Impression of graduation project by Davide Degano Degano

View Village Prosenicco Since the time of the Lombards, Slavic tribes had settled on the Faedese mountain belt. They mainly devoted themselves to sheep, goat and cattle herding. Wool and cheese were the products they traded with the Friulians at the bottom of the valley, in exchange for wine, cereals and salt.

Giuliano

One of the first Maps of the territory. It dates back 1700, before before the invasion of the Napoleonic empire

Igor Igor, one of the 7 inhabitants of Robedisches, the first village after the Slovenian border. He is the owner of the only Agriturismo that is locally known for his goat cheese. “This village was under Italy until Tito took over. We wanted to be Slovenian. Many tho, changed their mind as they did not evetually like Tito’s policies, so they left. I was and still happy to the decision we took. “

Madonna Altar The religiosity of the mountain populations was very strong. Ceremonies and rites were often held to thank or invoke the Lord’s benevolence on crops, families and life in general. The relationship with the faith was immediate and directly connected to the environment, so much so that the priest served as an intermediary figure who had the task of celebrating the holidays and the sacraments.

Pegan rituals Despite the strong religious faith, there is still harbored a lot of superstition among the people. This was undoubtedly a legacy of ancient beliefs when the first Slavic peoples who occupied these lands had not yet been converted to Christianity and worshiped the pagans.

In 1870 a stone quarry called Krokolcic was discovered, which was exploited to obtain the material for the construction of houses and tools. The stones were also used to stop the water and create small artificial springs, used to water the animals and to be sure of always having water reserves. It was necessary to reclaim a lot of the land, which had to be "isolated" by many small walls, to allow the fields to always be fertile, thus blocking the growth of the bush

The quarries of the Grivò valley supplied the entire area with Piasentina stone. Towards the beginning of the 1950s, a real school of stonemasons, known throughout the region, was born. Soon the stone was used not only as a load-bearing element for the houses but also to build work tools, furnishings, and tools to modify the soil to obtain better crops, as well as to obtain more land to cultivate.

At first the families only spoke Slovenian, and upon reaching school age, people found it very difficult to communicate in Italian with the teachers and learn the lessons. At the same time, the teachers were also in difficulty, forced to confront a reality other than the plain. The priest thus acted as a link as he helped people to speak a more correct Italian, teaching songs and prayers in Italian. For those who wanted to continue their studies after primary school, the difficulties were enormous. There were still no roads and all the families were in precarious economic conditions. Thus, most of the people, once they finished elementary school, began to work with families.

Flavia manages the bar "da Flavia" in Canebola. This is the only bar left, open every day, in all the mountain villages of this area. The difficulties are not lacking as the costs are always higher, and the revenues always lower. The "bar" has always been a meeting point for the community. It was the place to meet after a long day of work, where to celebrate Sunday, where to watch football games or formula1 races on the TV, but above all a place where residents could vent all their torments and tensions.

Remo Compagnon. The first families of which we find traces in the parish archives are: Topatig, Cont, Tracogna, Saffigna, Cerich, Compagnon, Scozzir, Marzolla, Subiaz, Scuffet, Mazora, Zoder, Belligoi.

Among the traditions lost over the years, is the payment of the "age tax" that occurred when one "passed" from child to young adult. In fact, at the age of 16, a moderate amount of money had to be paid to adults. With this you acquired the right to go out in the evening after the sound of the bell that announced "Ave Maria". Those who did not pay this tax and were found going out in the evening were taken to one of the fountains and immersed in the icy water. The proceeds from the tax were used to pay the players for the dance and to pay for the wine that was placed in the square for the baptism of the new boys.

Alice was the last baptized and the only one to be in this church after it was repaired due to the extensive damage caused by German troops during the Second World War. In fact, it is said that German troops enjoyed shooting cannonballs towards the mountains, always trying to hit buildings symbol of the place. Alice now lives in Manchester, where she studies dance.

The 1976 earthquake demolished 40% of the houses. The rest was demolished by the inhabitants for fear of a possible collapse. In this way, after 1976 the country changed radically. 90% of the stone houses disappeared.

The advent of the First World War upset the routine of these villages as the inhabitants had to reach the front to fight. Canebola alone counts 28 victims during the First World War, while 15 during the Second.

Borders. In these mountain villages, the Slovenian Po Nasem dialect is spoken. The dialect originates in the Italian town of Lusevera. The name Po Nasen means "our way" and was the answer that the Lusevereses, who went to Tarcento (plain) to buy basic necessities, gave when they were asked what language they spoke. Spoken in ancient times only in the Lusevera area, it expanded towards all the Torre Valleys and in some of the Natisone Valley. Today it is spoken only by the natives and is hardly studied anymore.It originates from the meeting of the language spoken by the Slavs in Friuli and Friulian. Once the inhabitants of Lusevera started to trade with Tarcento people, the Luseverian language opened up to new words and concepts until it became the language we know. It has been discussed several times whether to consider the Po Nasen a linguistic enclave, and it has been concluded that the Po Nasen, drawing most of the words from Slovenian, and being surrounded by places where similar dialects are spoken, is not considered enclave linguistics.

