Matteo runs. Runs from six this morning, runs since he quit his job at the company. He runs on the frozen mud of the trails that climb towards the sharp peaks of the mountains, only to descend again through yellowed meadows dotted with half-melted snow and beset by bogs. His run is an obstinate rhythm that dissolves into with the rugged landscape. His laboured breaths mingle with those of the mountain herdsmen splitting wood for the winter. Their cabin, made of light stone and new wood, stands out vividly against the darkness of the mountains and the forest in the background. The guard dogs bark at Matteo’s sudden and swift passage, with the same wariness with which they respond to the hushed rustlings coming from the woods.

In Trentino, some landscapes resemble the dense, arcane forests that underlie the mysteries of Twin Peaks. Other sceneries look like lifeless rocky planets sprung from the imagination of a sci- fi director. As the year draws to a close, the red firs and larches ignite like flames as they run back slantingly towards the peaks of the mountains, while the junipers stand black and contorted against the limestone debris of glacial landslides. Dinosaurs footprints got imprinted in these rocks about 210 million years ago, now remaining as faded testimony to a remote world. Those of a bear found in the woods behind the woodshed instead are just a few hours old. The marks of its teeth and claws are etched into the back of Erika’s car, where it tried to get at the cheese destined for the village. In the meadow around the woodshed and stables, a large black workhorse and a handful of plump cows peacefully graze on the frosted grass, while a dozen cats skitter and scramble around the hay bales.

Here, external elements often intrude into internal domestic spaces. This is the case in Fero’s home, where the wooden furniture is topped with halved geodes he found in his researches among the mountains – their open faces displaying the delicate impressions of prehistoric plants – and bundles of drying herbs hang against the stone walls. He knows the woods and their many moods. Certain families of plants and rocks pertain only to each altitude. Where the pressure drops and breathing becomes more rarefied, whether one uses a pickaxe on the rock or runs on a steep slope, the ascent brings with it a dual effect: intense fatigue clouds the thoughts, but once the summit is reached, an unexpected clarity washes over them.

Thanks to our friends at Runaway and Fratta Cucola for helping us realize this project.