As soon as you go out from work, one day like another, you sense something different, you immediately feel that spring has arrived.
In the evening, before, there was no one along the streets, just cold air, one couple walking out their dog and you, but the day after, at the same time, everything’s different: the sun shines high in the blue sky, the streets are a crowd of voices and noises and the dehors of bars are a feast of smiles and clinking glasses of a just started aperitif.

After all, the beauty of living in a land like Italy is also this: the mild temperatures soften the heart and you start caring more about others, all this love creates that perfect vibe that pushes you to go and discover the world around you.

In this atmosphere of rebirth, there is again that desire to stay outside, to see old friends and meet new ones, to turn off the TV and seek for a socialty that the coldness of winter had temporarily faded.

In Ravenna, for instance, the 21^st April is the perfect night to rediscover all these feelings. Ravenna is one of the most important cities of art in Emilia Romagna, and,  for the first time, it hosts a spring edition of the Notte d’Oro, its traditional nuit blanche.

Alex Majoli | Andante

As already said, it’s PHOTOGRAPHY the fil rouge of the night, accompanying all participants throughout the centre of Ravenna. Like a stop-motion, the beauty of the city stops all of a sudden, while, all around, exhibitions, projections, meetings, live music adorn its shapes and declinations.

The first recommended stop is at the MAR – Ravenna Art Museum, where, on as many as three floors, the internationally well-known photographer from Ravenna Alex Majoli, director of the Magnum Photos Agency, charts his work from 1985 until today with his solo exhibition Andante (free admission from 6pm to 10pm)

The next suggested stop is the Classense Library. Inside the rooms and cloisters of what was once one of the most important monasteries in Italy, the photographic exhibition Footage by Leonardo Goni documents instants of life inside this library, as well as the photographic exhibition Terra e Uomini. Tra Memoria e sentimento by Pier Paolo Zani, set up in collaboration with SiFest of Savignano.
If all this is not enough yet, then, hidden on the last floor of the library, in the atrium of the Aula Magna, you can be photographed on a real photographic set or you may choose to become part of a site-specific installation thanks to the vintage photo boots that are set here and at Palazzo Rasponi dalle Teste.

Notte d’Oro Primavera (Ravenna) | Photo by Delio Mancini

Photography, thus, is the night’s keyword, in different ways and in several spots of the city – clubs included – including the exhibition Dei Paesi by Pio de Rose, #arRangiati (dedicated to the 3rd edition of the namesake photographic marathon of Ravenna), the exhibition Darsena. The silent evening star and I Quaderni del corso di fotografia by Michele Buda orForografare la musica. Alfredo Lando and the famous faces of Italian and International music.

These several visual nuances perfectly combine with the cinematographic insights of STORYTELLING, the second title of this nuit blanche, which develops through the documentary film with the photography director Carlo Di Palma projected in Palazzo Rasponi dalle Teste and with the short film Intercity by Silvia Bigi who is committed to Raffaello Bandini’s poetics.

Last but not least, the art and the beauty of the monuments of the city centre are open during the evening, offering guided tours and themed itineraries, while in the central Piazza Kennedy will be a huge flower market; wherever you’re coming from, it’s worth a stop.

Lodovica Comello and Giovanni Caccamo in concert

MUSIC is the third key-aspect of this evening. Live DJ sets and the projections of the music videos by Stefano Salvati will animate Piazza del Popolo, the beating heart of the city. Moreover, don’t miss at 10.45pm the concert by Lodovica Comello, who became famous for the role as Francesca in the tv series Violetta and for being the TV personality of Italia’s Got Talent, and by Giovanni Caccamo, young singer who achieved great successes on the stage of Sanremo. Their voices will entertain you in Piazza del Popolo until midnight.

Events, exhibitions, meetings and guided tours will tickle you, convincing you to walk throughout the city centre and discover everything. The clubs know how to attract you and awaken your desire for Spring with many concerts, tastings and themed aperitifs. You’ll be nothing but spoilt for choice, what to photograph and where to stop is up to you!