Davide Degano
in Gaspé

Romanzo Meticcio explores Italy’s ongoing struggle to define itself as a multicultural nation. The project connects the country’s colonial past with present-day migration—both internal and international—while inviting critical reflection on the legacy of Fascism and empire. Unlike other colonial powers, Italy’s post-colonial legacy remains largely unexamined in public discourse, though it continues to shape architecture, language, education, and national identity.  

Italian colonialism overlaps with internal dynamics, such as the creation of the Città di fondazione during Fascism, which prompted significant internal migration. These layered histories have generated a national narrative rooted in marginalisation—of the South, of minorities, and of second-generation Italians. This marginalisation is often silenced or minimised, rather than confronted through public debate.  

To navigate these complexities, I adopted an interdisciplinary approach grounded in intersectionality, where my photographic work enters into dialogue with archival material. This methodology allows for an analysis of overlapping forms of exclusion, rather than viewing each in isolation. Photography, especially during the 1930s, was used to legitimise racial hierarchies and reinforce marginalisation; images functioned as tools of exclusion. Romanzo Meticcio reclaims the visual as a space for critical engagement, echoing Ariella Aïsha Azoulay’s belief that political struggles are inseparable from the visual realm.  

Romanzo Meticcio attempts to reimagine Italian identity from its margins, beyond narratives of rejection or victimhood.  By exposing the silences in Italy’s post-colonial memory and its treatment of difference, the work aims to construct alternative imaginaries and cultural scenarios for the future. It argues for a discursive complexity that challenges the dominant paradigm and embraces the full spectrum of identities that shape contemporary Italy.