Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory

The project “Cityscapes – Digital Museum of Memory” presented by CAP – Cities Art Projects together with the artist Valeriana Berchicci, won the call Lazio Contemporaneo – Lazio Innova, promoted by Regione Lazio.

Who is the artist?

Valeriana Berchicci, (Termoli, 1987) is an artist interested in relational practices related to mass media experimentation who blends the study of the image with the creation of artistic “objects” by using photography, video, and installation.

One project, a thousand voices

The project, developed in 2021, took place in five districts of Rome: Torpignattara, Tor Bella Monaca, Corviale, Trullo and Centro and is divided into various phases. We started by carrying out interviews with the inhabitants of the neighborhoods who were asked to tell some memories about the places where they grew up or where they live. The audio tracks were subsequently uploaded to a digital platform consisting of a map with which the public can interact as if the city were an anthropomorphic being with a voice and memory. A final phase of the project consists of workshops, built in the same neighborhoods and aimed at various age groups. We used various tool to create an alternative representation of the places to the usual one: from drawing to photography, the workshops were a stimulating and interactive meeting moment that helped us to fully understand the nature of these places.

One project, a thousand voices

On the digital map, in correspondence with each district, it is possible to listen to the audio collected and it is also possible to upload others independently, enriching the platform. In another section there are also all the postcards and additional photographic / video material created during the project.

We have tried to show a hidden part of the city, hidden not only because the project presents areas of Rome that are not very touristy and sometimes unexplored, but also because it is not the architectural characteristics of the places that emerge but their memory and the memory of those who find them. has crossed.

The city is transformed into a chorus of emotions and memories ready to guide anyone who wants in a path that goes beyond the usual temporal and geographical lines. Not a tourist guide for those who are afraid of getting lost, but a map for those who want to experience a city rich in history like Rome in the deepest way.