Sclavanie: A Cultural Challenge Among the Villages of the Julian Pre-Alps
15.7.2021, 9:00 PM
Lab27 is pleased to announce, as part of the collateral activities for the exhibition La montagna. Immagini e disincanto (The Mountain: Images and Disenchantment), the thirteenth edition of INCONTRI DI FOTOGRAFIA, which will take place on Thursday, July 15 at 9:00 PM, streamed live on Lab27’s YouTube channel.
We will meet photographer Davide Degano to explore his recent documentary project Sclavanie, which tells the story of rediscovering a geographic microcosm—a mountain area on the border between Italy and Slovenia, lands of ancient cultures and linguistic minorities. Friuli is one of the few regions in Europe where four languages are officially spoken: Italian, Slovene, Friulian, and German.
These are ancient villages nestled within forests, repositories of stories and memories of a harsh yet moving existence. They are places marked by wars, emigration, and depopulation. Davide Degano reflects on the fate of the inhabitants rooted in fragile identities, on Italy’s small towns, its dialects, its diversity, a life lived on a reduced but solidarity-driven scale, and the demanding yet honest mountain life.
The Slavic populations who first settled the mountainous areas of the Julian Pre-Alps around the 7th century AD encountered an inhospitable and uncultivated land. The need to find ways to coexist with this environment gave rise to strong, cohesive communities, as is often the case in mountain settlements. Since then, these lands have been called Sclavanie, a term referring to the Slavic origins of the first inhabitants.
Today, the meaning of Sclavanie has shifted and has been absorbed into the Friulian language, sometimes used pejoratively to refer to people living mainly in these border mountain areas who have preserved their Slavic roots.
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However, the social phenomenon of mountain village depopulation has weakened the oral transmission and survival of memories and ancient traditions. This heritage, though fragile and dormant, is still present. Over the past five years, Davide Degano’s photographic work has become a tool to support linguistic minorities, helping to promote awareness, transmission, preservation, and valorization of this unique cultural diversity.
Sclavanie: A Cultural Challenge Among the Villages of the Julian Pre-Alps
15.7.2021, 9:00 PM
Lab27 is pleased to announce, as part of the collateral activities for the exhibition La montagna. Immagini e disincanto (The Mountain: Images and Disenchantment), the thirteenth edition of INCONTRI DI FOTOGRAFIA, which will take place on Thursday, July 15 at 9:00 PM, streamed live on Lab27’s YouTube channel.
We will meet photographer Davide Degano to explore his recent documentary project Sclavanie, which tells the story of rediscovering a geographic microcosm—a mountain area on the border between Italy and Slovenia, lands of ancient cultures and linguistic minorities. Friuli is one of the few regions in Europe where four languages are officially spoken: Italian, Slovene, Friulian, and German.
These are ancient villages nestled within forests, repositories of stories and memories of a harsh yet moving existence. They are places marked by wars, emigration, and depopulation. Davide Degano reflects on the fate of the inhabitants rooted in fragile identities, on Italy’s small towns, its dialects, its diversity, a life lived on a reduced but solidarity-driven scale, and the demanding yet honest mountain life.
The Slavic populations who first settled the mountainous areas of the Julian Pre-Alps around the 7th century AD encountered an inhospitable and uncultivated land. The need to find ways to coexist with this environment gave rise to strong, cohesive communities, as is often the case in mountain settlements. Since then, these lands have been called Sclavanie, a term referring to the Slavic origins of the first inhabitants.
Today, the meaning of Sclavanie has shifted and has been absorbed into the Friulian language, sometimes used pejoratively to refer to people living mainly in these border mountain areas who have preserved their Slavic roots.
Â
However, the social phenomenon of mountain village depopulation has weakened the oral transmission and survival of memories and ancient traditions. This heritage, though fragile and dormant, is still present. Over the past five years, Davide Degano’s photographic work has become a tool to support linguistic minorities, helping to promote awareness, transmission, preservation, and valorization of this unique cultural diversity.
