CORTONA ON THE MOVE
CORTONA ON THE MOVE PHOTO FAIR IN ITALY
Every year I try to explore something new in Italy. I’d heard so much about Cortona for such a long time, the food, the natural ingredients, the people and places to stay, so it was about time I decided to go visit this incredible place, made famous by both the novel and movie “ Under the Tuscan Sun”. Yes the views, the food and places to stay are all amazing but what impressed me most is the amount of cultural things to do and see there, from the Etruscan museum to this incredible photography festival Cortona On The Move., which I decided to focus on for this post.
The centre of town is Piazza della Repubblica square which is dominated by the magnificent 15th century town hall and clock tower (Palazzo Comunale). The rest of the town spirals out from the main square in a labyrinth of lanes and alleyways lined with of shops filled with local handicrafts, gastronomical delights and wine bars.
Just a short hop from the town centre you can visit Cortona’s fascinating hilltop Fortezza Girifalco, one of the exhibition sites of Cortona On The Move, as well as the beautiful sanctuary church of Cortona’s patron saint – Santa Margherita – located just below the fortress. Also worth visiting are the Museo Diocesano, the cathedral museum displaying important religious art such as the famous Annunciation of Beato Angelico, and above all the Etruscan Museum of Cortona, MAEC, which houses valuable relics found in the many Etruscan archaeological sites of the region.
And in a hidden gorge a little way to the northwest lies the Franciscan hermitage of Le Celle, the first monastery to be built by St.Frances of Assisi outside his home town, in 2011. Still inhabited by a small community of monks, you can visit the fascinating site to admire the tiny cell which was the Saint’s quarters, still perfectly preserved in its original state despite the many phases of construction work and restoration that have taken place over the intervening centuries
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS AND THE LANDSCAPE, SEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF CORTONA ON THE MOVE
Cortona On The Move has always been known for its interest in contemporary photography, yet with a continuous focus on the incessant evolution of the photographic language. Once again this year, works will be shown that open the mind, the heart and the senses. In this ninth edition, the artistic director focuses on the relationship between people, landscape and territory, through the language of contemporary photography, the works of great masters and historical archives. The transformation of places speaks of us: the environment around us reflects our thinking, our actions and our history. The works on show at Cortona On The Move 2019 document the complex and multifaceted relationship that raises questions about the present, the future and the past.
See slideshow below to see some of my personal favourites from the festival.
