Mariana lived in Genoa only for a few weeks and I hope that this female photoshoot in Nervi will be a beautiful souvenir of that time for her. I have already taken photos by the sea many times, but this time we went a step further (literally and figuratively) towards the water. We took portraits in the first days of autumn on Caprafico beach.
I wanted to recreate the relationship between man and the element, but not as an attempt to tame it, but as a harmonious coexistence. The portraits show this connection in a very feminine and sensual energy. After all, bathing in the sea is both a feeling of being lost in its vastness and the power of its limitlessness. It is a rhythmic dance that our body performs, surrendering to the waves. A sting of pain as salt water rushes into your eyes. The young moon was already visible in the sky, towering over the last rays of the setting sun. Many religions associate the moon with female energy because of its connection with both the menstrual cycle and the woman’s life cycle.
Nervi
Nervi is the easternmost district of Genoa and can be easily reached by train, which stops almost right on the seafront. Was it originally a Celt colony? Very likely. Its name comes from the saying “near av inn” – a place close to the sea. Its most beautiful part is the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi1 promenade suspended on the cliffs, which, attacked by waves, leads to a quiet port. Maybe this road still remembers its humble beginnings and the daily path of fishermen and farmers? Or the glory days when wealthy patricians built their summer residences here? Over time, the growing settlement absorbed the parks of seaside villas. The remaining parts of the gardens were combined into the Parchi di Nervi botanical complex. People here don’t talk much. Probably because the sea drowns them out.
Annotations:
1Wife and comrade-in-arms of Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi who united Italy.
