Corpi Idrici is a multidisciplinary investigation into the hidden rivers of Genoa and the ecological, social, and urban consequences of their covering. In one of Italy’s most industrialised cities, this long-standing practice—accelerated by industrialisation and property speculation—has redefined ecosystems, heightened flood and landslide risks, and deepened the effects of the climate crisis. Yet in these buried channels, neglected and inaccessible, life adapts, creating fragile refuges that challenge the division between natural and human-made environments.
Through scientific research, fieldwork, and visual interpretation, the project traces a micro-geography of resistance within freshwater ecosystems. These submerged landscapes become sites of both loss and resilience, shifting the discourse away from a simple opposition between nature and human intervention, towards a richer understanding of biological and aesthetic complexity. In doing so, Corpi Idrici reimagines the role of underground water in an era of environmental instability.