Sense of Place e Visual Storytelling: la piattaforma OPHeLiA

The essay suggests some considerations around visual storytelling and the sense of place, and the ways in which these two objects enter into dialogue. It also examines the relationship between visual image-representation and storytelling, and the related processes of creating a collective memory and the sense of place. The case study investigated concerns the neighbourhood of San Berillo; i.e. an analysis that, while taking into account the existing relationship between visual storytelling and the perception of the sense of place, suggests a re-reading and re-interpretation of the neighbourhood’s history visually narrated through the outcomes of the OPHeLiA research project and, particularly, the implementation of the multimedia platform by the same name. With the employment of the photographic medium applied to the performing arts (theatre, music, cinema, television and audiovisual media) and to literature, the platform – as an output of the project – shows significant potential for the mapping, analysis and reinforcement of San Berillo’s sense of place, and at the same time offers a visual texture that, through this tool, can still be researched, narrated, enhanced and exploited today.