Two small municipalities - Castro and Pienza - and two islands - Procida and Murano, are the protagonists and the starting point of the Insulae initiative: an ambitious project signed by Treccani and Magister Art, which starts from a multimedia format for cultural enhancement, combining contents both in analog or physical mode and in digital mode.

Four short films, each dedicated to one of the small Italian realities that have been selected for this first part of the project. The films are designed to offer an engaging augmented narration of stories, images and unpublished music - composed for this project by Roberta di Mario – and to build an emotional tool to tell the Italian uniqueness from a cultural, touristic and productive point of view.

Characterized by an encyclopedic approach, the four short films combine in a harmonious, original and exciting way, the audiovisual productions of Magister Art, a digital native SME that focuses on a vision of art as a value in the social innovation of the future, with the certified contents of the Treccani database, an institution that has played since its foundation the dual role of witness of Italian cultural identity and guide to the discovery of the contemporary world, giving life to a highly replicable communicative code, in which the individual entries of the Treccani Encyclopedia are increased visually and filmically. Frame after frame, the viewer enjoys images and infographics for a conscious and informed vision - with the rhythm of music - which celebrates the excellence and uniqueness of our Country.

Insulae is an unprecedented initiative, launched on the occasion of Expo 2020 Dubai, with the aim of enhancing and disseminating abroad the Italian cultural heritage through the promotion of its geographical islands (Murano and Procida) and ‘conceptual islands’ – the small municipalities – (Castro and Pienza), as the quintessence of the identity of Italy. A deep reflection on the theme of insularity and loneliness through which the smallest and least known realities are reread and reconstructed thanks to digital narration, creating a new cultural map of Italy.

SMALL TOWNS

Castro Two different spirits, one belonging to the sea and another to the land, one Adriatic and another Ionian, make Castro one of the meeting points between east and west. A minute chronology reveals to what extent the duality and ambivalent identity existing between an ancient, fortified hamlet and a harbour are in fact part of the same intimate and well-preserved throbbing heart.

Pienza A sort of ongoing survey aimed at disclosing the most important pages and characters of this extraordinary place: images of the past are intersected with contemporary life in a succession of micro stories. The symbols of this narration are described in a contemporary editing project that sets out to provide further indications and details.

ISLANDS

Procida In and out of Procida, in a sensation of indomitable wind, a dynamic recount in which voices and colours meld: original notions captured in movement. Like a long, slow, and unlikely sequence, viewed from several angles, constantly in movement to bring to the surface a vortex of ever unpredictable emotions.

Murano Incandescent matter is twirled and blown to give shape to a glass artefact… an incessant pulse, from the colour of orange to the cold blue shade reminiscent of the lagoon, a journey through a secret place, where water surrounds and detains mysterious formulas to mix them with legends baptized by fire. Time lends itself to the perfection of a masterpiece: the ancient art embraces new techniques to address the contemporary world.