Animals

I have always loved animals. I set this story in the areas hard hit by the 2016 earthquake. There, I learned to observe animals, to understand them and to take care of them if possible. ‘Animals’ wants to be a story about the earth and its different meanings: belonging, sustenance, home and therefore inhabitants. The protagonists are the animals that live and support this tormented land, being a primary resource. I chose them because they refer me to a precious dimension of childhood. The animals photographed, besides being protagonists of this project, often populate fairy tales dedicated to children and they are the cartoon actors to whom we refer the most beautiful age. Also in literature they occupy an important place. Orwell makes them allegorical figures that well represent the most cynical aspect of human society. My animals are those that survived or arrived after the earthquake, precious companions of a fairy tale called reality. And so, here they are: Caramella, the sheep whose name says it all; Bravo, the fearless Maremma shepherd; Tigre, the roaring kitten; Attilio, the horse Active with the mangled name; Rambo the rooster and the inevitable three little pigs. I went back to being a child carrying out this project. I could hear my grandmother’s voice intoning the notes of ‘La Vecchia Fattoria’ and a feeling of well-being pervaded me, an eternal child with no desire to grow up. ‘Animals’ is dedicated to little Giovanni and to all the children who have never grown up.