article and photos by Silvia Scarselletta
The photographic exhibition entitled “Wild Lazio” ended a few days ago – a project by Walter Fiore – hosted at Casa Barnekow, the prestigious historic residence in Anagni.
The exhibitionsuggestive and impactful, was created with the aim of raising awareness of the variety of wildlife that resides in the regional territoryand was focused in particular on elusive, protected species that many do not even consider present in Lazio.
In fact, the bright yellow eyes of the dog do not go unnoticed Canis lupus italicus– a young Apennine wolf photographed in the Monti Simbruini Regional Natural Park – who gaze majestically at the camera, nor at the watchful and scrutinizing eyes of the crafty fox (Vulpes vulpes) – which in the photograph seems the perfect representation of the Fallen Angel of Alexandre Cabanel – which are projected directly into the photographing eye with distrust and depth.
It is an exhibition that celebrates moments: in it we admire the struggle for love – in the quarrelsome flamingos that are immortalized in a fight for reproduction that will decide the winning lover; the fight for survival – in the last breath of the frog now captured by the preying night heron; the struggle for life – in the gray heron that dispenses food for its young after having carefully cordoned off the place where the nest resides; the fight for freedom – in the open wings of the griffin – a powerful and vibrant bird of prey from the Accipitrid family – which glides on the fog of the Arcinazzo plateaus; or the fleeting moment of the wild cat – one of the most difficult animals to immortalize – which avoids any type of contact with man, but which is exactly as we can imagine it: elegant, graceful and totally elusive, a ghost of the woods.
It is the exhibition of Nature, of the daily life of small living beings who, regardless of a world that would only be harmful and lethal for their quiet isolated life, are immortalized in actions that are usual for them but so rare and extraordinary for us; it is the exhibition of revelation, which demonstrates how in places closer to us than we could imagine, a variety of wildlife is hidden that celebrates life at night, while – fortunately – the world of men contemplates sleep.
The creator of the dissemination of such beauty is Walter Fioreof Fiuggi, which – through the wildlife monitoring activity with the use of cameras and camera traps started in January 2021 – participated in the national monitoring of the Apennine Wolf by collaborating with bodies and the Region. A journey that began with an interest in nature photography, initially landscape, and macro photography, documenting the great variety of spontaneous blooms in the area; from there he moved on to nature photography – fascinated by wildlife – particularly birds and mammals.
“It was a discovery born out of passion – says Walter Fiore after having meticulously recounted the details of every moment immortalized – thanks to this research activity, in February 2021 the presence of the Marsican brown bear was documented in upper Ciociaria, while in Canterno Lake Nature Reservesince 2022, I have documented rare migratory avifauna such as mandarin duck, bittern, purple heron, ibis, as well as the presence of the alien species Louisiana crayfish, and more”.
“This monitoring activity – continues Walter Fiore – led to the discovery not only of the Apennine wolf, but also of the wild cat in the Alta Ciociaria area. This exhibition represents a great satisfaction for me, because my main intention is to give people the opportunity to admire all the hidden beauties that I was able to experience just a few meters away, sometimes even with a pinch of luck, but above all thanks to the help from my colleagues and collaborators.”
