“Metamorphosis” exhibition at the Abbaye Saint-André

The Abbaye Saint-André in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon is hosting Metamorphosis, an exhibition devoted to the Italian landscapes of photographer and journalist Alessandro Calvi.

Around fifty prints, shown after Gustave Fayet’s “imaginary gardens”

Once visitors have finished strolling through Gustave Fayet’s “imaginary gardens”, the abbey invites them to slow down and take in the work of Alessandro Calvi. His photographs show a natural world that tourism has spared, its beauty still intact.

These fifty or so prints are being unveiled for the first time, from 5 August to 31 October 2026.

Tuscan landscapes where the hand of man shows through

At first glance, the images present a smooth, serene natural world with no people in it. Yet the photographer also worked as a journalist: he carried out research before photographing these Italian landscapes that stir so many dreams. He sums up his approach as “the interaction between the work of man and that of nature in the construction of the Italian landscape”.

Often, an invisible hand has shaped the terrain and the vegetation to fit demands of aesthetics or practical use. Visitors are encouraged to notice what is at play in these idealised landscapes, Tuscany and its winding, romantically charming roads being a case in point.