Corpi Celesti

Corpi Celesti
A Selection from the Alinari Archives

Curated by Nicola Lagioia and Chiara Tagliaferri
In collaboration with Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia
Iconographic research by Rita Scartoni

Cortona On The Move is proud to announce a new and exclusive collaboration in 2024 with the Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia. The archive, currently owned by the Tuscany Region, is composed of over 5 million photographs dating from 1840 to the present day.
The production of new projects is at the heart of the festival’s mission, and on this occasion too, the collaboration focuses on the creation of an unprecedented exhibition.
The aim is to explore this extraordinary archive with reference to the theme Body of Evidence by means of an unconventional approach: not through the eyes of archivists, historians, specialists, or researchers, but by letting ourselves be captivated by the wondrous gaze of two wordsmiths, Nicola Lagioia and Chiara Tagliaferri.
Partners in life, and in this case also in their work, Lagioia and Tagliaferri initiate a three-way dialogue between themselves and a living archive that responds with unexpected surprises, dazzling hidden gems and unforgettable classics. Text and image come together in this exhibition, which reminds us, once again, how looking, and thus seeing, is a voluntary act that involves a choice and is never neutral.

Bio 

Nicola Lagioia s a writer. In 2015, his novel La ferocia won the Strega Prize. His latest book is La città dei vivi. He is a former director of the Turin International Book Fair. He has been a selector and juror at the Venice International Film Festival. He edits the multimedia culture magazine Lucy. His books have been translated in 20 countries.

Chiara Tagliaferri is a writer. Her latest novel is Strega comanda colore. With Michela Murgia she is the author of the books Morgana. Storie di ragazze che tua madre non approverebbe (2019), and Morgana. L’uomo ricco sono io (2021). A third volume of the Morgana series will be published in September 2024. She has worked for many years as a radio show scriptwriter for Rai Radio2, and has edited and is the creator of several podcasts for Storielibere.fm. Since 2021 she has conducted the Orizzonti Extra meetings at the Venice International Film Festival.

FAF Toscana – Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia (Alinari Foundation for Photography) was established in 2020 with the intention of preserving, managing, and promoting the Alinari photographic heritage, one of the world’s greatest collections of historical photographic documentation. The Alinari Archives, owned by the Tuscany Region, were established in Florence in 1852 and consist of over 5 million mainly photographic items, such as daguerreotypes, glass plates, negatives, and vintage prints. This archive can also be accessed digitally on their website.