Le città invisibili
Le città invisibili is a 2D animation project freely inspired by the novel of the same name by Italo Calvino. The animated video, divided into three parts, is presented as a personal reinterpretation of three cities described in the book: Smeraldina, Valdrada and Adelma.
Smeraldina
"In Smeraldina, city of water, a network of canals and a network of streets span and intersect each other. To go from one place to another you have always the choice between land and boat: and since the shortest distance between two points in Esmeralda is not a straight line but a zigzag that ramifies in tortuous optional routes, the ways that open to each passerby are never two, but many, and they increase further for those who alternate a stretch by boat with one on dry land ..."
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
Valdrada
"The ancients built Valdrada on the shores of a lake, with houses all verandas one above the other, and high streets whose railed parapets look out over the water. Thus the traveler, arriving, sees two cities: one erect above the lake, and the other reflected, upside down. Nothing exists or happens in the one Valdrada that the other Valdrada does not repeat, because the city was so constructed that its every point would be reflected in its mirror, and the Valdrada down in the water contains not only all the flutings and juttings of the facades that rise above the lake, but also the rooms' interiors with ceilings and floors, the perspective of the halls, the mirrors of the wardrobes... "
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
Adelma
"Never in all my travels had I ventured as far as Adelma. It was dusk when I landed there. On the dock the sailor who caught the rope and tied it to the ballard resembled a man who had soldiered with me and was dead. It was the hour of the wholesale fish market. An old man was loading a basket of sea urchins on a carti I thought I recognized him; when
I turned, he had disappeared down an alley, but I realized that he looked like a fisherman who, already old when I was a child, could no longer be among the living..."
I turned, he had disappeared down an alley, but I realized that he looked like a fisherman who, already old when I was a child, could no longer be among the living..."
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
Before making the video, we tried to find elements that could unite the cities in order to create a story that would serve as a common thread. Since all three are located on water, it was therefore decided to tell the story of a lone traveler who decides to explore the cities by moving from one to the other on a small boat.
Politecnico di Milano
Design della Comunicazione
Laboratorio di Disegno
a.s. 2018/2019
