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The impact of human activity in pristine natural landscapes and nature’s resilience are beautifully captured in the “Finibus Terrae” series by photographer Adriano Nicoletti. Taken in 2014-2015 in the Salento region which is located just at the end of Italy’s heel, the images display what can be called the “end of the land” – a border between the inland and the sea. Past, present and future are all illustrated in the powerful yet simple photographs that seem to document both what is and what isn’t. A towel is left abandoned in the sand, its owner long gone; a sink without a faucet is stripped of its purpose; an elegant sign with a missing letter becomes the example of a local economy put on pause. Architecture and nature combine throughout the series, but in the silent battle between the two, the latter wins. Sand dunes envelop wooden structures while the waves and the wind erase the marks of human presence. The natural landscape, scarred by the abandoned buildings and urbanization, begins to reclaim its territory during the off-season months. Whether the space will transform into a bustling area during the summer, only for the cycle to begin again, is ultimately a mystery. But in an uncertain present, the only certainty is the relentlessness of the tides – the inhale and exhale of the sea at the end of the earth. Photo credits: Adriano Nicoletti.
