THE ABYSS AND THE CARESS
Visions of the heart of Italy wounded by the earthquake and its rebirth (2016–2026)

The 2016 earthquake in the central Apennines opened an abyss, but within that abyss there emerged a caress made of faces, work, art, and hope. This exhibition tells the story of the passage from destruction to rebirth, showing that the heart of Italy is not only wounded — it is alive. The exhibition seeks to convey the synthesis of a great experience, tragic and abyssal, yet marked also by solidarity and recovery, through different languages ranging from photography to performance. An experience that, beginning from trauma, has nonetheless set in motion positive energies and latent possibilities, offering not only new practices but also new ideas. In the gentleness of the landscape, of the spirituality, and of the industriousness of the heart of Italy, fresh lifeblood has been found and hopes are now stirring. Alongside destruction, gestures of solidarity, creativity, and reconstruction emerge: the “caress” as a response which, within the wound itself, has allowed new energies, innovative practices, and concrete hopes to be generated.

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Exhibition promoted by Extraordinary Commissioner for the Reconstruction following the 2016 Earthquake – Senator Guido Castelli, and Fondazione Meeting per l’amicizia fra i popoli ETS

Curated by Davide Rondoni, poet and playwright

In collaboration with Barbara Lupi, technical secretariat of the Commissioner’s Office; Rossella Macchione, head of communications and institutional relations, Commissioner’s Office

With contributions from Marco Barbieri, communications office, Commissioner’s Office; Viviana Castelli, historian, seismologist, and researcher at INGV; Alessandro Fusari, geologist; Paola Marchegiani, director, Marche Region

Supported by Enel