Italy’s Most Surreal Theme Park
A new book featuring the work of Luigi Ghirri, renowned Italian photographer who shaped the language of the Italian landscape, offers surreal views of a miniaturized country.
Luigi Ghirri is known for his meticulously composed, nearly deserted views of beaches, playgrounds or city corners where human beings inhabit the landscape like fleeting, impermanent guests. In the book “Italia in Miniatura”, shot entirely in the homonymous park, featuring scale models of Italy’s major landmarks, the relationship between people and landscape is reversed.
© Luigi Ghirri. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
© Luigi Ghirri. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
Rocca Imperiale, Cosenza, by Ivo Rambaldi, from Italia in Miniatura. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
© Luigi Ghirri. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
Shot between the late 1970s and mid-80s, the series creates a surreal tension between visitors and architectural landmarks that came to symbolize Italian culture and collective imagination. The book also includes the park founder and designer’s sketches and reference images, made on research trips across Italy.
© Luigi Ghirri. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milano, by Ivo Rambaldi, from Italia in Miniatura. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
© Luigi Ghirri. Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
