Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian

Today we take you to a fairy tale world, a world of magical, forgotten places and great passion.

And our very special guide will be … Ted, a teddy bear who has become a star (remember those two films with Mark Wahlberg?).

This mysterious world has been created by Marco Cappelletti, 50 years old, born and bread in Panzano like his family before him.

He’s a mechanic by trade, and he’s always been passionate about photography and the territory where he lives.

“He started taking photos about 4 years ago – Ted begins his story – it all started by chance. As a child he used to like painting very much, and to face a difficult period in his life, he thought of taking up his brushes again. I saw him leave the house with the camera, and thought he wanted to photograph something as an inspiration for a painting”.

“In the evening – continues Ted – as I was watching him from my spot above the desk, as he was checking the photographs taken that day, I suddenly realised that something magical was happening… Marco was falling in love. From that day on, he has never gone out without his camera, that has become a faithful friend in all his adventures”.

“I can’t explain exactly what drives me to take pictures – Marco takes the floor – perhaps the desire to communicate with others, the desire to express myself, perhaps a little bit of exhibitionism. Above all, I was struck by the fact that before shooting you have to look very carefully, photography forces you to study and think about what you see, and the elements you want to stand out in your image. Photography is not simply looking at things, it makes you appreciate the world around you in a different way”.

“I started with the idea of ​​taking beautiful photos – continues Marco – but then I realised that it’s more important for a photographer to be able to make people perceive what you want to communicate. Each photo is generally appreciated in different ways, people see and interpret an image through their own personal experience. This gives great communication potential to the images, and aesthetics become less important”.

“In these years – Marco says – thanks to photography, I’ve managed to discover a different dimension from everyday reality. The work done for San Piero a Sillano was the most intense photographic project for me. The chance of spending time inside those dilapidated rooms, which are steeped in history, has changed me, giving me the impetus to find out more about my territory. As a result, I started taking long walks through these valleys and hills, and I rediscovered many forgotten places and buildings, which have a deep historical and cultural value”.

“Besides San Piero a Sillano – Marco talks about his exhibitions – where I showed my work side by side to some excellent photographers, I had an exhibition dedicated to “Vigne” (Vineyards) and another one entitled “Buon Vino fa buon sangue” (Good wine makes good blood). In the latter I wanted to show the historical and human relationship that wine, the main product of these lands, creates. After all, the wine produced here is famous all over the world”.

L’altro Chianti” (The other Chianti) is my best work – Ted interrupts – thanks to my interpretation we’ve managed to transform a very popular territory, into a world filled with fantasy and mystery. I had so much fun, we visited forgotten places, which are disarmingly beautiful. Like the waterways, the ruins of the many hydraulic works that were used in the early 1900s, the old paths or the mule tracks that have almost disappeared”.

“These are the works in which I exhibited my photos – Marco says – now I’ve decided to commit myself to safeguarding the identity of our territory. Chianti has been too commercialised, used in all those place that could make money, other parts have been abandoned, wherever it was more difficult to make an economic gain. Pieces of this territory’s history have often been forgotten, but these are important elements without which we would never have arrived at where we are today”.

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