On 5 June 2021, the town of Savignano sul Rubicone became the stage for a profound photographic homecoming with the opening of UNDERGROUND (REVISITED). This landmark exhibition breathes new life into the seminal reportage by the late Rimini-born photographer Marco Pesaresi (1964–2001), who spent over two years documenting the subterranean pulse of ten global metropolises, from the grit of New York and London to the sprawling networks of Tokyo, Moscow, and Calcutta. Returning to the public eye nearly twenty years after its original debut at the Milan Triennale, this evocative collection now serves as the centrepiece for the 30th-anniversary celebrations of the SI FEST photography festival. Housed within the reclamation consortium at via Garibaldi 45, the exhibition—curated by Denis Curti and Mario Beltrambini—is far more than a simple retrospective. While it features 84 original photographs, it also invites the viewer into the very mechanics of Pesaresi’s creative process. Visitors can explore a rich documentary archive that includes original negatives, international magazine features, and the artist’s own travel diaries—lined notebooks where he scribbled his rawest thoughts during his intense two-year journey. The exhibition also showcases the project’s acclaimed catalogue, which famously features a moving preface by the legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. The power of Pesaresi’s work lies in its searing intimacy and its ability to capture the “human quantity” of the world’s most crowded spaces. As Denis Curti, artistic director of SI FEST, poignantly observes, it is impossible to forget a gaze that knew how to look so far beyond the surface. Curti describes Pesaresi as the “harmonious result of imperfection,” a photographer whose every blink was like an internal shutter-click, storing up memories and feeling the weight of the photograph upon his very skin. His lateral thinking and his silences had a rare capacity to fill the hearts of those around him, taking his audience on a global journey through cultures, cities, and individual souls. The opening of this exhibition also marks a significant milestone for the cultural heritage of Savignano sul Rubicone. The entire Marco Pesaresi archive, consisting of over 140,000 documents including negatives, proofs, prints, and slides, has been formally donated to the city by his heirs. This monumental collection will be preserved, promoted, and digitised by the Municipality, ensuring that Pesaresi’s visionary perspective remains accessible to the public. Through this commitment, his unique ability to hold his breath and set his feelings free will continue to inspire a new generation of photographers and thinkers long after the exhibition closes on 8 August 2021.

More info visit the SI FEST website