Wonderful Italy in Massimo Listri's photographs for Treccani

One of the most fascinating journeys Palaces and gardens of Italy: from the majestic Diana Gallery from the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale to the baroque splendor of the Royal Church of San Lorenzo in Turin; with its scenographic refinement of Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella, suspended between sumptuous rooms and gardens on the lake, to the suggestion of the Racconigi Castle, with its historic cabinets. It is Wonderful Italy, a volume published by the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, on the centenary of its foundation, which celebrates art, history and culture of our country through the unique gaze of Massimo Listri, master of art and architectural photography. Alongside the architecture, there is space for the masterpieces of the landscape and garden art: the romantic Villa Park Durazzo Pallavicini in Genoa, with its temples and kiosks exotic; the famous Nymphaeum of the Villa Visconti Borromeo Litta in Lainate, a jewel of ingenuity and imagination just outside Milan; up to the refined Italian garden of Villa Arconati, more Milanese treasure chest embellished with Baroque fountains and statues. journey also touches the heart of the Capital, where the gaze of Listri rests on authentic symbols of Roman greatness, from the solemn perspectives of Palazzo Colonna to the environments of Palazzo Farnese, restoring the essence of a city that is together a cradle of history and a laboratory of beauty. The text introduces this itinerary of wonders by Massimo Bray, general director of Treccani, and the preface by the philologist and historian Luciano Canfora, who intertwine historical, cultural and civil reflections with visual storytelling by Listri. Wonderful Italy is not just an art book, but a true declaration of love towards Italy: a mosaic of eras, styles and landscapes that gives the reader the extraordinary continuity between nature and culture, a figure distinctive of our heritage. "Photograph after photograph, Listri's gaze reconstructs what the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella recently defined the 'suggestive mosaic' of the our cultural heritage, dominated by an impression of harmonious coherence but, at the same time, extraordinarily heterogeneous,” explains Bray. As in previous publications dedicated to large places of Italian art, Listri's gaze transforms spaces into metaphysical scenarios, suspended between silence and light, capable of restore the continuity between nature and culture that characterizes the heritage of our country. Every photograph thus becomes testimony of an Italy where time overlaps and the eras converse, offering the reader a suggestion of eternity. Characterized by an elegant format and refined care editorial, Wonderful Italy presents itself as a work of art collection, intended for scholars, enthusiasts and all those who wish to discover or rediscover the most authentic soul of the our country. The volume is available in two dedicated editions to the bookshop circuit, one in Italian and one in English, in on sale from November 7th. The Great Works version, with texts in Italian and English, is enriched by a selection of images additional captured in One Last Look, a final chapter with fifteen breathtaking photographs, published on a double page. All versions will also be sold through the channel e-commerce Emporium.