Venature: portraits of Sirmione’s nature

Mattia Marzorati’s photography book,
BOOK 03 of the Sirmione Photo Residency, published by the Municipality of Sirmione, has been presented.

“During my residency in Sirmione, I attempted an exercise: to turn my gaze exclusively to plants, seeking signs of vitality and resistance in these non-human subjects […]. I was interested in describing an aesthetically splendid and historically rich territory—thus already abundantly represented—by focusing on a seemingly marginal and non-characterizing aspect. I sought a sort of counter-narrative (or a counter-postcard) to remind us that even here, amidst this obvious beauty, without plants there would be nothing. […] The attempt to ignore the human presence and isolate the plants from the urban context became for me a new way of observing the territory.”

Mattia Marzorati, from the introduction to “VENATURE”.

On Friday, October 24, 2025, at Palazzo Callas Exhibitions, VENATURE, Mattia Marzorati’s new photography book, was presented, the fruit of the Sirmione Photo Residency 2024.
This project stems from a profound observation of the plant world and the desire to convey the silent complexity of nature through an essential and poetic visual language.

The volume, published by the Municipality of Sirmione, embodies Marzorati’s experience during the photography residency, confirming itself as an important step in the Sirmione Photo Residency‘s research into the relationship between image, environment, and territory. It is a cultural and social document destined to endure and enrich the shared memory of the Sirmione community.

The evening, introduced by the Mayor of Sirmione, Luisa Lavelli, featured Mattia Marzorati in conversation with Michele Smargiassi, journalist and photography critic, and Ludovica Pellegatta, Partnerships Director of Magnum Photos, who, along with Andrèa Holzherr, the agency’s Global Cultural Director, oversaw the project’s implementation. The discussion touched on the work’s central themes: the relationship between people and the environment, the ability of images to reveal the invisible, and the need for a renewed ecological perspective. Michele Smargiassi also addresses these aspects in his introduction to the volume:

“If a portrait is a relationship between living beings, these are portraits. But if this is a portrait gallery, then, like any portrait gallery, it describes a group, a population, a society. What could be the botanical equivalent of sociology, of anthropology? The society of plants, located in a defined space and time, actually has a name: it’s called an ecosystem. In these pages, you will find a kind of botanical anthropology, the sociology of an ecosystem; a concentrated and singular lake ecosystem, that of the long Sirmione peninsula.”

Through the VENATURE project, the Sirmione Photo Residency renews its commitment to narrating the city of Sirmione, intertwining perspectives and languages ​​that reveal its complexity. With this constantly evolving publishing program, the Municipality of Sirmione promotes a journey of exploration and valorization of the territory, transforming it into an opportunity for cultural and social growth for the community. The Como-born photographer’s work fits within this shared vision, contributing to the creation of authentic and meaningful content, a living testimony to the richness of Sirmione’s human and natural landscape.

VENATURE fully enters the collective heritage of the Sirmione community, continuing the mission of the Sirmione Photo Residency: to build an archive of perspectives, memories, and interpretations of the area over time.

Sirmione Mayor Luisa Lavelli emphasizes the cultural and human significance of the Residency, which over the years has established itself as a place of creative freedom and profound reflection on the local area:

“The Sirmione Photo Residency was created to offer photographers the opportunity to engage in a profound dialogue with Sirmione, experiencing research and great creative freedom. It is a space for experimentation and exchange where the artistic gaze can intertwine with the memory and vitality of the area, creating new forms of storytelling. VENATURE marks a further step in the Residency’s journey: a project that combines artistic vision and a sense of place, contributing to the cultural life of Sirmione.”

Tourism Councillor Riccardo Genovesi reiterates the strategic and cultural value of the project:

“Three years of the Sirmione Photo Residency and sixteen years of the Sirmione Photography Award have established a solid path with its own voice and recognizable cultural identity. VENATURE enriches this trajectory, a volume that demonstrates how culture can be a living and enduring heritage, capable of generating thought, emotion, and beauty.
The Residency is now a constantly evolving project, fueled by the exchange with authors of different sensibilities and the desire to build bridges between photographic language and landscape. Our commitment is to continue with the same passion and ambition, consolidating Sirmione as a meeting place and a reference point for photography and culture”.

Contents

VENATURE offers a visual journey that delves into the smallest and most imperceptible details of the plant landscape, capturing its vital structure and secret poetry.
Through a rigorous and sensitive photographic language, Marzorati constructs a narrative of light, textures, and silences, in which nature becomes the protagonist of an open dialogue with the human gaze. The project was born as a reflection on the resilience of the natural world, but also as an invitation to develop a new ecological awareness.

The volume is enriched by a series of watercolor illustrations by Renata Barilli that accompany the photographs, offering a visual map of the territory explored by Marzorati.

The Residency

The Sirmione Photo Residency is a photography initiative by the Municipality of Sirmione that allows a photographer selected by Andréa Holzherr and Ludovica Pellegatta, respectively Global Cultural Director and Partnerships Director of Magnum Photos, to spend two weeks in Sirmione, freely creating their own photography project related to the city.

At the end of the project, the best photographs are selected and published in a book. The artistic direction of the project and the book is entrusted to Andrea Holzherr and Ludovica Pellegatta.

The Sirmione Photo Residency is part of a broader project that sees the city of Sirmione collaborating with leading international organizations to create innovative photography exhibitions and initiatives.

The volume

VENATURE
SIRMIONE PHOTO RESIDENCY BOOK03
Photographs by ©Mattia Marzorati
Text by Michele Smargiassi and Mattia Marzorati
Watercolor illustrations by Renata Barilli
Publisher: ©Comune di Sirmione
Layout and graphics: Novity
Printing: Tipografia Soldini
2025 edition, print run: 500 copies

The book is available at the Culture Office of the Municipality of Sirmione.

Sirmione Photo Residency will continue in 2026, along with all the other events of the Sirmione Photography Award.

In the gallery, we present the book, some of the VENATURE shots, and some moments from the presentation evening.