The photographic sample Le Piazze (In)visibili" (The (In)visible Squares) has been inaugurated at the Palacio del Condestable of the City Hall of Pamplona: a exhibition sponsored by the Embassy of Italy in Spain that begins its itinerancy in Pamplona thanks to the partnership between the high school Italian Cultural Center of Madrid and the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra.

The sample is made up of 21 images of some of Italy's most famous historic squares, which were deserted in March 2020 when the confinement arrived. Historical centers such as Piazzi del Popolo (Rome), Piazza Duomo in Milan, Piazza della Signoria in Florence or Piazza San framework, in Venice, were immortalized by 19 Italian photographers, such as Raffaella Mariniello, Olivo Barbieri, Jacopo Benassi, Luca Campigotto or Michele Cera.

In the exhibition -created by framework Delogu- the images are complemented by the reflections of 21 Italian writers -such as Sandro Veronesi, Edoardo Albinati, Carlo Carabba, Francesco Cataluccio, Liliana Cavani, Benedetta Cibrario-, in charge of capturing in words a historical moment. "Despite the initial fear, we were certain that we were portraying a unique time that, in addition to an aesthetic opportunity - that of showing these spaces as their architects conceived them - also allowed us to reflect on the importance of the place as a symbol of socialization throughout history." This was explained today at the opening ceremony by the Director of high school Italiano della Cultura, Marialuisa Pappalardo.

sample open to the public from March 4 to 28

For his part, the mayor of Pamplona, Enrique Maya, has stressed at the inauguration the similarity experienced by all the squares and historic centers of the cities when the pandemic arrived: "I encourage all the people of Pamplona to visit this sample and to do so with calm and reflection. Two ingredients that hopefully will become lessons after the pandemic".

Likewise, at the opening of the exhibition -which can be visited from March 4 to 28- the director of the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, Miguel Ángel Alonso del Val, wanted to highlight the importance of the work of partnership that the School and the high school Italiano de la Cultura have been developing for years, and which has allowed bringing to the Navarrese capital a photographic sample of this importance: "The nexus of union that has been sought with the work of Italo Calvino "The Invisible City", published in 1972 and that marked us a whole generation of architects, brings to the sample that manifest intention to call for reflection on the city we want and we can inhabit in the present and in the future."