BY LUCA PERNINI

One of the primordial needs of man is to travel. This manifests clearly in some people, and less clearly in others. But it is undeniably there.

A purpose I have had since childhood is to discover the world around me a little at a time. This means looking not for distant or exotic places, but discovering and appreciating places close to our homes.

Through photography I am doing this, combining with my love for mountains to discover new hidden places a few miles from me. And the place that has become the emblem of this research is the Apennines, a mountain range that runs through all of Italy, from south to north.

The Majella is in the Central Apennines, and my adventure began on a Tuesday afternoon of a very hot summer. The destination was the Pelino shelter, on the peak of Mount Amaro. My companion and I started to walk with big backpacks filled with food and clothes for the cold weather and high altitude. But most importantly, courage was needed. When a local gentleman saw us on the path at that hour, he immediately made us aware that it was too late to arrive at the peak during the light of day. But we already knew we had to walk fast, because we knew that the late afternoon and the sunset were the best moments to enjoy those magical places.

And so we did. At a fast pace, filled with sweat, and with a few pauses to take pictures.

On the highland we were the only ones, apart from two other adventurers who were about to place a tent at a sheltered spot. We were alone; with the sound of the wind and the song of birds far away. Dark clouds occasionally covered the summit of Mount Amaro (our destination), and the temperature dropped rapidly with the sun.

Then the last endless steep climb to the summit, towards Pelino Bivouac.

Looking at the refuge from afar, we saw little men moving around it. The fear of not having a space to pass the night came over us. When we arrived at the bivouac, the orange sunset lights began to appear in the sky, and fear became a reality. The shelter was full, and the beds were sold out. The solutions were either to get a small space right next to the entrance of the structure, or to go to a cave about twenty minutes from there.

Of course we opted for the first.

We already knew it was going to be a long sleepless night. But the sunset that filled the sky, the sight of the stars during the night, and the Milky Way which we really enjoyed, made us feel that our efforts paid off.

The endless hours of the night in our uncomfortable bed ended at the very first light of dawn. As soon as the first light of sun entered through the little windows of the shelter, we put our things back into the backpack and went outdoors preparing for the descent.

Dawn colored everything with a golden light: we were in another world. The wonders of nature made us forget the pain of the awkward night.

[…] E quella montagna, al cospetto del mare,
d’allora MAIELLA si volle chiamare.

“AMARO”  ebbe nome la vetta maggiore
per dare risalto al materno dolore.

[…] and the mountain, in front of the sea,
since then has taken the name MAIELLA.

“AMARO” is the name of the highest peak
to emphasize her maternal pain.

La leggenda della gigantesca Maia (The Legend of Giant Maia) – M. Lolli

人類的原始需求之一就是旅行,它在一些人身上表現得明顯,在另外一些人身上則不那麽明顯。但不可否認的是,這種需求是存在的。

我從小的目標就是一點點地、逐一地去發現身邊的世界,這並不是說要去遠方或異國他鄉尋找,相反只是去發現和欣賞離我家近的地方。

我如今正通過攝影做著這樣的事情,出於對山的熱愛,去發現離我數英裏之外的那些隱藏之地。Apennines 便是我做這類探索的一個代表之地,它是一片縱穿意大利南北的山脈。

Majella 位於 Apennines 中央,而我的探險之旅近乎始於一場玩耍,在炎炎夏日的一個周二午後。這場探險的目的是位於 Mount Amaro 山頂一個叫 Pelino 的棲身所。我和同伴背負著滿載食物和防寒服的背包,以及勇氣就上路了。勇氣是真的需要,尤其是當地的一位紳士看見我們傍晚還在上山時,他便立刻提醒我們時間太晚了天黑後恐怕就無法上到山頂。但是我們清楚自己是在趕路。我們也清楚傍晚時分和日落光輝是那片地方最棒的享受。

因此我們繼續趕路。我們加快了步伐,滿身是汗,中途做了幾次短暫的停留為了拍一些照片。

在這片高地上,就只有我和同伴兩人,除了另外兩位探險者,他們正準備在有遮蔽的地上搭帳篷。我們獨自上路,伴隨著風聲和遠處的鳥鳴。偶爾地,幾朵烏雲遮蓋住 Mount Amaro 的頂峰(我們的目的地),氣溫隨著太陽落山而驟降。

然後是最後一段無止境的、陡峭的、通往 Pelino Bivouac 山頂的路。

望向遠處的棲身所,我們看見幾個小人影在它的四周走動,於是我們開始擔心會沒有足夠的空間過夜。當達到 bivouac 時,橘紅色的日光出現在天際,我們的擔心成了真。棲身所裏滿是人,床位都賣了出去。解決辦法是要麽在棲身所裏靠近出口的一塊小地方過夜;要麽走二十分鐘的路去山洞裏過夜。

當然我們選擇了第一個。

我們已經料到這將是一個漫長的不眠之夜,但是刻畫在天幕中的日落,以及夜晚的星空和銀河系,這些在之後享受到的景象大大地回報了我們先前的付出。

在不舒適的床上度過的無盡夜晚,結束於黎明的第一道曙光。當太陽的第一縷光照射進棲身所的小窗時,我們收拾好了背包準備下山。

黎明將一切染上了金色的光:我們置身於另外一個世界。大自然的奇跡讓我們立馬忘記了前一個夜晚的尷尬與痛苦。

[…] 這座山,在大海前,
從那時起就有了 MAIELLA 這個名字。

“AMARO” 是這座頂峰的名稱
用以強調母親的苦痛

La leggenda della gigantesca Maia – M. Lolli


Italian photographer, engineer and pianist, Luca Pernini was born and lives in The Marches (central Italy), a region that he often tries to describe in his photos. Actually he is a software developer in the field of digital security. He tries to use photography as a language to discover places, details and faces from his point of view, and tells stories that highlights hidden features of the subject. 

Luca Pernini ,意大利攝影師、工程師、鋼琴師,他出生和生活在馬爾凱大區(意大利中部),這片區域是他常常試圖用相片加以描述的。他實際也是一名供職於數字安全領域裏的軟件開發員。他嘗試從他個人的視野出發,利用攝影作為語言去探索不同的地方、細節和面容,最終用講故事的方式去突顯主體的隱藏特征。

www.lucapernini.com