Capturing essence of northern Italy

Fomma Art Gallery invites viewers to travel through photographs

KARACHI: For those who have never travelled to Italy or taken a closer look at its northern side, a collection of breath-taking photographs of the area were showcased at the Fomma Art Gallery on Sunday.

The one-day show, titled 'Tri Veneto: Pictures from the North East of Italy', displays the collection of Alessandro Rosani and other Italian photographers and captures the diverse wonders of the northern part of Italy.

From sun rise and ice-capped mountains to the many ancient and classy residential and commercial structures, the spirit of northern Italy, particularly Venice, has been showcased in the exhibition.



Speaking to The Express Tribune, Italian consul-general Gianluca Rubagotti said that on the occasion of the Italy's National Day, many events will be organised to bring people [Pakistani and Italian] closer. "The first one is the exhibition of photographs from northeast Italy, which is the area revolving around Venice," he said. "You can enjoy beautiful photographs from Padua and the Italian Alps."

The mountains shown in the photographs have been captured from multiple angles to showcase the beauty as well as their characteristic values. These landscapes are a treat to the eye — be it capturing mountain-climbing, mountains covered in white sheets of ice or a focus on light — all of it gives the pictures a scenic quality.

"I've been here for six months and I've noticed that this part of Italy is not very known here," said Rubagotti. "[For example], a lot of people here think that if they want to go to the Alps they don't have to go to Italy, whereas we have some beautiful mountains in Italy that are part of the Alps," said Rubagotti.

Photos that hit home

A picture that is of special relevance to a Pakistani is that of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics founded by Pakistani Nobel laureate Abdus Salam in 1964. "This is a special link between Italy and Pakistan because even nowadays there are a number of students from here who study there," remarked Rubagotti.



Another photograph was of Cadore's Golden House built on the grand canal of Venice. According to the consul-general, the structure is similar to that of Frere Hall in Karachi. "When it was built in the 19th century, they took inspiration from new Venetian gothic style," he said. Also present at the event was musician Silvia Boreale. She has been doing concerts at educational institutions of the port city in Urdu, English and Italian. Boreale said that she has recited the national anthem of Pakistan and also sang the famous national song, Soni Dharti. Speaking about the exhibition, she said she was pleasantly surprised as she was not expecting to come to Pakistan and find her own home as she is from Venice.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2016.