Danubius

Danubius is a photographic journey to search the European identity after enlargement to the east.
Is a trip through the 2.778 kilometers of the river, from the source to the Delta, passing through its cities such as Ulm, Linz, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Vukovar, Belgrade, Tulcea, its smaller villages, great plains, wide landscapes, various people, customs and languages.
The author took an inner and dreamlike road, lyric but also a documentary where the river symbolizes both mystical-philosophical and historical-cultural aspects: national, political, and social border but also holds psychological, cultural, and religious significance.
The flow of the river is a metaphor of the challenge of our lifetime in Europe: the union, the need to go in the same direction despite the old borders that fragment it.
With Danubius, the photographer continues the European cultural debate on the continent's identity against the enlargement to the East and the search for a trait d’union involving the entire Danube Basin from Western to Central Europe.
Although the river is the interrogative figure par excellence, the author doesn’t adopt a purely descriptive and documentary approach. Bulgarelli often leaves room for emotions, focusing on moods, and trying to trace different identities in a psychological and timeless dimension.
In fact, he says “Every time I came on the river my gaze was always more intimate and personal. At times I was propelled into an inner and dreamlike journey, so much so that I have increasingly moved away from the historical, literary, and mythological aspects to make room for the emotions of the moment".

The project is divided into four parts that correspond to the main linguistic groups in the Danube area, symbolizing the various cultures it embodies.
In a cyclical pattern, the differences and similarities that have emerged are the recurring themes of the various sections. A metaphor of life cycles that the water of the river symbolizes.

Technical information: The images were made with slides in medium format (Mamiya 6/7 II).