Il Signore Che Viene Da Lontano—Moving Through The Immateriality of a Continental Infrastructure

In 1973, the Italian company Eni buried a 900-kilometer-long pipe between Italy and the Netherlands to import natural gas, promising clean and endless energy to fuel industry and replace oil. Over fifty years later, this oversized object remains unnoticed, marked only by ground poles and empty spaces. Informed by multiple-scale observational research including satellite images, Street View, photographic archival material, and policy documents, Matteo Bettini followed the traces of the pipeline for 13 days. The slow pilgrimage is presented in an audio-video installation that draws on field recordings and archival material. By venturing into the remote areas where these crucial infrastructures reside, the project highlights the need for accidental encounters to witness what has become hidden in plain sight.