The Visual Reception of Parajanov in Italy. Poetry, fairytale and Icon

The contribution analyzes the visual reception of Sergey Parajanov’s work in Italy, summarizing his presence from the 1960s to the 1990s at film festivals and his subsequent recognition through Italian television, particularly thanks to Enrico Ghezzi. It then illustrates how Parajanov has been viewed through the lenses of “poetry cinema” and folkloric-fairy tale elements, themes that resonate in both Soviet and Italian criticism. Furthermore, it explores an intriguing convergence between his work and some contemporary Italian artistic experiences, demonstrating how his style was in tune with a broader aesthetic sensitivity of the time. Finally, it emphasizes the uniqueness of Parajanov’s cinema, placing it within the tradition of sacred icon rather than Western figurative art. Pavel Florensky thus serves as a tool for interpreting his cinema, and the reception history of the Russian philosopher intertwines with that of Parajanov, becoming a fruitful means for his reception and interpretation