Biancospino-Prugno-Fico
Manifesto per il 44° anniversario della strage fascista alla stazione di Bologna
2 agosto 1980 - 2 agosto 2024

curated by ife collective with Giulia Deganello
02.08.2024
Municipality of Marano Vicentino (VI)

Hawthorn, keep me close and reconnect the points.
Plum, from here the jams for our smiles.
Fig, you stretch out, connecting the earth and the sky, and meanwhile
those below enjoy your vast shade.

Biancospino-Prugno-Fico *Hawthorn-Plum-Fig* is the commemorative manifesto for the 44th anniversary of the fascist massacre at Bologna railway station in 1980, created for the Municipality of Marano Vicentino, in memory of all the victims, including the two residents of Marano Vicentino, Elisabetta Manea and Roberto De Marchi, mother and son.

Drawing from the memories of Mario De Marchi, son and brother of the victims, and from the domestic garden, the green niches of the journey the two were to undertake— from Marano Vicentino to Putignano, passing through Bologna—were identified. The fragmentation and abstraction of forms, based on the compositions of shadows from aerial views, in collaboration with artist Giulia Deganello, allow for the creation of an alternative map that links these places, creating a new geography. This archipelago then intersects with the figures below, namely the silhouettes of the trees and plants dear to Elisabetta Manea and the entire family: the hawthorn, her favorite tree; the plum tree with its fruits destined for jams; and the wise fig tree.

During a conversation with her son Mario, it emerged that the garden represented the place of peaceful labor for his mother, who dedicated herself to growing flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The children, in this maternal microcosm, were called to care for the earth by hoeing and doing small tasks, which were not appreciated at the time, especially due to the impetuousness that adolescence brings, but were valuable lessons of care in the present.

Photo by Giulia Deganello