"Secret code": from Pisa to Venice Architecture Biennale 2016

"There is a period of the year in which palaces and buildings in Pisa's Lungarni seem to speak a secret language: doors and windows are decorated with strange wooden frames, a mysterious code of signs and symbols..."

Walking in Lungarni in the month of June is a surprising experience: facades of palaces on the two sides of the river Arno are decorated with hundreds of white wooden frames.

Originally these frames would merely highlight the structure of houses, accurately following the shapes of doors and windows, but today they have been replaced by more curious and creative shapes. 

These are the preparations for the Luminara di San Ranieri, an ancient popular tradition dedicated to the city's patron saint, which dates back centuries and takes place every year on the evening of June 16th. 

On the night of the festivity, the white frames, called "biancherie" in italian, will host thousands of little candles and Lungarni will be illuminated only by the light of these lamps, creating an extraordinary sight.

But the project's focus is on the weeks before the festivity, when it really seems that the facades speak their own language, a secret code that only buidings can understand.

This project, already featured by Valentina Ieva on Archilovers some months ago, has been chosen to participate in the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016.

The Global Art Affairs Foundation invited me to display my photos in a great architectural exhibition,  an official part of the Biennale, at Palazzo Mora during the six months of the event. 

A big part of the financial requirement will be covered by the European Cultural Centre and the Foundation will take care of printing and shipment of the photos, but I still need a substantial amount to make this dream come true.

To cover these costs I recently started a crowdfunding campaign; you can find the link to the project here: 

"Secret code": from Pisa to Venice Architecture Biennale 2016

Take a look at the campaign and share it! 

Here is a selection of images from the project "Secret code"