Il territorio dei Beni Culturali – photographs by Mario Giacomelli

An extraordinary little object.  Neither a photobook, nor an art book and not even a catalogue of an exhibition but a real instrument, produced by a political institution to study, analyse and divulgate. In 1979 Giorgio Mangani and Sergio Anselmi edited, on behalf of the Marche region, this notebook for the Department of the Territory entitled ‘The territory of Cultural Heritage. Landscape protection in the Marche region’.
What is the peculiarity of the volume, why does it interest us? Well, very simple: the fact that images were commissioned to the ‘maestro’ Mario Giacomelli – as this, as you may know, was his region.
An author deeply rooted in the territory and chosen on purpose, as the beauty of his images is meant to convey the importance of the landscape and, most important, the fact that ‘this land is your land’: landscape is a collective good, belonging to the community as a whole.
In this little object photography becomes a useful instrument and not just meant to be exhibited in galleries or printed in an art book.
Images are accompanied by various texts, real food for thought, and a bibliography of Italian and foreign titles that you would like to reach and read immediately.
A truly incredible book: pocket-size, well made, full of affection.
Think of this: how often do we have the opportunity of associating the words ‘beauty’ and ‘politics’? It is, indeed, quite a unique fact.