Interview with Tatò Carla

From Camion experience to the beginning of the Genazzano Project.

C.T. Carla Tatò reconstructs the artistic and political trajectory preceding their arrival in Genazzano, identifying the Roman experience of Camion as a substantial “projectual baggage.” The work carried out in the urban peripheries – from the Romanina district (a roman neighborhood) and the CCPD (Centro culturale polivalente decentrato; i.e. Decentralized Multipurpose Cultural Center) to other neighbourhoods beyond the Grande Raccordo Anulare – constituted a phase of experimentation that combined theatre, cinema, and intervention within the social fabric.

Out of this experience emerged a trilogy – Borgatacamion, Robinson Crusoe, and The Last Performance of Nora Helmer – which condensed a long process of scenic research.

Carla Tatò also recalls their request to Renato Nicolini (Councillor for Culture in Rome) for a stable space in which to develop forms of creative “residency”. This led to the use of the Aranciera of San Sisto Vecchio, initially hindered by bureaucratic obstacles linked to the political-administrative context of Rome. The project became feasible thanks to the support of Mayor Giulio Carlo Argan. As Tatò states: “plants out, artists in. He fully agreed with Renato Nicolini. It was 1978, and we began to inhabit this iron-and-glass space” (00:07:23 – 00:07:43).

Within this space, an initial scenic action took shape with Histoire du soldat, developed in collaboration with Jannis Kounellis and structured through a scenographic device designed with Totò Quartucci.

The search for a new space and the arrival in Genazzano.

C.T. Carla Tatò describes the experience at the Aranciera as foundational for both imaginative processes and scenic operations. Scene di periferia is identified as a work that fully expresses the notion of “dramaturgy of space” in which space itself functions as an authorial agent.

With the conclusion of the trilogy in 1979, Carlo Quartucci and Carla Tatò began to reflect on the continuation of their artistic research. In this phase, the role of the provincial administration becomes central, particularly that of Tourism Councillor Ada Scalchi, who proposed several possible locations across the Province of Rome.

Early interventions in local contexts revealed difficulties in engaging with communities. Carla Tatò recalls episodes of strong misunderstanding during certain performances, such as the monologue of Nora or the vocal and sonic experiments by artists including Piero Brega and Luigi Cinque.

The encounter with Genazzano marked a decisive turning point. The exploration of the spaces of Castello Colonna suggested the possibility of a site capable of hosting a broader dramaturgical project, connected to the idea of a “shipwrecked culture” evoked through literary and theatrical references (from Lessing to the Cabaret of Die Elf Scharfrichter).

Carla Tatò recalls:  “We arrived there [in Genazzano], and it was a strange experience. Europe seemed to stand before us… we were reading The 120 Days of Sodom, and de Sade had a little flower called Florville and Courval. We used to read it in Camion, and then, walking through those rooms of Castello Colonna, which had been entrusted to us by the mayor Ulderigo Michetti and councillor Dino Cutarelli – ‘it’s yours, do whatever you want’ – we began to move through these empty rooms, extraordinarily empty, yet full of history” (00:17:07 – 00:18:16).

In this context, the film Florville and Courval was produced—featuring Giacomo Piperno, Carla Tatò, and Franco Branciaroli—as an initial moment of direct engagement with the territory.

Castello Colonna as scenic space and project laboratory.

C.T. Carla Tatò describes a largely devastated and abandoned structure. The Colonna wing (now Sala delle Armi) was almost entirely destroyed; Sala Martino V was partially usable, while the Borgia wing remained comparatively intact.

A promotorial group formed around the project, including artists, curators, and cultural operators such as Germano Celant, Roberto Lerici, Jannis Kounellis, Giulio Paolini, Paolo Pellion, Maria Gloria Conti Bicocchi, Ida Gianelli, and Andrés Neumann, working alongside the core of the Compagnia Laboratorio Camion.

The work developed in dialogue with the local community and municipal administration through public assemblies and meetings. Architect Cesare Panepuccia acted as a mediator with the historical context of the town.

The first scenic actions took the form of performative “prologues”: Il fuoco che genera fumo. Il fumo che genera ballerina. Ballerina che genera galli (i.e. Fire Producing Smoke, Smoke Producing a Dancer), and Kounellis’s installation with live roosters in Sala Martino V. Simultaneously, Giulio Paolini created Prologo (i.e. Prologue) in the Borgia wing, while photographs of the town by Paolo Pellion were projected onto the windows.

