Via del Ricordo is a research project initiated by Serena Crocco during her artist residency Sguardi Urbani, curated by Cecilia Guida and produced by Casa degli Artisti. It is developed inside and around an abandoned peripheral space that has taken on the identity of an urban jungle—the former cemetery of Via del Ricordo in the Crescenzago district of Milan. A forgotten place, closed and desacralized for 40 years, it hides behind a boundary wall, denying passersby any possibility of access or visibility.

The research has navigated the traces of memory of this place through explorations, botanical censuses, archival research, and exchanges with the local community. It is a slow practice of observation and collection, blending human history with the vegetal present, which led to the creation of a small repertoire of objects that invites the public to experience and browse it like an archive. The aim of the research is to establish a renewed dialogue with the forgotten space, first and foremost through a repositioning of the gaze—of the artist and the community of citizens from the neighborhood.

Since May 2023, I have occasionally been invited by Serena to join her field trips to the former cemetery as her assistant. Over time, I became more immersed in the project, and by 2024, we began working together on specific initiatives.

Co-work with Serena Crocco and Luana Giardino
Curated by Cecilia Guida
Produced by Casa degli Artisti
Photo by Luana Giardino and Giorgio Toscani
Video by Luana Giardino
2023-2024

April 2024

We conducted a stencil workshop at the senior center Cascina San Paolo to experiment with the creation of celebratory flags. For this event,  I designed and created stencil templates through laser cutting, forming narrative patterns inspired by elements from the former cemetery of Crescenzago.

May 2024

Serena carried out a performative action for the Crescenzago neighborhood, around the former cemetery of Via del Ricordo, with the participation of performers from Laboratorio Silenzio and both deaf and hearing children from the Istituto Comprensivo G.B. Perasso in Milan. For this event, I designed and produced masks and accessories in cardboard for the performers, incorporating narrative figures inspired by elements from the former cemetery of Crescenzago.