Astrolomia

Astrolomia. The project consists of drawings and sculptures inspired by Marco Polo’s The Travels of Marco Polo (Il Milione), serving as an extension of the exploration into the theme of ghost cities, first introduced with the work Foresta Rossa. However, in this case, the narrative journey transcends the boundaries of reality and history, venturing into a more imaginary and literary dimension.

Il Milione is not merely a travel diary but an oral account dictated by Marco Polo 26 years after his return from his long journey to the East, during his imprisonment in Genoa. Marco Polo’s testimony thus transforms into an evocative narrative, a memory taking on the contours of invention: an adventure unfolding through the labyrinths of memory and imagination.

The works in this project evoke a journey that is a mystification, or a play between memory and vision, where oral tradition sparks ever-new images. It is a delicate weave of reinvention and wonder, where lies solidify into reality and unexpected, ever-changing forms: stone bridges suspended in emptiness, merchants who determine the day of the week by observing shadows, gyrfalcons and eagles, drops of amber, and astrologers.

The soothsayers of the city of Camblau, a central symbol of this project, embody an enigmatic knowledge suspended between science and imagination, astronomy and astrology, as recounted by Marco Polo himself. They represent the fusion of science and imagination—“astrolomi,” as Marco Polo describes them—figures of alchemical knowledge rooted in myth and art.