Encounters with artists and musicians.

C.T. Carla Tatò explains that these encounters stemmed partly from networks developed during Camion and partly from subsequent collaborations, including that with Giovanna Marini, who performed Sunday concerts during the first year of activity.

First year: engagement with the local community.

C.T. The first year was marked by strong interaction with the local community. Dialogue took place through public meetings, assemblies, and the use of loudspeaker systems installed along the main streets of the town.

Among the recalled events is Vinaliae, a wine festival organised with local farmers and featuring the participation of Gigi Proietti. This event became an opportunity to reflect on the notion of “cultural grafting”, which informed the creation of the scenic action Uscite (i.e. Exits), characterised by a curtain of glasses and an installation of locally produced wine bottles.

The laboratory as creative methodology.

C.T. Carla Tatò identifies the laboratory as the core methodological principle of their work, defining it as a “poetic condition” rather than a hierarchical structure. Artists from different disciplines – actors, painters, dancers – initiated autonomous actions that gradually entered into relation, generating open-ended and non-predetermined processes.

As she explains: “This beginning prompted other autonomous beginnings, which then entered into dialogue […] The laboratory is a process that opens up unknown relationships; one does not know the outcome, but there is an urgent necessity. The main driving force – because he had always envisioned it – was Carlo, through his storytelling, which was contagious for others” (00:38:58 – 00:39:50).

Within this framework, Carlo Quartucci functioned as an informal guide, fostering collective work without assuming a traditional authoritative role.

The Teatroteca as a space of social interaction. 

C.T. Carla Tatò highlights the importance of shared spaces. The Teatroteca (now Sala Martino V lower level) is remembered as a site of conviviality and discussion, where artists and residents gathered to eat, converse, and exchange ideas about ongoing activities.

The creative process and the dramaturgy of the image.

C.T. Carla Tatò emphasises that the creative process was grounded in the interaction between relational atmosphere and scenic action. This interplay generated a theatrical score in which images, performative acts, and architectural space contributed jointly to the construction of the event.

Castello Colonna between fascination and technical constraints.

C.T. Carla Tatò describes Castello Colonna as a ruin rich in symbolic potential – marked by war and history – capable of stimulating a creative process based on construction and reconstruction. 

However, the space posed significant technical challenges, particularly in terms of acoustics. Following the fires in Todi and at the Cinema Statuto in Turin, stricter safety regulations led to inspections and the closure of parts of the castle, prompting the relocation of some activities to the Ninfeo del Bramante.

International attention and funding structures.

C.T. Carla Tatò confirms that the abandoned and liminal nature of the site played a key role in attracting artists interested in experimenting with spatial dramaturgy.

The project was supported through a combination of resources: funds from Camion, ministerial support, and contributions from local administrations.

Organisational structure.

C.T. The organisational structure initially centred on the Compagnia Laboratorio Camion (Carlo Quartucci and Carla Tatò), later expanded through external collaborators and a broader promotorial group.

Relations with local institutions.

C.T. Carla Tatò recalls the support of local authorities, particularly Ada Scalchi, Mayor Ulderigo Michetti, and Councillor Dino Cutarelli, who were invested in promoting a new cultural identity for the town.

The arrival of the white truck (Camion) in a small town of approximately 5,000 inhabitants generated curiosity and facilitated the project’s initial reception.

The company as a collective organism.

C.T. Carla Tatò frames it as inseparable from the laboratory dimension: artists retained individual creative autonomy while participating in a shared process of experimentation and growth. Carlo Quartucci’s role was to recognise and amplify emerging ideas, fostering a collaborative environment grounded in trust, enthusiasm, and sustained engagement.

Identity of the promotorial group and meaning of the experience.

CT. Carla Tatò describes it as an artistic community driven by strong creative tension and a shared sense of discovery. Working in a small town like Genazzano is interpreted as a cultural challenge: transforming a peripheral context into a site of artistic experimentation and production.

The experience is remembered as a space where imagination and practice converged—where what was envisioned could also be realised—making Genazzano both a site of dreaming and of materialised cultural processes.

End of interview.