Curiosity towards others and the landscape has always driven the creativity of Marcello Sparaventi, founder of Centrale Fotografia, whose festival in Fano and since last year also in Milan has reached its 15th edition. Marcello has been curating educational projects for years and organizing events, reviews and exhibitions dedicated to photography. He was born in the province, even though he has lived in Fano since 1996: «My parents told me that I was born at home, with the help of a midwife, I was the first child. This thing somehow tied me very much to my territory, to Bottega di Colbordolo (now Vallefoglia), a place that still excites me, even if it has nothing special and where I started to deal with my profound shyness” .
In the 70s the roads were not yet asphalted: «The road in front of my house was made of stones and so we went to play on the famous Papa Giovanni pitch. But in sport, as in relationships, my shyness prevented me from being at ease. Plus I had red hair and glasses, so you can imagine. I got a little unstuck in high school and in particular when I chose nursing school. A choice I made following my uncle’s example: I found it a good job, with the possibility of having free time and I loved going fishing.”
The exploration of the territory
Fishing is a passion that has captured Marcello since he was a boy, certainly for the possibility of reflection and contemplation: «I really liked going to places that no one knew about, remote lakes and rivers, already around the age of 13/14. I also believe that this was a way to discover the territory, the hidden one. Today I am interested in this aspect through my passion for organizing photographic events: sometimes, the things you encounter as children remain anchored in you very deeply, remaining fundamental for the choices you will make when you grow up.” The passion for photography was born by observing family photos: «When I didn’t have much desire to study, I spent entire afternoons peeking at the family photographs collected in a shoe box. Some of these images were important to me: they had aesthetic characteristics that went beyond the photographic abilities of my father or mother. I was fascinated by this language, but still in an unconscious way. I also looked at those photos with affection: ours was a modest family, but I remember that they took me to take a photo dressed in elegant clothes, a photo that I now always show with pride. They were clothes that were given to my mother: my parents had already invented vintage recycling.”
The point of view of a photo: «I still remember that my father took me to take photos in front of the shed where my parents worked. It wasn’t touristy stuff and that’s why I was struck by his way of observing places. As well as the photos he took of my mother which highlighted her elegance and beauty, with her long red hair. Among the photos that I love there is also the Polaroid that portrays us all together at the Marmore waterfalls in the 80s. In that photo, where my brother Loris is also there, we are happy and I began to understand that photographs also have the ability to retain the feelings of a family over time.” His bedroom was very aseptic: “I couldn’t attach anything to the wall and perhaps that’s where my compulsion to never fill the white walls too much in exhibition settings comes from.”
Buying a SLR
But it was by starting to work that Marcello was able to allow himself to experiment with photography: «I started by treating myself to a trip to Kenya, together with some of my hospital colleagues and, since it was my first important trip and by plane, I felt the I need to buy a camera. I went to Giovannelli in Montecchio with the intention of buying a compact camera, like my father’s, but a strange thing happened: when I arrived, Giovannelli was showing a reflex camera to a possible customer and I took the opportunity even though I had no idea how it worked. I read the instruction booklet on the plane.” The photos from that trip made him frequent photography associations: «a dormant interest that resurfaced, thanks to his friendship with Franco Vaccari who pointed me to Luca Panaro with whom the adventure of Centrale Fotografia began».
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