A Place That Lives Within

My grandparents grew up together in the small mountain town of San Vittore del Lazio in Italy. Marrying in their mid-twenties, they came to New York to build a home and a life together. They would return to the town every summer to enjoy the beauty and simplicity of life in their homeland. My grandmother, Assunta, passed away two years before I was born. Ever since her passing, my family never returned to the town. My grandfather, Luigi, trained in Italy as a craftsman, devoted his life to designing and building masterful furniture creations. Our home in Brooklyn is still full of his work. I was brought up surrounded by a close family and was immersed with stories of the past. I’ve always had a sense of nostalgia for a time that once was. In 2023, I embarked on a journey to experience this ancestral place that has so profoundly shaped who I am, hoping to experience a sense of that time for myself. I journeyed alone to the town of San Vittore del Lazio, wandering through medieval streets, la piazza, and up into olive groves in the nearby mountains. I immediately felt a deep connection to the scenic beauty of the land, as I experienced the presence of my grandparents throughout. During my day in the town, I shot a roll of film to record what I was experiencing around me. Since then, I have been reflecting upon this experience and its significance. I’ve continued this journey of learning about my ancestry, as I’ve uncovered archival photographs that belonged to my grandmother. Using these documents as inspiration, I intend to capture to the atmospheric beauty of my ancestral town and the spirit of my grandparents through the medium of oil painting. Beyond my personal experiences, this body of work is a reflection on what shapes our identities as human beings. Our families, the land that we are from, and times that came before us, are with us in spirit as we journey through our life on earth. Discovering these connections within us, can help us to further understand ourselves, our relationship to one another and the world.