Into Lugana's oasis, the soul of Zenato

“From our daily commitment in the vineyard and in the cellar,” explains Nadia Zenato, “came the desire to share the emotions and the beauty of this territory so dear to us, which represents the very soul of our work, through a book and a photographic exhibition, In the Lugana Oasis, the Soul of Zenato.”

A visual narrative by photographer Francesco Radino, one of the most influential voices in contemporary Italian photography, is paired with a meticulous and engaging historical reconstruction of events and figures that have shaped this land since Roman times, curated by the Veronese historian Bruno Avesani.
The story of the success of an indigenous grape variety — Trebbiano di Lugana — is told by journalist Cesare Pillon, a leading figure in Italian food and wine journalism. In just fifty years, this grape has risen from a simple farmers’ table wine to a symbol of excellence on tables around the world, embodying the finest traditions of Italian agri-food production.

The photographic exhibition, presenting an anthological selection of the images featured in the volume in large formats, was inaugurated at the Biblioteca Capitolare of Verona, one of the oldest libraries in the world, from 12 April to 16 May 2018, and was later transferred to the Zenato S. Cristina Estate.

It is a narrative in which it is difficult to distinguish what belongs to natural vision and what to art history and dream. Paths that continually intertwine, creating new balances within the ever-changing season of an imagined world.
“Intoxicated by the noble Lugana of Casa Zenato,” recounts Francesco Radino, “I closed my eyes, only to reopen them and suddenly be met by the delicate, luminous hues of amber and honey that clothe this extraordinary wine. Complicit with the late season, they accompanied me in telling the story of this corner of paradise on the Lombard-Venetian border.”