German Troops, in 1944.

Earthquake. 1976

Made of miserable cardboard and tied with string, the suitcase represented a symbol of hope and pain. Inside there were only underwear and some food prepared by the mother or the bride in tears. An image of the Madonna could not be missing, a photograph of the dearest person, a little bread, and cheese for the trip. The few times that the suitcase was "back" home, it was always full with a little thought for everyone: from coffee to cigarettes, to a gift for his girlfriend.

The Communist Day is the day when all those from these areas come together to celebrate the liberation of the lands from the fascists. The elderly still bring political significance to this party, while for the young it is an opportunity to spend a day in the native places of their parents.

Silvano

In the early twentieth century, the first emigrants left the country, some to overseas countries, others to Europe. The wars interrupted a little this migratory flow that resumed immediately after the Second World War. The mountain villages were thus almost completely emptied. Among the most popular destinations were Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. Those who moved overseas hardly returned. This type of emigration was characterized by the fact that it was the whole family who moved.

As it is not possible for me to upload the mini documentary in a "public" way, I will be more than happy to share a private link (that it will expire after 2 days) with the persons interested.

Davide Degano Degano

(IT)

BA Photography

I use the medium of photography as a tool with which I explore and reflect upon contemporary issues, related to my own experience. Indeed, in both my personal as well as commissioned work, I try to combine my own experiences with universal concerns, often in the landscapes they belong to. Inspired by the concept and the importance of “local” I explore themes of identity, memory, geography, past and tradition. I create engaging connections based on dialogue between me and the subject and I use portraiture, landscapes, environmental details and archival material to present the story to the viewer using a documentarian approach.

Davide Degano Degano interned at Bert Teunissen

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Nominees Graduation Awards 2020

Graduation Project

Beyond the Land of Castles

Beyond the Land of castles, I re-discovered an unwanted, forgotten yet Promised land.

I remember how my grandfather, Giuseppe, used to tell me stories about his youth and the mountains of his homeland and how, when caught by the German troops, he managed to escape and walked back home from Germany. I can still feel, through his memory, the strong sense of belonging to the place when he described the happiness to see again those mountains from far.

In this project, I re-discover parts of my cultural heritage, portraying the different facets of the life of mountain villages in between the Italian and Slovenian borders. What I found in these mountain villages, was a community of survivors, a community of emigrants that imposed a self-exile after the World Wars and the earthquake of 1976, in order to chase that “wealth” promised by the upcoming industrialized cities.

These realities have played a really important role in my upbringing, but unfortunately, they have become an emblematic example of “forgotten” villages around Italy, and Europe.

Beyond the Land of Castles is an examination of the importance of “local” through memory, and how modern society neutralizes it in the name of globalization. It is a universal story. It is a story of power, who has it and decides how development should look like, and who do not have it, and never will. In fact, societies took centuries to form, globalization took two decades to almost destroy them all. As I explore the themes that most characterize this area, such as emigration and depopulation, I reflect on the importance of the values on which our personal and common memory are based upon in order to shake the assumptions that memories and past bring nostalgia not progress.

This project will also be introducing a more elaborate body of work about the violent alteration of the landscape and the huge cultural void that is threatening to leave. I want to document it, in order to question “progress”, that seems the force that moves the modern world. But sometimes “progress” brings to the regression of certain realities. The risk for these realities to disappear is tangible and concrete as political policies prefer to focus on the development of the cities and their suburbs.

Thesis

Portraiture: Attempting to Represent What Cannot be Physically Represented

Abstract In considering what would have been the best topic to discuss for my thesis, I decided to start reflecting on my own work and on what I feel is the recurrent photographic practice in it: Portraiture. This is, perhaps, the genre of photography I use the most, both in my personal projects as well as commissioned work. It was only when I began my art school studies that the question “what is a portrait?” started to surface. In her essay, Every Portrait Tells a Lie, Debra Brehmer, art historian and lecturer at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and director of the Portrait Society Gallery, points out how a portrait is not a real collaboration but merely an effort of the maker to represent a certain situation of reality. On the other hand, Richard Brilliant, professor of Art History at Columbia University and a theorist on portraiture, says that our need for portraits is rooted in facial recognition, a skill needed for the developing of a self-identity. What becomes clear to me from these two points (that can be seen as the two main views on this practice) is that the act of portraying a person, whether intentional or “forced”, is a collaborative effort, where the maker needs to be on the same level as the person portrayed in order to create a “collaboration”. But, can we call this collaboration as a “real” or a true representation of someone’s persona and identity? Can a portrait on its own achieve this? And more importantly, can it be achieved when the maker and the subject are unknown to each other?