Val Marebbe
The origins of my love for photography and my childhood in the Dolomites.
During my early years, to escape from the hectic city life in Milan, my family stayed in the Marebbe Valley for most summers and winters. For my parents and grandparents, the drive North from Milan became routine. The small mountain town of San Vigilio di Marebbe became my second home growing up.
My grandparents always valued the fresh mountain air. So, around three decades ago, they bought a small apartment in San Vigilio. It was originally meant for them two as it had one bedroom, bathroom and living room. However, since it’s on the third and last floor they decided to open up the attic and make a second bedroom under the roof. And that’s where my brother and I would sleep.
From the year I was born, and before I could walk, I was introduced to the valley and mountains surrounding San Vigilio, on the back of my dad. Soon enough I started taking my first few curious steps, learning the freedom that comes with walking. As a child I always wanted to find out where every trail led to. I continued following the lead of my parents and got to know this beautiful valley.
A river runs through the 12 km of the Marebbe Valley, and along the river, the first stop from the village was “la spiaggetta”, “the little beach”. This was where the forest opened up and the river divided into smaller streams that crossed golden grass fields and green shrubs. Along these streams , a mix of gravel and grass formed “the little beach”.
During the weekdays my dad would go back to Milan to work, so with my mom and my brother we walked the ten minutes from our house to “the little beach”. As kids, we played collecting rocks of the right shape and size to build dams across these little streams. We sometimes managed to reduce the water flow a bit, but I wouldn’t really call them dams. There was still joy in seeing how the water would always find a way to make its way through the rocks no matter what we tried. I also remember picking up the yellow and slimy rocks in the streams to try to observe the life that hid under them. Mostly small freshwater invertebrates. Another pastime was to find boulders that were barely my height and find climbing lines on them using a tiny pebble as the climber. It was a simple but happy life.
As I grew older we started going up higher, hiking into the mountains above the valley, trying to drag my younger brother along. The more I walked, the more I found myself at home. I felt at ease amongst the pines that point to the peaks, the scent of the air after a storm, the smell of the wet logs on the forest bed and the sound of my steps on the gravel.
The years passed and I became part of the seasonal cycles of the valley. I watched the fog lift in the morning air heated by the sun, the snow blow off trees after the first snowfall, the water level changed in the stream as the rain came and went. I wanted to capture and cherish these fleeting moments in nature. At first I used my first iPhone to snap photos, then upgraded to a point and shoot camera. I found it powerful to store and share my experiences lived in those mountains. In 2016 I bought my first DSLR camera.
After lots of bad first photos, I soon learned to express my sense of connection to a place through my lens. It’s an incredible feeling to look at one of my images and feel what it was like to be there. To relive the silent walks around San Vigilio, the light, the clouds, the river and the mountains.
I am thankful for my roots that I have grown deep in San Vigilio. It is possible for a place to become part of a person’s identity. A place that drew you to its elements in such a way to shape your values and passions. The Marebbe Valley and San Vigilio are that place for me.
