These Dark Mountains

The project captures the ancient practice of alpine farming in Italy, which is now threatened by abandonment and climate change. The images document the solitude and labor required to sustain life in the complex and harsh environment of the Alps.

These Dark Mountains captures the lives of people working in the Italian Alps. The project took place during the traditional pasture season, in which alpine farmers move with their livestock from their permanent settlements in the valleys to temporary settlements in the mountains. This ancient practice created one of the most species-rich and diverse landscapes in Europe, but it is now increasingly threatened by factors such as abandonment and climate change.

Over the course of two years, I visited several alpine farms to document the solitude and extraordinary labor required to sustain life at nature's fragile edge.
 Since alpine imagery is often used by the media to represent an idyllic landscape for escaping urban turmoil, I felt the need to explore the realities of alpine pastures beyond their physical allure. By photographing the alpine farmers and their surroundings, I analyzed their experience and documented the way they interact with their landscape, animals, and the non-human world.


In our anthropocentric world, one in which humans have such an invasive presence and where production is valued over sustainability, these vast landscapes represent immense wealth. I believe that if we care and respect these fragile environments in their wholeness, in both their beauty and complexity, there is still hope for mountain life to be compatible with modern times.