NEWS

"I am very grateful to the author for the gift to Panevėžys and the people of Panevėžys - for the opportunity to see your exhibition. Its title says it is an exhibition about land and water, but I can see it reaching much deeper. This is an exhibition about Italy and Italians who care not only about the present but also about the future. Dear Michela, thank you for a piece of Italy in Panevėžys. Good luck in your future work and have the best possible experiences in our city," said Panevėžys City Mayor Rytis Račkauskas in his welcoming speech.

The subject of M. Petrocchi's photographs are small Italian agricultural farms that develop environmentally friendly agricultural activities in harmony with nature, protecting the environment, reviving neglected branches of crop production, maintaining the authentic landscape. The author sees all this as an alternative to the irresponsible and harmful waste of land.

"Land use is leading to unprecedented changes in landscapes, ecosystems and the environment. Rural landscapes are changing due to agricultural intensification, rural degradation and deforestation. I am very interested in this topic because I am a person very much attributed to the land, I have always lived in a rural area with animals. The environment is very important to me because I live in it every day," says M. Petrocchi.

By choosing the form of reportage and photographing farms in several areas of Tuscia, the artist aimed to "show reality without a filter". Her heroes are people who have motivated to choose their purpose and way of life, some of them have changed it by 180 degrees and decided to make brave changes. The photographer's stories about land, water and people, although very personal, talk about globally important things - the connection between man and nature, its transformation, which determines the future of our planet.

Michela Petrocchi is a 22-year-old photographer who lives and works in Gradoli, a small town in Alta Tuscia, located by the Lake Bolsena, in the province of Viterbo, Italy. She was interested in photography since childhood. She studied at an art school, after graduating in 2021, she enrolled in photography studies at the Lorenzo da Viterbo Art Academy. Currently, she is deepening her knowledge in reportage photography.

The friendship between Panevėžys and Gradoli was established during the implementation of the joint international project "Themes of Cooperation and Integration in Solving the Problems of Negative Propaganda, Youth Integration, Minorities, Migrants and Volunteers".