The photographic exhibition Si Fas Est, Superare Divos (superior, if it is lawful, to the gods), by the video artist Yuri Ancarani (Ravenna, 1972), reflects on the apparent impossibility of conjunction between desire and memory, returning, through a contemporary gaze, the legendary atmospheres evoked by the scenarios of Villa Adriana.

The 10 photographs by Ancarani that immortalize young cowboys next to the busts of Hadrian, exhibited at the Mouseia of Villa Adriana in Tivoli, until October 6, 2024, are a selection of those taken during the backstage of a video shot at the Hadrianic site, with which Ancarani pays homage to Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936), an Italian composer, musicologist, and orchestra conductor who greatly inspired Ennio Morricone and the soundtracks of Sergio Leone's legendary western films.

The fusion of the Italian western in the summer setting of the Villa has given rise to a narrative of surprising harmony between the cowboy protagonists and the goods on temporary and permanent display at the Mouseia, thus establishing a dialogue between the photographic works and the archaeological and landscape heritage of the VILLÆ.

The young cowboys become, in the shots, "statues next to the statues," creating an unexpected and unusual temporal corridor between the contemporary and the remote.

The harmony of the actors brings the archaeological site to life, especially the historical environments such as the Hall with three Exedrae, the Fishpond, the Summer Triclinium, Golden Square, and the Hospitaller Building, updating the reading, perception, and internalization of the cultural and landscape assets managed by the Institute through the current production of artistic creativity.

The project is supported by Strategia Fotografia 2023, promoted by the General Directorate of Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture and organized by the Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este Institute - VILLÆ, winner of the call with The Patriarchs of Villa Adriana, of which the exhibition, curated by Andrea Bruciati, director of the Institute, represents one of the stages of the cultural proposal, along with the meeting with the artist in the production phase and the release of the exhibition catalog.