This presence manifested itself in many forms, especially in the churches built through the years. Was it simply a matter of faith, or was it more of a political strategy? Regardless, this event marked the start of a whole new era for the Church, which would go on to become an almost omnipresent entity throughout Italy, and Europe. Constantine decriminalized Christianity in 313, and he was instrumental in ceasing the persecution of Christians in the Roman empire, in the event that is still remembered today as “The Triumph of the Church.” To this day, historians and scholars are still speculating about the actual reasons leading to the Emperor’s support of Christianity. Progressively, Christianity gained more traction, up until a massive turning point, when Roman Emperor Constantine The Great (AD 306–337) kickstarted the transition of Christianity into the mainstream religion of the Roman Empire, replacing the previous polytheistic pantheon. Just for a quick refresher, Christianity was originally considered a sect, a minority religion belonging to Jewish immigrants who moved to the area. This building belongs to a long list of former churches, sections of which are currently still decaying in plain sight, without even any proper documentation due to loss of records through the centuries. Take the historical building at Via Nilo 22, “Palazzo di Ludovico Di Bux.” Even the current residents might not realize the premises were once a church, with some of its decaying features still visible to this day. The historical center features many residential buildings that simply morphed into homes from their origins as former chapels, as urban expansion swallowed what was there before. Even large cities like Naples in the Campania region are actually home to many unsuspecting former churches. In some cases, abandoned churches and religious buildings might not even be known outside of the lore of a specific neighborhood, and as time goes by, knowledge of these places and their past history gets simply lost through time.
When shooting abandoned buildings, I mostly use my wide-angle to try and capture as much of the room as possible.From the far north of the country, down to the most remote areas of the southern Italian islands, there are remnants of ancient churches, some of which are only known to smaller local communities. In the past I’ve been shooting with a Canon EOS 650d and a 10-18mm Canon wide-angle lens. I currently use a Sony A7Rii with a 16-32mm wide-angle Zeiss lens, and a 24-70mm zoom Zeiss lens. The church with debris on the floor has unfortunately collapsed. The cloister has been damaged heavily recently and is undergoing repairs. For example, the beautiful chapel with plants on the floor is undergoing renovation works. The North is more accessible for me. Interestingly enough some of the buildings in the photos have either been destroyed or are in renovation. Buildings are just as beautiful as in the North though. Roads seem to be wider, there seem to be fewer people and there is definitely more sun. Personally, I enjoy exploring the Southern part more. Funny thing is that there is a noticeable difference between the Northern part of the country and the Southern part. That’s one of the reasons why I love shooting abandoned buildings in this country. That’s part of the game.įrance has a lovely architecture and history which fascinates me. When a building is closed, it’s closed and I move on to the next one. It’s not always easy but I would use an entrance that’s already there. Some of the buildings, however, required me to carefully plan where and when to park my car, walk across a park, climb into an open window or crawl through a hole.
Most of these buildings were found in the parks, everything was open and no-one was looking after it anymore. Some places were obviously harder to visit than the others.
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