marco

We truly flied over houses

beyond gates, gardens and streets

Then we glided over valleys in bloom

where grapes embrace olive trees.
Fabrizio de Andre’

don’t call me tour guide

My project’s name is GENIUSLOOCI. It’s inspired by the Etruscan and Roman idea called Genius Loci (Latin), which is based on an ancient belief that particular parts of the world are inhabited by spirits.

I like this concept so much, because I’ve always been attracted by the unique, distinctive and cherished aspects of place. I love exploring the history and culture of a city, and I’m drawn to places that have a unique identity and are cherished by their residents.

I live with my wife and our two daughters in a beautiful stone house at an altitude of 450 metres, near Florence. In front is the vineyard and the olive groves, behind, the oak woods.

I eat local food and pair it with delicious Sangiovese that I buy from a small organic winery nearby. I cook simple things every day for the whole family.

I grow a small vegetable garden and I love tending the garden. Three cats live with us (Pomona, Marinella and Zampanò), a dog named Nacho, Duccio, the rooster and some hens. I prefer a few real friends to a practically non-existent social life. I meditate every day and I love walking in the woods.

I love spending time in certain Romanesque churches, I collect images of rundown tabernacles with weeds and terracotta Madonnas inside, but I’m not religious. My patron saints are Dionysus, Pan, satyrs and wood nymphs.

I can read Nietzsche, St. Augustine and Seneca in the same evening (and sleep peacefully).

My cardinal points are Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello and Brunelleschi but my passion for art has no boundaries. I like the lives of “difficult” artists, those who have suffered to leave behind all that great staff. I love contemporary art except when it’s marketing, so I select a lot.

If I had been a people I would have been the Etruscans.

I was born in the middle of the Venetian flat region and I came to Florence as soon as I could. I graduated from DAMS (art, music and show disciplines) with a historical-artistic address while I worked as a waiter, and after changing at least ten jobs and eight houses I decided to become a tour guide.

I prefer an improbable life like the one I have just described to the models imposed by society, which I thank every day for being just like this.