Yes to All: Mattia Micheli and Nicolò Panzeri's perspective on mountains between lost authenticity and anthropisation

Text by Michela Coslovich

All images © Mattia Micheli & Nicolò Panzeri

Mattia Micheli (Perugia, 1989) is a visual artist working mainly in the field of documentary photography. After graduating from Fondazione Studio Marangoni, he started working as a photographer for editorial and advertising assignments. His photographs are regularly published in Italian and foreign magazines. His personal subjects have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at numerous European photography festivals.

Nicolò Panzeri (Milan, 1991) recently graduated from Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence. The most recurrent themes in his work are those related to the environment and how man affects it. Although, in some cases, such as for ‘Sătŭra’, the approach may be similarly conceptual, it always encompasses research of a documentaristic nature and social interest.

Many of those who take photographs of the Alps are under the illusion that they are capturing naturalism, the traditional, the wild and the pure. The anthropological dimension of the Alps is quite different, marked by contradictions and intense human interaction, mirroring the typical dynamics of the lowlands. For a long time people tried to portray the mountains as a pure and untouched place, but in reality it is one of the environments most profoundly transformed by man: huge ski complexes and slopes of all difficulties, mountain huts, restaurants, shopping centres, airports and spas have altered the natural landscape. Mountains have thus been transformed into a space custom-designed for human comfort and entertainment, becoming a product built to meet the needs of tourism and consumption.

Mattia Micheli and Nicolò Panzeri, in their photographic book Yes to All published in 2023 by Emergenze Publishing (Perugia), address these issues by analysing the most contradictory aspects of mountain capitalism. Aspects that, as we shall see, manifest themselves in many forms and contexts, not only related to mountains.

The project develops as a profound visual and conceptual reflection on the loss of authenticity of these places, which have been transformed from difficult and hostile terrain into a global playground. Micheli and Panzeri wanted to document and analyse this transition, in which the natural landscape has been progressively colonised by the logic of mass tourism that has transformed its original essence, often sacrificing its environmental and cultural integrity. This indiscriminate accessibility is what is criticised through the title, which recalls a permissive approach: ‘yes to everything’, to any activity or human intrusion, without limits.

It invites us to a profound and necessary reflection on the sustainability and preservation of the Alpine environment, documenting with almost surgical precision the wounds inflicted on the mountains by senseless and often destructive tourism.

The book’s cover is made with a cutout reproducing the hidden side of the Matterhorn, one of the most iconic mountains in the Alps. The tactile and visual relief symbolise the historical and cultural weight of these mountain landscapes, in contrast to the increasing lightness with which they are treated in modernity. The dominant colours of the cover also evoke elements of Alpine nature: tones that evoke snow, ice and cliffs, with a reference to the rock formations typical of the Alps.

The opening page of the book encapsulates the essence of entire project: a cutout frames the glacial landscape of the French Alps above Chamonix. This first image, appearing isolated and untouched, evokes the idea of pure nature, far removed from human intervention. However, turning the page, the reader is caught by an abrupt change: the same place becomes the setting for a music festival that attracts a crowd of visitors. This contrast underlines the project’s central tension between the desire to preserve the integrity of these natural environments and the inexorable pressure exerted by mass tourism.

The research, which began in 2018, led Micheli and Panzeri to embark on a journey on foot across the Alps, passing through countries such as France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. This slow and immersive approach allowed them to rediscover the authentic essence of these places, observing at first hand the changes that are transforming them. On the one hand, the expansion of large ski resorts is highlighted, on the other, the tangible impact of global warming on glaciers.

Foot journey allowed the authors to capture fragments of urbanity that unequivocally reveal human ‘contamination’ in the Alpine context. These places, often totally disconnected from the traditional mountain environment, create a new aesthetic, characterised by the forced coexistence of nature and tourist infrastructure.

Inspired by Enrico Camanni’s ‘Rebel Alps’, Micheli and Panzeri question the distinction between a ‘real mountain’ and a ‘fake mountain’. Camanni denounces the commodification of the Alps, proposing a return to a more respectful and conscious approach to these environments. Similarly, Micheli and Panzeri’s images urge a reflection on this paradigm shift, inviting us to overcome the consumerist vision of the mountains in order to rediscover their intrinsic and authentic value, beyond the tourist amenities that turn them into a commercial product.

Through a carefully studied photographic composition, the images capture the conflict between two worlds: on the one hand, the natural landscape, rebellious and free; on the other, the artificial structures, standardised and designed to meet the demands of mass tourism. The project goes beyond mere documentation: Yes to All becomes an invitation to reflect on our collective responsibility towards the environment. The book not only bears witness to the wounds inflicted on the mountains, but also calls for a new awareness. The work stands as a warning: we need to rethink our relationship with nature, rediscovering a more harmonious and respectful connection. The preservation of the Alps is not only an ecological issue, but also a cultural and social one, crucial to ensure that these places continue to represent symbols of beauty and freedom for future generations.