“Where the Lake Ends” follows the collective’s interest in documenting the Italian landscape and its inhabitants.
In this project, set in a location renowned for its scenic lake, we employed two main elements of orientation.
The first was the distance from the lake, often the central element in a stereotypical narrative. In our exploration, we were instead drawn to the mountains, the warehouses, the peripheral shopping centres, the urban gardens and the school desks. The lake – yes, that is there too – is an integral part of the whole that constitutes the territory under investigation, but it remains deliberately distant, merely mentioned, shifting the balance of the narrative beyond the most renowned places.
The second element of orientation was the people who inhabit and animate the territory. Not the tourists who flock to the area for holidays and sporting activities, but those who give identity to the valley and the mountains surrounding Riva del Garda.
Through the combination of these elements – the intricate geography of the territory and the serendipitous or intentional encounters with its inhabitants – the project we present here emerges.
The work was carried out jointly by the members of the collective and constitutes an archive of images that attempts to convey the complexity and depth of the geographical and social reality of the territory. In doing so, we do not wish to build an encyclopaedia of all those who live there, nor even compile a Baedeker of the place, but rather lead the viewer by the hand into our personal labyrinth of impressions and associations.
Commissioned by MAG – Museo dell’Alto Garda to document the geographical and social landscape around Lake Garda, and curated by Giovanna Calvenzi.
About TerraProject
TerraProject is a documentary photography collective founded in Florence in 2006 by Michele Borzoni, Simone Donati, Pietro Paolini and Rocco Rorandelli. As one of Italy’s first photography collectives, TerraProject quickly established itself as an important platform for discussion and creative exchange among its members. Over the years, they have developed an original methodology of “collective writing”, producing collaborative projects characterised by a distinctive and cohesive visual style.
The collective has consistently focused its research on social and environmental issues, both in Italy and internationally. Through major public and private commissions, TerraProject has built an extensive archive documenting local realities across Italy.
Since its foundation, the collective has increasingly turned its attention to marginalised territories and overlooked stories, far removed from media attention and tourist clichés. Its work traces an expanding map of lives unfolding beyond major urban centres, exploring the social and geographical complexities of Italy’s provincial regions.
In each of these contexts, TerraProject has combined photographic documentation with the development of networks of local stakeholders who contribute to guiding its research. Through relationships based on dialogue, exchange and participation, the collective has established collaborative approaches to storytelling that highlight local experiences and amplify the voices of the communities involved.
TerraProject’s work has been exhibited at prestigious international institutions and events, including MAXXI in Rome, the Rencontres d’Arles, the Triennale di Milano, MAST in Bologna, the Museo Alto Garda and the European Parliament in Brussels.
The collective has received numerous awards and distinctions, including World Press Photo awards (2010 and 2012), the Italian Sustainability Photo Award (2023), the Gabriele Basilico Prize (2020), the “Italia Inclusiva” grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) (2022), and the Photography Strategy grant from the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture (2025).
Its photographs have appeared in leading Italian and international publications, including Le Monde Magazine, The New York Times, Internazionale, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Washington Post and L’Espresso.
TerraProject regularly collaborates with institutions, associations and local communities, managing every stage of the creative process, from initial research to editorial and exhibition production. Its approach places particular emphasis on participation, collaboration and the social impact of photographic projects.
Recent collaborations include a project on Bosnia (2025) developed with the Department of Law at the University of Siena as part of the IMPACCTS call, and a project addressing gambling addiction (2024) in collaboration with the Tuscany Region and ANCI. [Official Website]
