FRANCAVILLA AL MARE

I feel that much of the reason why I have become who I am today, I owe it to Francavilla and its calm atmosphere that was always in the background of my infanthood and adolescence.

To be fair though, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to leave Francavilla and discover the wider world. In the past years I have lived in Vancouver, Seoul, and Milan, all of which opened my mind and spirit to the complexities of the wolrd.

These experiences would have been impossible to make had I stayed in Francavilla but I realized that they actually made me appreciate more my town. While some could consider it a pity, I think that there is a certain beauty in the stillness of Francavilla. Knowing that in this fast-changing world there is a place that, no matter what, will remain familiar to me, is kind of comforting.

With this I don't want to say that I hope the town stays the same forever and luckily that has not been the case (especially from a cultural point of view). In fact, part of the stillness I was referring to above is given by Francavilla's most prominent feature and absolute protagonist of my photos and memories: the sea.

It is difficult to fully explain how Francavilla's sea makes me feel every time I see it after a long period of "abstinence". It is a bit like meeting an old friend that you grew up with and that, after a warm embrace, tells you: "Welcome back! I have been waiting for you".