This intense and moving photographic exhibition retraces the scars left on the ground by the Great War and the Second World War. It takes us on a journey to explore how, from the ashes of the battles fought on the mountains of the Alps and the Carpathians, the idea of a united Europe came into being.
The exhibition “Si combatteva qui!” (Here they fought!), by Alessio Franconi, is hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute of Helsinki and opens on 23 February 2022.
Starting from his family’s stories, Alessio Franconi embarked on a long journey that took him to snowy peaks and icy forests, retracing in the trenches a pain that the terrain still conveys at a distance of nearly a century. Crossing borders and traversing the countries of Europe it was impossible for the artist not to reflect on how the European treaties ensure peace and free movement in the very same places as bunkers and trenches were once built. A journey to witness the difference between the young people of that era, called to fight, and today’s young people, who are able to enjoy initiatives such as the Erasmus programmes to explore and discover Europe.
“Here they fought!” has already been shown at 28 exhibitions in five European countries. It enjoys the patronage of the European Commission.
