Civita in Black and White is a series of black-and-white photographic prints that captures the story of an ancient eroding hill town in northern Lazio, Italy. Reachable only by a steep footbridge, Civita di Bagnoregio sits on a pinnacle of volcanic stone (tufo) and shifting clay above a valley of ethereal beauty. The severe geology of this landscape has shaped the history and everyday experiences of Civita’s residents going back to Etruscan times. Civita has come to be known as “il paese che muore,” or “the dying town,” as earthquakes and repeated landslides threaten its physical existence.
Stanton began photographing Civita in 2016, after receiving a fellowship from the Civita Institute, which promotes cultural exchange between Italy and the United States. In four extended visits, he explored the dramatic landscape, immersed himself in the life of the town, and built rich relationships with its few remaining residents. The resulting body of work captures the essence of a people determined to stay authentically anchored by their past.
LANDSCAPE
The striking play of light and deep shadow in the rugged landscape, photographed principally at sunrise and sunset, invites the viewer to participate in the drama of Civita’s spectacular surroundings. For centuries the forces of wind and water have created deep crevices in the clay and rock resulting in extraordinarily beautiful geological decay. The ephemeral light in the early morning mist gives way to a strong directional sun that casts graphic lines across the barren landscape creating a chiaroscuro effect in black and white.
TRADITION
Stanton’s photographs capture Civita locals harvesting chestnuts in the valley, marching in religious processions that date back to medieval times, and pressing grapes in the same volcanic stone wine cellars their ancestors have used for 2,000 years. These images, among many others, tell a story of a people determined to preserve Civita not just as a cultural object, but also as the source of the ancestral practices that are so central to their identity. Choosing to explore these traditions in black and white permits Stanton to construct a subjective vision of Civita based on the inescapable immediacy between its past and present.
PORTRAITURE
Intimate conversations with the residents revealed individual stories and rich cultural memories which inspired Stanton’s aesthetic choices and shaped the composition and narrative of each portrait. Images such as a dramatic portrait of the village matriarch gazing solemnly at her crumbling childhood home function as an exploration of memory in a place where the past is ever-present.
EXHIBITIONS
Fra Nuvole e Vento: Gente di Civita, an exhibition of recent work by American photographer Brian Stanton, captures the spirit of the people who call Civita home. The exhibition was on view from September 2021 through June 2022 at Palazzo Alemanni, Civita di Bagnoregio. The exhibition was also featured at the Consulate General of Italy in New York City from March 4 through May 7, 2024.