Cross-Looking. A Visual Investigation on the Legacy of My Ancestors Valeri and Lekegian

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 7 , 253 - 265 , 30.12.2025

Andrea Savorani Neri

https://doi.org/10.53979/yillik.1847105

https://izlik.org/JA63MX57TJ

Öz

My desire to conduct in-depth research into the life and work of my great-great-grandfather Salvatore Valeri dates back to my years as a student, between the end of my classical education in high school, and the beginning of university. This desire stemmed from my passion for images and visual language, but predated my career as a photographer. I grew up looking at the paintings in our house in Faenza, Emilia-Romagna: olive-skinned faces, often adorned with strange headgears, bare feet on uneven cobblestones, figures crouching on the ground or silhouetted against the crumbling walls of decrepit architecture, the inner courtyard of a mosque, all symbols of an elsewhere that was unknown to me, immersed as I was in the ordinary life of provincial Italy. I did not fully understand that those paintings (and soon after, those photographs) were the bridge to the history not only of my ancestor Salvatore, but to the entire connection between the Valeri and Lekegian families.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Salvatore Valeri , Alessandro Valeri , Constantinople , Late Ottoman , Italy , Cairo , Bulgur Palas , Istanbul , Gabriel Lekegian , Maria Lekegian

Teşekkür

I am indebted to the same institutions and persons mentioned by Paolo Girardelli in this issue of YILLIK. In addition, I would like to thank: Andrea Donda and Martina Brizzi from ARGO, Maria Malvina Borgherini from IUAV, Vigen Galstyan from NGA, Antonio Ferri and Francis Amin. Without the logistical support and advice of these people, my Cross-Looking project might not have gotten off the ground. Thank also to Birsen Akkan (director of Painting Museum at Dolmabahçe Palace), Serra Taşkent (Hotel Splendid in Büyükada), Korhan Gümüş and Melek Aksoy (Heritage Prinkipo). Above all others, I must thank my partner Chiara, my father Stefano and my whole family, who provide constant support for my work as a photographer.

Kaynakça

• This text does not contain any references.