Along the Po

In the year 2022, Europe faced one of its most severe droughts in half a millennium. Among the hardest-hit areas was the basin of the River Po, stretching from its origin in the Cottian Alps to its estuary at the Adriatic Sea.

Once revered by the poet Virgil as the „King of Rivers,“ the Po holds a deep-rooted significance in the fabric of northern Italian culture and history. Its waters have long been intertwined with the prosperity and identity of the region. While today one can leisurely traverse certain points of its banks on foot, the river‘s past tells tales of conflict and strife. Signorie, or baronial states, once fiercely contested access to its riches and strategic advantages, while vagabonds and anarchists used its perilous banks to seek refuge and slip jurisdiction.

Amidst the dwindling waters of this once-majestic river, farmers, scientists, and activists grapple with the far-reaching impacts of prolonged water scarcity on the land and its inhabitants.


The project was made in collaboration with Lisa-Maria Gruber.