Flood, Medication Blues started in order to document the great flood of the Po, Italy’s longest and widest river, which occurred last November 2013. We focused on a relatively limited area, between the cities of Cremona and Parma, and soon realized there was a “small world” along the river, inhabited by people who deliberately choose to live there to isolate themselves from urban society. Not without hesitation, we started spending time with them.

In the aftermath of a flood, the perception of a landscape changes dramatically: these extreme circum- stances provide the context in which we want to describe and interpret the lives of these people. Until the 1970s it was common to build huts and shacks along the river. But then the area became contaminated by nearby industrial sites, and the local communities progressively abandoned it. Today the river is still regarded as intimidating, dangerous, and distant. Nonetheless, some people have always felt a strong connection with the river and prefer living there rather than in cities. Their self-isolation is neither about poverty nor marginalization. Their bond with the river is so strong that they refuse to leave their illegal homes even when the floods put them in serious danger.
We are interested in the symbolic and emotional relationship between humans and the natural landscape, and in the spirituality of the rural communities along the river.