- 2nd PLACE - Architecture
+ 5 honorable mention

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2021 IPA AWARDS:

-1°PLACE - Architecture / Interiors
+ 1 honorable mention

2021 MIFA AWARDS:

- 2° PLACE ABSOLUTE - Portfolio
- GOLD AWARD - Nature / Panoramic
- SILVER AWARD - Architecture / Interiors
- BRONZE AWARD - Fine art / Other
+ 1 honorable mention


2021 PX3 AWARDS:

- GOLD AWARD - Architecture / Historic
- GOLD AWARD - Architecture / Interior
- GOLD AWARD - Architecture / Industrial
- BRONZE AWARD - Architecture / Historic
- BRONZE AWARD - Architecture / Historic

2021 TIFA AWARDS:

- 2° PLACE ABSOLUTE - Architecture/Interior
- BRONZE AWARD - Architecture/Industrial
+ 2 honorable mentions

2021 ND AWARDS:

-BRONZE AWARD - Architecture / Interiors
+ 2 honorable mentions

2021 CHROMATIC AWARDS:

- 1° PLACE - Landscape
- 1° PLACE - Architecture
- 3° PLACE - Architecture
+ 3 honorable mentions

2021 MONOVISIONS PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS:

- 2° PLACE - Architecture category
+ 3 honorable mentions

2021 BIFA AWARDS:

- GOLD AWARD Nature/panoramic
- BRONZE AWARD Architecture/Interior
- BRONZE AWARD Portfolio/fine art
+ 1 honorable mention

2021 APA AWARDS
- 2 hontable mentions

2021 8th FAPA (Fine art ph. awards)
- 3 nominations


Exhibitions:

2024 Bugno Art gallery(Venice-Italy)

2023 SoloExhibition at Palace Donà dalle Rose foundation (Palermo-Italy)

2023/2022 Paratissima Art fair Turin (Italy)

2023 SoloExhibition at Civic museum in Varese(Italy)

2022 BAF galleries Art fair Bergamo (Italy)

2022 House of Lucie Budapest, Exhibition Tifa 2021 awards winners

2022 Monochrome photography awards Annual book

2021 Chromatic Photography Award Annual Book , award winners

2021 Prophoto show MIFA winners exhibition, Moscow

2021 Annual PX3 Exhibition PX3 awards winners 2021, Paris

2021 IPA Annual Book of Photography (as category winner)