SOUTH
MANIFESTO
DOVE
NON
SI
MUORE
MAI
The Neapolitan artistic collective South Manifesto, founded by Federico Avella and Marco Basile, announces the publication of its multidisciplinary project, a photographic and interview book entitled:
“Dove Non Si Muore Mai” (“Where One Never Dies”).
The volume explores intimate, contemporary, and personal perceptions of death, placing in dialogue the ancient Greek understanding of mortality with today’s Neapolitan sensibility. The project originates from a collaboration with the Ipogeo dei Cristallini, a Greek funerary complex dating back to the 4th century BCE, located in the Rione Sanità of Naples. This site, a rare testament to Greek funerary art with preserved details and colors, embodies a philosophy that celebrates death as continuity rather than an end, serving as the conceptual backbone of the publication. The book combines photography, interviews, and artistic interventions, weaving a layered narrative.
The volume opens with a foreword curated by Cesare Cunaccia, a prominent figure in the Italian cultural scene. British photographer Brett Lloyd documents the Ipogeo dei Cristallini and the collection of vases found within, focusing on its mystery and its light. The heart of this contemporary narrative is enriched by interviews that delve into the relationship between life and death in Naples, curated by Francesca Emilia Minà, who continued the collective’s thematic research.
Neapolitan director Antonio Capuano reflects on his relationship with death and the legacy he will leave through his films. Don Antonio Loffredo, parish priest of Santa Maria della Sanità, offers a perspective on how Naples continues to live with its dead. Photographer Francesca Vitucci Sorrenti reflects on grief and the visual legacy of her son; the interview is accompanied by photographs by Davide Sorrenti.
The volume includes an archival tribute granted by the Gianni Minà Foundation, featuring an excerpt from a 2002 interview between journalist Gianni Minà and footballer Diego Armando Maradona.
The section “Youth of Sanità” presents drawings created by children from Rione Sanità (attending the afterschool program of the Pavesi Foundation) inspired by their visit to the Ipogeo. The closing of the volume is entrusted to painter Paolo La Motta, a renowned Neapolitan artist, whose work “Foglio Bianco” serves as a powerful visual seal for the entire reflection on life and memory contained in the book.
The project is accompanied by a capsule collection (T-shirts and leather keychains) produced by local artisans. The book and collection will be available from December 17th, exclusively at the Ipogeo dei Cristallini store, Via dei Cristallini 133, and online on the official website of the Ipogeo.
