Sofia Podestà - Livata
Written by: Marta Spanò
Livata is the mountain of Rome. A place of second homes handed down from generation to generation, born in the 1960s and an expression of Italian architecture that takes up the lesson of American chalets. An international breath inhabiting what was for many a holiday resort, initially in great demand but then abandoned due to lack of snow and the greater accessibility of more exotic destinations.
Sofia Podestà's shots restore, through unprecedented points of view, the nostalgic dimension not only of a location, but also of a type of holiday that is perhaps obsolete, the offspring of past societies and values, yet rediscovered thanks to the growing need to escape from the increasingly chaotic and alienating city. It is precisely this need to get away, the desire to get away, even if only for a weekend, that brings people back to the 'mountains behind the house', a treasure chest of lives, experiences, games, smiles and skinned knees put away and forgotten.
The Latium mountains thus welcome new generations, while the houses portrayed, inherited, fought over, lived in, abandoned and rediscovered, together with the local non-places (crossroads and road signs, bars, shops), once again evoke the dimension of the holiday, that two- or three-month long holiday that gives rise to nostalgia for the city dwelling, school, work; a holiday where the weather was fine until 15 August, but by the 16th there was already the first storm. A holiday made up of evenings wearing jumpers because it was cold, and Friday evenings with dads who would get into their Fiat after work to spend a couple of days with the family. But September is just around the corner and with it normality, everyday life, chaos and the sounds of the city. Yet the one at Livata was and is only a goodbye: outings give way to ski lessons, jumpers and hot chocolate, making this place a new safe, intimate, familiar refuge.
