© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

The human being lived a long time as a nomad before settling through agriculture. Pastoralism is an activity that is still there to remind us of our past. It speaks to us of a different relationship with space, with time, of coexistence with animals, of a centuries-old domestication practice, of a problematic relationship with the development of the private property, and the civilization of territorial regulation. History is full of episodes of conflict between shepherds and farmers, ethnic clashes, bans, and prohibitions. Shepherds are figures that have almost disappeared from urban imaginaries, almost inconceivable.

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

In Italy, transhumance, an ancient practice that led to moving livestock during the seasons from mountain pastures to green valleys in the plains, today appears less and less practicable. We can observe sheep crossing inhabited centers, between traffic lights, queuing cars, impatient motorists. Yet the children have fun. They look curious; they see the mules, the dogs, and the shepherds coming out of fairy tales. Pastoralism still speaks to us all of "otherness", a diversity, and perhaps a chance. And so are Giulia Degasperi's photos, showing us a face of alpine farming. In her portraits, we observe young breeders, who seem to mock hostile modernity with a gentle spontaneity. It seems they have embraced a different everyday life that flows alongside natural rhythms.

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

In an economy that tends to standardize behaviors and products, limit access to land, confining it to rigid schemes, how long will this choice of life be sustainable? Perhaps as long as there is someone to tell the possibility, there is hope.

© Giulia Degasperi from the series 'These Dark Mountains'

Giulia Degasperi (website)