Josef Koudelka – Radici (Roots). Historical evidence, the enigma of beauty

The journey of the great Czech photographer in the most important archaeological sites of the Mediterranean, in search of the roots of our history. A thirty-year-long project, an original and highly personal reflection on the ancient, on the landscape and on beauty.

More than one hundred stunning black and white panoramic shots narrate evocative and timeless places, following a wide path along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, from Spain to Israel, through Morocco, Italy, Egypt, Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon. Places rich in charm in which the ancient remains are captured with unexpected and ambivalent perspectives, the ruins represented through the eyes of Koudelka (1938) who manages to capture “an eternal tension between what is visible and what remains hidden, between enigma and evidence”. An exploration through the ancient landscape, to discover the work of one of the last great masters of modern photography.

Don’t miss the cycle of free web meetings, Roots. Views on the exhibition, a series of streaming conferences on the social channels of the Ara Pacis Museum: on May 11, the archaeologist Simone Foresta will describe how photography contributes to building a feeling for the ancient and for beauty; on June 8, the geographer Franco Farinelli will investigate the topicality of myth and the “mythological” character of Koudelka’s photography; on July 6, the archaeologist Emanuele Greco will explore the archaeological context in which Koudelka’s images were taken.