l'ippocampo
by Manuela Naddeo
portfolio special mention call 'Urbanautica Institute Awards 2023', 2023
Category: Anthropology and Territories
In Greek and Roman mythology, the hippocampus is often associated with the sea god: depicted as having the upper body of a horse and the lower body of a fish, it represents the connection between land and water. Last summer, this legend came to my mind when I followed some horse tamers from the stables to the abusive racetrack by the sea. Here, on the outskirts of Torre Annunziata, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, dozens of tamers train every day. The landscape that frames them is a vast, abandoned coastline. Amidst the waste and abandoned beach resorts, near the mouth of the Sarno, which is known for being one of the most polluted rivers in Europe, only the memory of the myth remains: and even the jockeys themselves seem like a mere vision, just like the enviroment where they train everyday: the islet of Rovigliano – which, according to the legend, originated from Hercules’ tenth labour – and the very waters where Pliny saw his own passing while documenting, in 79 AD, the volcano eruption.
also from Urbanautica Institute Awards 2023