Di ca e di là dal aghe | Infrared Fine Art Photography | The Tagliamento River (IT)

Di ca
e di là
dal aghe
Infrared Fine Art Photography
The Tagliamento River
photographs by
Luca Chistè / Phf Photoforma

PHOTOGRAPHIC
JOURNALS
01|25
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“Di ca e di là dal aghe”
On this side and that side of the water
You often hear this saying in Friuli (a region
in northeastern Italy).
It evokes the idea of a threshold, a boundary
— and refers, through ancient and resonant
words, to the separation “on this side
and that side of the water” — where aghe
stands for river.
In particular, it’s the Tagliamento — a historical,
cultural and linguistic boundary between
western and eastern Friuli.
For me, coming from Trentino, a region
neighboring Friuli in northern Italy — a marvellous
land, yet often “closed”, with valleys
compressed by surrounding mountains —
this wide expanse of light and silence, this
ungraspable openness, feels almost like an
emotional experience.
Accustomed to intimate, enclosed spaces,
I’m constantly surprised and fascinated
by this open dimension, where the horizon
slips away from every attempt to frame or
delimit it.

Beyond its geographic and historic role, the
Tagliamento also powerfully speaks to our
social and cultural identity.
It’s a river that weaves itself into the identity
of the land, into its memory, into its language.
A deep, anthropological connection
— almost archetypal.
Another Friulian saying that I love, for its affectionate
irony, is:
“No tu cjate nancje lis claps tal Tiliment”
“You won’t even find the stones in the Tagliamento
anymore” (used when someone is
confused, scattered, or misses the obvious)
It reminds me of Paola, my wife — Friulian
by birth (from Udine), Trentino by adoption
— always proud to say, with a certain
fierceness, in her native language: “Jo o soi
furlane – I’m Friulian!”
What does that saying mean?
It’s used when someone is looking for
something in vain — distracted or unable,
in that moment, to act with clarity.
It’s a gently sharp expression — like many
that come from Friuli — a land that knows
how to tease with warmth.
But the Tagliamento is not just a metaphor.
It’s also a lived place. In the Tagliamento,
people swim. They cross the arghe: crystalline
pools formed where the current slows
down between the river stones, and light
bends and dances.
They are beautiful natural ampoules —
ephemeral and ever-changing — telling
the living morphology of the river: its stony
bed, its free soul, its geological memory.
I took these photographs from the
bridge over the Tagliamento River, near
Spilimbergo, using a black and white infrared
sensor — a modified camera designed
to capture what the eye cannot see, but the
landscape softly whispers.
The light was perfect: sharp blades of bright
highlights, shadows as deep as graphite,
stones sculpted by time, and “albino” trees.
Luca Chistè
Phf Photoforma
July, 2025

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Contacts :
luca.chiste@gmail.com
www.lucachiste.it | www.photoforma.it

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PHOTOGRAPHY AND GRAPHIC DESIGN
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