Giacomo Alberico

After the Gold Rush | The Visigoth king Alarico I in 410 AD carried out the famous 'Sack of Rome' with his army. By conquering the city of Rome he plundered a huge amount of gold, silver and rare relics. During the journey to reach the African coast, Alarico and his army are hit by a strong storm at sea, which destroying the fleet will force them to stop on the coast of Calabria and then take refuge in Cosenza.

The king, according to legend, died shortly afterwards of an illness and was buried with the famous treasure in the riverbed of the Busento river that passes through the historical centre of the city. In the years to come, well-known personalities, german nazis, researchers and simple amateurs will try in vain to find this unknown place.

The project illustrates the traces left over the years by people, by nature itself and by imaginary events that the fictitious presence of gold may have triggered in Calabria. Using the story in question as a background, I explored a naturalistically unique land, with ancient popular traditions, but difficult on the socio-economic side due to the presence of powerful local organized crime and lack of funds to truly renew itself. www.giacomoalberico.com