For this new episode of CC Stories, we take you on a tour of Italy.
From Naples to Rome, from Venice to Bologna, and from Lecce to Turin, whether they live there or are just passing through, the photographers published by Chose Commune have cast their eyes on this land of beautiful light. Each offers a unique approach to this nation, enlivened by its generous cuisine and its sometimes mysterious architecture. We take advantage of this journey to share our favourite Italian bookstores with you.
We begin our journey in Naples, the hometown of Ciro Battiloro, who tells us about one of his favourite recipes:
In Naples, ragù is not just a recipe, but more of a ritual. It is the Sunday ritual, the time when families come together. Sunday lunchtime is the only moment when silence reigns in the streets of the city. The preparation begins in the early hours of the morning, sometimes even the night before.The best place to eat it is not in trendy restaurants, but in people’s homes, especially in the working-class neighbourhoods. My favorite ragù is made by Signora Tina, my adoptive grandmother in the Rione Sanità.
Ingredients:
Beef in small pieces
Onion
Red wine
Tomato sauce (preferably from Vesuvius area)
Tomato concentrate
Sausage or meatballs
Pasta (preferably Ziti broken or Macaroni or Penne)
Oil
Preparation:
Stir-fry oil, onion and meat for 10 minutes
Deglaze with red wine
Add tomato sauce and tomato concentrate
Cook over low heat for three hours
Halfway through cooking add sausage or meatballs
Turn slowly until pappuliare (pappuliare, referring almost exclusively to ragù, is a real onomatopoeia. The meat sauce is ready when the noise in the pot is like a crackling sound)
Cook the pasta separately
Season the pasta with a little sauce, serve, add more sauce and a basil leaf
In Rome, we asked Chiara from Leporello, a beautiful bookshop of the Via del Pigneto, to tell us what is her favourite CC book and why:
“Ciro Battiloro’s book is a dance of gestures allowing you to delve in people’s life thanks to a visual approach that is at the same time classic and contemporary. His work clearly belongs to the best documentary tradition, still with a sparkle in the editing that makes each and all the images of the book all together simply unique. A further reminder that simplicity is always a peak to be conquered”
Chiara, about Silence is a Gift by Ciro Battiloro
There are other bookshops in Italy that we love, and where you can find books published by Chose Commune:
In Milan, say hi to Giulia and Eugenio, at Micamera, Via Medardo Rosso, 19
From Bologna to Venice, Italy can sometimes embody both a beginning and an end: this is what experienced Seiichi Furuya and Christine Gössler.
In 1978, a few months after they met, they traveled to Bologna and documented their first trip on Super 8 film.
Seven years later, they returned to Italy, but this time to Venice, which would be their last trip, before Christine’s tragic death.
In First Trip to Bologna 1978/First Trip to Bologna 1978, two time-frames are juxtaposed: the first is made up of still frames from the recovered film reels, while the second blends photos taken by both Seiichi Furuya and Christine Gössler.
Although geographically distant, Castelfranco Veneto in Veneto and Lecce in Puglia come together and connect through the work of Irina Rozovsky and Mark Steinmetz. Invited to Italy in 2021 for a residency, they interpreted the places, the silhouettes, and the moments to create an intimate and familiar story. Insieme is made up of these places they passed through, where natural authenticity emerges almost unexpectedly.
To complete the trip, we return to Naples, where the gentle gestures of everyday life make one forget the sometimes harsh lives of the inhabitants of a long-neglected Southern Italy.
In Silence Is a Gift, Ciro Battiloro pays tribute to these neighbours, these friends, who modestly embody the warm and moving simplicity of these people we know so little about.
