ANIME COLORED ITALIAN CITIES: DAVIDE SASSO

Italian photographer and digital artist Davide Sasso is obsessed with Japan, even though he’s never been there. He’s also obsessed with Japanese Anime. It inspires his photos of Italian cities, such as Florence, Rome, Venice, and Milan.

The saturated colors, mood and style evoke anime, such as those of Makoto Shinkai and Hayao Miyazaki. Shinkai is best known for directing Your Name, the highest-grossing anime film of all time.

Currently based in Novara, Italy, Sasso, is self-taught. He developed a way to recreate an vaporwave and anime-inspired collection with the Italian cities.

The contrast between ancient cities, like Rome and Renaissance cities, like Florence, and anime, is profound and delightful. There is romantic, old world charm and craftsmanship pumped up with colors that turn everything on its head.

Beautiful facades and artworks by great artists like Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, and Leonardo da Vinci, become almost otherworldly in Sasso’s photos.

Sasso notes that these cities all rose and fell and rose again several times over -- each time adding another layer of style to architecture and urban landscapes.

The cities’ most iconic landmarks, such as the Ponte Vecchio and Giotto’s Campanile, in Florence, have been photographed millions of times already, by professionals and tourists alike, but Sasso’s approach is entirely new.

The Piazza del Duomo, the Baptistery of St. John, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore all find new raisons d’etres.

Anime, with its combination of colorful graphics, quirky characters, fantastical themes, seems simplistic on one level, but Sasso teases out its sophistication to take cities that are rich in beautiful history to a whole new futuristic place.

You can purchase Sasso’s beautiful city photos here.

Read more about Urban Beauty in Random & Planned Beautiful Spots in Paris, Way Beyond Pretty City Suites and Pretty City Ditties.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Daniel Mennerich. “Hannover - Neues Rathaus.” Hannover, Germany.
2. Image: by leasqueaky. “Bubbles.” Central Park. New York, NY.
3. Image: by Michael Levine-Clark. “Denver Skyline.” Denver, Colorado.
4. Image:  by Jacob Surland. “Tower Bridge and City Hall under the Stars.” London, UK.
5. Image: by Can Pac Swire. “Night Calm, Night Rush.” Cleveland, Ohio.
6. Image: by Chris Goldberg. “Hot Summer Day in Park Slope, Brooklyn.” New York, NY.
7. Image: by Andreas Komodromos. “Manhattan After Dark, Comme des Garçons.” New York, NY.
8. Image: by Brian Kingsley. “Brooklyn 4th of July.” New York, NY.
9. Image: by Scott Ableman. Paris, France.
10. Image: by Erik Drost. “Cleveland Skyline.” Cleveland, Ohio.
11. Image: by MK Feeney. “New York City Skyline.” New York, NY.
12. Image: by Chris. “Magyar magnificent.” Budapest, Hungary.
13. Image: by Studio Incendo. “Sunset Hong Kong.” Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
14. Image: by torbakhopper. “details from a beautiful city, Scott Richard.” San Francisco, CA.
15. Image: by PaulSchliebs. “Oia - Santorini.” Oia, Greece.