Friulian Musem of Photography (Castle Museums)

Piazzale Patria del Friuli 1 Udine

until 10 March 2024

Sclavanie, the Friulian Slavia, is the historical-geographical area located on the border between Italy and Slovenia, which has a very complex and unique linguistic structure, thanks to its geographical position that makes it an obligatory crossing point on the north-south, east-west European routes.

Here, Latin and Slavic languages meet, the legacy of a past that saw these populations living side by side, a microcosm in which Davide Degano (1991-) sinks some of his roots.

Sclavanie, for Davide Degano, is today a photographic project with an ethnographic gaze, a research and investigation into memory, into making community and into inhabiting a land that has gradually been depopulated, but in which traditions and culture resist.

Photography allows for a perspective reading of the contemporary: starting from the observation of the landscape, from a look at the forms of living, from the relationship with nature, from being a community linked to traditions, it leads to a reflection on what are the possible development scenarios of this territory, opportunities or threats for the future.

The investigation of the themes of emigration and depopulation of mountain villages is linked to the rediscovery of places that allow a good quality of life, to a new vision of the relationship with nature and forms of living.