21–24 May 10.00 am–1.00 pm and 3.00 pm–7.00 pm Delbianco Room
A Collection of Waterways – A Short Atlas of Watercourses between Trieste, Monfalcone and Gorizia
18 May 2026
Edited by Elena Clagnan
A Collection of Waterways
A Short Atlas of Watercourses between Trieste, Monfalcone and Gorizia
21–24 May
10.00 am–1.00 pm and 3.00 pm–7.00 pm
Delbianco Room
Water forms part of the physical and inner landscape of the people who live in a particular area. Elena Clagnan, an artisan specialising in artistic and contemporary bookbinding, has mapped some of the water features found in the triangle of land between Gorizia, Trieste and Monfalcone: the Stoperca stream, Cona Island, the mouth of the Timavo, the Dobbia ponds, the Isonzo, the Idrovora Sacchetti and others.
The ever-expanding collection has taken the form of a series of small books that speak of water through water itself: a sample preserved in a vacuum-sealed bag, a brief text outlining the history of that place, its geographical coordinates and a photograph of the collection point taken on the day of collection.
In Elena’s aesthetic, collecting water means telling stories that intertwine places, times and people. The latest water collected is that mixed with the mud from the landslide on the hill at Brazzano on 16 November 2025.
Elena Clagnan
Elena Clagnan is an artist and craftswoman specialising in artistic and contemporary bookbinding. Whilst studying Visual Arts, she began learning the art of bookbinding in 2014. Between 2018 and 2022, she worked in the workshops of two historic names in the sector: the Venetian traditional paper artisans Paolo Olbi and Alberto Valese, where she deepened her study of artistic and traditional craftsmanship. “Carte al Vento” is her artistic project, through which she promotes the art of the handmade book and the regeneration of discarded or damaged volumes. Her works are characterised by the use of high-quality materials and an aesthetic approach that transforms the “book” into a unique, tactile artefact, celebrating paper as a living material. Clagnan lives, works and studies between Venice and Gorizia, designing and crafting notebooks and albums in limited editions and as one-off pieces, combining tradition, materials and experimental structures with the aim of making her craftsmanship a relational art.