05 03 and cities at night. In the case of cities at night, American cinema has always inspired me. The visual references I have in mind come precisely from space intended from a cinematographic perspective, like a possible "container of events", a backdrop set onto which the spectator can project a plot. Nocturnal magic is everywhere - silent or deafening, partially dark or overwhelmingly bright. Its roads are a sea in which to immerse oneself, while at other times, a desert to be crossed. Street lights, trails of car lights, neon signs and elongating shadows are the fragments of a poem that we all know off by heart. Relentless verses. Long walks. Solitude. And endless dreams of love behind windows • creativity and memories. Right up to the desire to reconstruct the proposals that have always appealed to me: from Corto Maltese to late-medieval geographical maps, from Bernardo Bellotto to Edward Hopper and from The Third Man to Blade Runner... My interpretation of photography is closely linked to a desire to "conjure up" an atmosphere or perhaps an era. I always focus on creating a powerful image that has a kind of "classic appeal" that will last over time, irrespective of trends. I try to combine the compositional tension of the frame with the evocative force of a ray of light. From the outset, my work has focused around two threads: wild countryside I started taking photographs thirty years ago at night in Venice, where I was born and bred. I wanted to escape the cliché representation of the city and give it back a theatrical impression of unique, timeless scenes. For about fifteen years, I took only black and white photographs; then I started working in colour, especially in my beloved New York. Over the years, I discovered an incredible sense of freedom: thanks to the computer, I can try out every variant of density, colour and contrast in no time at all - a process that stimulates my imagination and curiosity, allowing me to see things differently. Perhaps, a way to finally lose myself, not so much in the endless possible outcomes but more in my own Luca Campigotto Luca Campigotto was born in Venice in 1962 and lives between Milan and New York. After graduating in modern history, with a dissertation on travel literature in the era of important geographical discoveries, he turned his attention to photographing landscapes creating projects around the globe. He has always been interested in writing: his poetry has appeared in the literary magazine Nuovi Argomenti and his writings collected in the Disoriente volume. He has exhibited in numerous museums and institutions, including: Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; Somerset House, London; Galleria Gottardo, Lugano; IVAM, Valencia; The Art Museum e The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami; Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montréal; MOCA, Shanghai; Biennale d’Arte di Venezia (1997, 2000, 2011), Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Fortuny e Palazzo Zen, Venice; MAXXI, MACRO, Museo del Vittoriano, Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica e Festival di Fotografia, Rome; Palazzo Reale, Palazzo della Ragione e Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia, Milan; Palazzo Reale, Naples; MART, Rovereto; Fotografia Europea, Reggio Emilia. The evocative force of cities LucaCampigotto