Where the land ends, a climbing film by Marzio Nardi

September 2007. A bunch of young (and not so young) climbers who just so happen to be some of the strongest on the Italian peninsular, set off in search of new places and rocks to be climbed.

The prow of the van, skilfully skippered by Marzio Nardi and Mauro Calibani, heads south towards sunny Puglia. The (official) course is towards a non-defined search for new spaces where the vertical imagination has no limits... Does such a place exist?

This is the question our helmsmen Calibani & Nardi asked themselves, as did the other members of the family team: Enrico Baistrocchi, Francesco Spadea, Gabriele Moroni, Irene Bariani, Michele Caminati, Daniela Feroleto, Alessandro Gandolfo, Riccardo Traini, Marco Dialuce. The true answer to this quest can be found in "Dove finisce la terra", where the land ends, a video filmed by Marzio Nardi and Rovero Impiglia, directed by Marzio himself.

We've presented a short preview of the film which will be aired for the first time at the Melloblocco 2008, on Friday 9 May at 21.00 at the Mountain Centre in Valmasino. All the main actors will be there, unsurprisingly as they are all Melloblocco habitués, accompanied by a great, boundless desire to climb between the rocks, sky and… sea!



Wedged in between the sky, sea and rocks by Marzio Nardi
Apart from Mauro and myself who in June had travelled south for a reccie, all the rest of the team bundled into the van with just a huge desire to climb. With only one clue: to travel south, where the earth marks its border with the sea.

1300 km in a renault master packed to the brim with luggage, breadcrumbs under our seats and rest breaks in improbable motorways stations, borderline between reality and Benni novel fantasy were the prelude to this unique story.

First and foremost for Mauro and the entire E9 company, who funded this Brancaleone-style expedition, then for the members of the group who in 9 days gave the best of themselves on uncharted terrain. In short, a true expedition.

A raid, dreamt of and created with the fewest of means, dictated by our desire to experience an adventure which could begin at our very doorstep.

Clearly I was part of the team, and my role was a climber-come-aspiring film director, torn between wanting to be one of the protagonists and wishing to document how one can live out an adventure without necessarily needing to imagine extreme places and situations.

Certainly I'm not the one who can express an opinion about this video, I can only hope to have talked about climbing in the way I've always imagined: that it can be invented and interpreted in any place whatsoever, even where the land meets the sea...

Marzio Nardi