How long is the night

For 83 days the town of Viganella isn't illuminated by the sun, hidden behind the natural barrier formed by the valley, thus finding itself immersed in a constant shadow that changes colours and moods

The Antrona Valley (from the Latin antrum i.e. a deep, dark cave) is a territory which, for centuries, has been explored and excavated in search of gold and today boasts countless abandoned and forgotten mines.

Here lies Viganella, a town of about two hundred inhabitants which, between 11 November and 2 February, for 83 days, is not illuminated by the sun, hidden behind the natural barrier formed by the valley, thus finding itself immersed in a constant shadow that changes colours and moods.

The origins of the village in this position are lost in time, but it is assumed that it emerged around the year 1200 (the date of the oldest document that mentions the village and its community of miners and charcoal merchants), motivated by the exploitation of the local area.

The prolonged absence of the sun, as a reference but also a symbol of life and hope, provoked a visionary and poetic reaction: the installation of a large rotating mirror, on top of the mountain to the north, enabling the sun’s rays to be reflected onto the town.

For all the inhabitants, 11 November 2006 is “the day of light”, the magical moment in which the mirror, weighing 1100 kg, was inaugurated, installed uphill from the village at an altitude of 1050 metres, in the district of Scagiola, where on clear days the sun arrives and stays from 9 am to about 3 pm, giving the town square about six hours of reflected light.

This year, however, after 15 years of operation, the mirror did not work, due to problems which have yet to be cleared up, leaving the town in darkness.

Through photo archives, using portraits and landscapes, I have attempted to stratify my visual investigation into a place which, just like the photographic medium, suffers from the lack of light and, hence, the same need to make use of artificial lights. In addition to the desired and sought-after meeting with the inhabitants, in particular the creator of the Viganella mirror, Pier Franco Midali, and his wife, Paola Ghessi.

© Filippo Venturi - A horse inside a private land bordered by iron bars. Antrona Valley, Italy, 2021.
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A horse inside a private land bordered by iron bars. Antrona Valley, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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On the second step of access to the bell tower of the Church, there is this stone with the engraving of a symbol whose meaning is unknown. Parish Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (16th century), Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Manipulated archival photograph. Viganella, Italy, 2021
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Manipulated archival photograph. Viganella, Italy, 2021

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Matteo Di Gioia, one of the founders of "Underground Adventures", an association born from the passion for caving and exploration. The Antrona Valley (from the Latin antrum, meaning deep and dark cave) is a territory that, for centuries, has been explored and excavated in search of gold and which today has countless abandoned and forgotten mines. Antrona Valley, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Landscape overlooking the town of Viganella. Viganella, Antrona Valley, 2021.
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Landscape overlooking the town of Viganella. Viganella, Antrona Valley, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Rosa Sebastiani, 20, student of the Locarno Film School (CISA - International Conservatory of Audiovisual Sciences - FILM Academy). She is a member of the film crew in charge of shooting a documentary about the village of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Davide Londero, 20, student of the Locarno Film School (CISA - International Conservatory of Audiovisual Sciences - FILM Academy). He is a member of the film crew in charge of shooting a documentary about the village of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Aires Cristiano, 21, student of the Locarno Film School (CISA - International Conservatory of Audiovisual Sciences - FILM Academy). He holds the role of director of the documentary on the village of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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The mirror of Viganella, weighing 11 quintals, installed upstream of the town at 1050 meters. above sea level, in the locality of Scagiola, where on clear days the sun comes and stays from 9 am to about 3 pm, giving the town square about six hours of reflected light. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - The Provincial Road that leads to Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.
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The Provincial Road that leads to Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Gate of a house in the central streets of the town of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.
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Gate of a house in the central streets of the town of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Pier Franco Midali, 61, former Mayor of Viganella and creator of the Mirror. Viganella, Italy, 2021.
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Pier Franco Midali, 61, former Mayor of Viganella and creator of the Mirror. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Seventeenth-century banner of the "Good Death", kept inside the church, with the human skeleton on the front. Parish Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (16th century). Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Pier Franco Midali, former Mayor of Viganella and creator of the Mirror, observes the valley in the shade after an unsuccessful maintenance intervention. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Wood near Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.
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Wood near Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - A cat in the central streets of the town of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.
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A cat in the central streets of the town of Viganella. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Detail of a wooden panel of the seventeenth-century confessional with the evident sun-shaped engravings, made by the master Giorgio De Bernardis. Parish Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (16th century), Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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Paola Ghessi, in her own home, wife of Pier Franco Midali, former Mayor of Viganella and creator of the Mirror. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Image from the How long is the night photography project
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The village of Viganella on 12 November 2021, under the shadow line created by the natural barrier formed by the valley. Viganella, Italy, 2021.

© Filippo Venturi - Detail of an abandoned mine in the mountains of the Antrona Valley, whose road is flooded. Antrona Valley, Italy, 2021.
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Detail of an abandoned mine in the mountains of the Antrona Valley, whose road is flooded. Antrona Valley, Italy, 2021.

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