The third itinerary of the Viaggi Domenicali Minimi project is entitled "La Casa e le Stagioni: Roncocesi e dintorni", and winds through Cavazzoli, Roncocesi and Campegine. Along the path, we’ll stop at places of historical interest, such as the Church of San Giulio and Casa Cervi, with a lunch break at the Camurein farm and, finally, a brief visit to the Luigi Ghirri Foundation.

This itinerary explores some of the places dear to Luigi Ghirri, winding along the banks of the Po River and through three towns that also served as settings for Il Mondo di Luigi Ghirri, the 1999 film directed by Gianni Celati: Guastalla, Gualtieri and Luzzara.

“Flat as a pancake” was how the renowned American photographer Paul Strand described the lower Po Valley when he first visited the area with his wife Hazel to work on the project and photobook Un Paese, conceived in 1952 together with Cesare Zavattini.

The idea for this itinerary also grew out of our friendship with Fondazione Un Paese – Centro Culturale Cesare Zavattini, which collaborated with us in organising the event.

This short journey is therefore also an opportunity to explore the history of this territory and the precious cultural heritage preserved by institutions such as Fondazione Un Paese and Fondazione Antonio Ligabue. Between the two, we will stop in the golena — the floodplain along the riverbanks — at the historic Locanda dei Pontieri, where we will enjoy a lunch featuring tortelli and other local specialities.

For the first time, the Foundation opened its doors to the public.

The summer visit focused on a selection of Luigi Ghirri's editorial projects, exploring the importance of the photobook in his artistic practice and poetic vision.

This project stems from Luigi Ghirri's reflection on the need to reconnect, through the act of looking, with the world around us and the places we inhabit. In 1973, Ghirri wrote that the journeys which fascinated and surprised him most had little to do with exotic destinations or distant places. Instead, they were what he called "Sunday day trips": explorations undertaken within just a few kilometres of home.

Inspired by this idea, the initiative invites participants to cycle along routes shaped by Ghirri's gaze, travelling through landscapes connected to his biography and artistic imagination. The aim is to continue exploring and interpreting these places while encouraging a slow, shared way of observing the world.

The first itinerary, Luigino: The Places of Childhood, took place on 24 May—Bob Dylan's birthday, Luigi's favourite musician. Participants explored Scandiano, Fellegara and the surrounding area in search of Luigi Ghirri's birthplace and other locations he photographed throughout his life.

On the occasion of Giovane Fotografia Italiana | Premio Luigi Ghirri, the Foundation commissioned the design of the award from Alessandro Cupello, founder and designer of AOpunto, with the intention of fostering a dialogue between the different disciplines and practices pursued by emerging creatives.

We drew inspiration from the cover of Kodachrome, created by Paola Borgonzoni in 1978. The reason is simple: Luigi was in that moment a young photographer who, through his own publishing house, Punto e Virgola, self-published one of his projects for the first time. The photographs featured in Kodachrome represented something truly experimental and groundbreaking at the time in several respects, beginning with Luigi's pioneering use of colour and the type of film he chose.

The award therefore embodies what Giovane Fotografia Italiana is—and should continue to be: an encouragement for young photographers to pursue a personal, independent, and courageous photographic language.

Congratulations to Federica Torrenti, winner of the 2026 Luigi Ghirri Award with the project La Fortezza.

The making of the new award was documented in a short film by VERACE, a young creative agency based in Reggio Emilia dedicated to promoting local stories, initiatives, and cultural projects.

A day dedicated to exploring the work of the artist and illustrator Katsumi Komagata. His daughter, Ai Komagata, an illustrator and designer, led two workshops at the Fondazione Ghirri, open to children and adults. Participants were invited to explore the potential of paper as a tool for telling stories and creating images. Visual storytelling, the world of fairy tales and childhood provided a shared ground between the artistic vision of Luigi Ghirri and that of Katsumi Komagata.

Book launch

With Adele Ghirri, Francesco Zanot and Alessandro Calabrese.