In April 2018 I had the opportunity to join a trip with three others, shooting forgotten buildings in rural and urban areas of Italy.
The trip lasted 5 days and although we were due to shoot two locations on the first day we had to abort these plans due to the flight being delayed, meaning we arrived in Italy no earlier than when the sun was setting.
We visited 23 locations throughout the three and a half days of shooting, meaning we shot around 5-8 places each day. This was an experience I found exhausting but extremely rewarding and I was soon to forgot the lack of sleep and early mornings because it meant we were able to fit as many stunning locations in as possible.
On the first day we wasted no time and were up and ready to leave at 6:30am we arrived at the first location at 7:30am.
Location 1 - Villa Puch- 7:30am
A Villa surrounded by farmland appeared nostalgic when I discovered the amount of photographs and sentimental objects left behind creating an eerie absence within the home this once was.
A photograph of a family member was found in the kitchen taken from a similar spot to where I was standing, it amazed me that this home had been abandoned for over 20 years but the objects within the house remain the same as if no one had ever left.
Location 2 - Vegetation Church- 9am
A small church found hidden in between a tight door way appeared overgrown and broken.
The ceiling had collapsed due to earthquake damage and nature was soon overgrowing inside the small narrow church.
Location 3 - Villa Knight - 11am
Shooting in this location was one of my favourites, the lighting was beautiful coming in from the stairway with a golden light and the statues were just fascinating to look at.
The impressive statues and spacious balcony featuring many artistic murals and architecture was fascinating to look at.
It appeared that the Villa was under construction and would soon be occupied by someone else as the property was found to be on the market for 2.7m.
Location 4 - Villa Farmhouse - 14:30
The next location we arrived at was a mistake as the sat nav had taken us to the wrong location, we still went inside this old farmhouse to check it out however the rooms and inside of the building were far too dark to shoot in as they had little natural light coming through.
There were some nice ceilings and murals however it was too dark to shoot so we left before long.
I remember there being a pair of the oldest roller skates I had ever seen and a blue bathroom covered in decay. There were also some men working in the empty building next door.
Location 5 - Villa Manor - 16:30
This was one of my favourite locations of the day, it had a wide spacious room that appeared to be a foyer with a round green sofa in the centre. What was strange was that peacocks surrounded this huge Villa and although we did not see them we did find one of their feathers outside close to the entrance we entered through. It was reckoned that this Villa had been abandoned over 40 years ago. We got some amazing light beam shots in this location where sunlight coming through the window and dust caused straight rays into the room.
The Villa was filled with sentimental objects such as documents, photographs, books, magazines and furniture that looked like it had not moved since abandonment. A thought that moved me was the fact there were clothes still hung up in the wardrobes and pots and pans on the stove in the kitchen as well as packets of food on the table, it was as though everything in the Villa had been frozen in time since the last people who lived here were there. In the dining room were glasses and alcohol placed on the table and a record on the music player as if they had one last supper and drink before leaving to wherever it was. This was uncanny and made me feel as though I was exploring somewhere within a different time period.
Next to the old retro television were piles of what I guessed to be magazine guides as the 'OGGI' magazine reads 'Today, What will give us in 1962 Tv Mother' this was among many other piles of newspapers and magazines surrounding the old TV.
Location 6 - Broken Down Hotel - 19:00
The second to last location of the day was a broken down hotel damaged by earthquakes. When entering we found piles of chairs and tables and when going up what was a twin set of stairs we found what looked like a door bell on the wall as if it was a front door going through to a dining room/ meeting room. It was beginning to get closer to dusk at this point as the sun had started setting meaning we just about had time for one more location to finish off the first day.
Location 7 - Sunset Church - 20:00
This was the last location of the day and was another victimised building of an earthquake as the churches ceiling had collapsed and was soiled in rubble it was difficult to set up the equipment and to get around the inside of the building.
As the sun was setting it created a beautiful golden light inside the church that beamed off of the walls, it was a nice location to end the first day with as the sunset made something destructed by natural disaster appear so beautiful.
The first day was tiring and we were shooting from 7:30am - 8:30pm which was exhausting but so worthy of the amazing shots and experiences. My favourite locations from the day were Villa Knight, Villa Puch and Villa Manor. Even though all locations I thoroughly enjoyed as I now have a range of shots and experiences from each location.
We finished Day 1 eating incredible Italian pizza on the side of the road at 11pm and it was the best ending to a tiring but exciting day.