The research of Finnish-American photographer Arno Minkkinen focused on the landscape marked by anthropogenic presence, in particular the relationship between the human presence and natural elements, which was investigated by Minkkinen by adding elements of surrealist irony, where the human body is the subject and object of perception, in analogy to what philosopher Maurice Merleau Ponty expressed. Working specifically on the self-portrait, Arno on the Arno (2016) takes on the features of a personal challenge: Arno versus Arno, as he himself likes to say, underlining his homonymy with the river. A “game of chess that you win and lose at the same time, whose final result can only be known ex post”.

Massimo Vitali’s lens privileges crowded places, mostly the seashores brimming with people in bathing suits. The diptych commissioned by the RIVA Project (2016) is no exception: Vitali’s focus on the Arno yields images of two places distant from one another with a common denominator, the gathering of humans. The river is a place of aggregation, both for Fishermen, locals in a moment of relaxation, engaged in pleasant fishing competitions along the banks near the Cascine Park, and for Ponte Vecchio – Marangoni, with crowds of tourists lingering on the most famous bridge in the world. It is a frame that tells of an iconic landmark from an inner and improbable perspective, distant

from traditional iconography featuring the bridge and its goldsmith shops in the city landscape.

In collaboration with Fondazione Studio Marangoni

Instead of using traditional photography techniques, the American photographer Jay Wolke relied on a small portable high-resolution scanner to explore varied surfaces and plots, which he then assembled and post-produced in a kaleidoscopic synthesis. By inverting the relationship between micro and macro, the author conveyed his investigation of the small elements on an innovative and monumental format, which translated small details into large and long vertical banners. Wolke used a combinatorial system to hold together the various souls of the Arno River, ranging from postcards for sale on noted tourist bridges to lichens on the cement of the river banks, icons linked to the imagery and the history of the river, plants and flowers growing spontaneously along the banks. Five key words were chosen by the author to pinpoint the various subjects displayed in the five works: Arno flow, Arno bridge, Arno love, Arno flood, Arno restore (2016).

Autumn Lights on the Arno (2016) is an immersive sound installation conceived and created by the acclaimed French composer for the urban environment of the Le Murate Complex on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Florence flood. This sound portrait of the river develops along two separate registers that give life to the soundscape of the Arno: an acoustic dimension, figurative and realistic, in which faraway voices and chirping birds from the river banks emerge from the continuous and steady white noise of the city; and an acousmatic dimension, a poised image, discreet, and devoted to the chant of water. This work stemmed from a field recording workshop produced in partnership with Tempo Reale that involved young local sound artists.

Third Garden (2016) is a park stretching over ten thousand square metres of land along the west bank of the Arno River. A green area that was finally returned to the city that can be explored by walking along the many trails drawn amidst the spontaneous vegetation; in memory of the ancient orti dei semplici (botanical gardens). The word “third” brings to mind Gilles Clément’s third landscape, which reminds us that spontaneous vegetation is an extraordinary reserve of biodiversity and evolutionary potential. The park, which can be seen here in an aerial photograph taken by Gabriele Galimberti, can be accessed from Piazza Poggi.

The Stones Stories (2018) site-specific installation stems from the encounters with the people living in the borough of San Francesco (Pelago) and their recollections of the Sieve River: in their imagery, as we hear from the interviews, the river has always been seen from within, in constant touch with water. That is why the new passage of the river from shore to shore reconnects two communities and makes it possible to experience the river from the centre of its course, possibly lingering on one of the stones surrounded by water.

Living (2016) was commissioned following the production award for young artists launched by MAD in the framework of the RIVA Project. The award was assigned to composer Francesco Pellegrino on the 50th anniversary of the 1966 flood. His multimedia installation conveys an original soundscape of the Arno River, where sound and visual images blend to create an immersive and contemplative space. The installation consists of hanging bamboo canes of varying lengths; each cane is played either like an aerophone (via a small engine that blows in air) or like a drum (vibrated mechanically), creating an aesthetic visual and acoustic environment. The length and arrangement of the canes, which play according to a random algorithm designed by the artist, evoke di erent paths and experiences and an indefinite and potentially infinite subjective fruition time.

The Days of the Flood (2016) gathers the results of a workshop focusing on the Arno River that involved students and young artists under-35 active in Tuscany. The participants worked as a real editorial board, initially drawing up and then producing a photo story about the river on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 flood. The choice of this form of sequential storytelling, pop and démodé, uses photographs to narrate a momentous event in the history of Florence in an ironic and modern fashion.

Arno Atlas (2013-2016) is a cycle of six audio documentaries devoted to the Arno River; a map of its emotional geography. A sound narrative project leaving space to the voice of the river and the city crossed by it, Florence, rich with stories linked to the Arno; sound design by Giulio Aldinucci. As shown in the map, the six tales can also be listened to in some specific spots along the river, which have a specific meaning for the tale itself.

Confluences (2018) is a series of three audio documentaries devoted to Montelupo genius loci, beginning with memories of the Arno and Pesa waterways. Relying on voices, testimonies and field recordings, Confluences brings together a heterogenous portrait of the Montelupo Fiorentino ecosystem, telling of its history connected with ceramic production under the imposing and disturbing presence of the Villa Medicea Ambrogiana, a former psychiatric hospital.