The Salt Route

Sketches of the changing landscapes made during our long-distance bycicle trip from our home in the plains of North-Western Italy (Piedmont) to the seaside in Liguria (North-Western Italian Coast). We biked along paths near rivers and then traveled on an old Salt Trade Route in the Alps, reaching more than 2000 metres above sea-level (6,500 ft). In December 2020 I exhibited my work in a local bookshop in Savigliano called Barlumi where I also made a small installation which showed the landscape sequence while rotating (see below), whose intention was to mimic the landscape in motion, as seen while cycling. The originals are ink paintings done by brush on watercolor paper, 300gr.

The show

The horizon already contains the whole landscape that is not yet visible to the eyes, but which unravels before you, section by section, when you’re cycling or walking long distances – fields, hills and woods under the sky. These are a selection of the paintings, they show the sequence of the landscape from Savigliano to Imperia, Liguria (North-West Italy), which we reached after having cycled along the ancient Salt Trade Route in the Alps Cozie and Marittime for three days. I focused on a limited alphabet of brush strokes in different combinations in the paintings, so that the style would look consistent and I’ve started painting on a small travel sketchbook while travelling.

The landscape frames