Elegant neglect: abandoned Italian buildings – in pictures
Milan-based photographer Eleonora Costi spent the past three years travelling across Italy to find unoccupied buildings, exploring dilapidated castles, villas, hotels and hospitals for her project, Abandoned H.Ell. “I adore the decaying architecture,” Costi says. “It reminds me that everything is impermanent. I wanted to show that there is obscure beauty in these places unseen by most people.” In light of Italy’s recent earthquakes, Costi’s sensitive pictures take on a greater urgency. “It is amazing we cannot save these buildings. Some are now in oblivion, totally destroyed. There are rules to my work. I take nothing, I touch nothing. I want to preserve these places because they are very beautiful.”
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“The owners are trying to fix this villa in northern Italy, but the state hasn’t helped them. Inside, there’s a private church and the walls are still painted.” -
“This is from the same villa. I want to change people’s opinion about these places – they think they’re scary but they’re not. In my photos, it’s not my intention to create a horror story.” -
“This used to be a five-star hotel in northern Italy. Inside there is still the same furniture and furnishings. It is located in the city, and in the past this area generated a lot of tourism, but not any more.” -
“In the region of Marche, there are lot of earthquakes and some places are now completely destroyed. This castle was abandoned after an earthquake brought down the ceilings. Currently it is completely unusable and almost definitely on the verge of collapse.” -
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“Every room of this three-storey abandoned villa has a fireplace, the walls are perfect and the ceilings are frescoed. It was quite difficult to get into this building.” -
“This is a villa that used to be owned by a painter. Inside there was still a piano, furniture and family photographs. It was very emotive. Later it was robbed by vandals and the collapses have worsened.” -
“This is an abandoned villa. It isn’t just the fabric that is beautiful – there are incredible frescoes. When I enter a building, the impressive thing is the evidence of past life.” -
“I visited lots of places: hotels, restaurants, bars, villas, castles, hospitals. This building used to be a monastery. The walls are covered with murals but it has been completely vandalised.” -
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“This is an abandoned nightclub. In some places there are neighbours that come to see what you’re doing. In other cases it’s more difficult so I have to try to enter through other points of access that are not the main door.” -
“The Sammezzano Castle is an Oriental jewel at the centre of Italy. There is currently a campaign to save it. In the past, it has been used by several designers for photoshoots.” -
“You can see the past lives of the owners – it is strange. There are clothes, and tables ready for dinner. This is an abandoned mansion and is still completely painted.” -
“Many castles, like this one, have been abandoned for years and years – some for 50 years. There are now fewer things inside because someone has taken the objects away. Where things have remained, it is impressive.”Photograph: All photographs copyright Eleonora Costi
