As of March 25, 2026, just days after opening, “Legami Invisibili” is already emerging as one of Milan’s most compelling cultural events of the season, drawing strong attention in its first days and confirming an encouraging public response around its debut at CMQ Salotto. The exhibition, dedicated to the work of Francesco Bellina and created in collaboration with Esserenero, officially opened this week and is scheduled to run through April 30, 2026.
Presented as the fourth chapter of the exhibition project Trame, “Legami Invisibili” immediately stands out for its emotional intensity and for the relevance of its subject matter. Hosted at CMQ Salotto, Piazza Caiazzo 3 in Milan, the show combines photography, poetry, and sound into an immersive experience that moves beyond a traditional exhibition format. Early online coverage and opening-day posts suggest that the project has quickly captured the attention of visitors and observers alike, helping position it as a meaningful cultural appointment in the city’s current art calendar.
At the heart of the exhibition is Bellina’s long-term research journey across Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Mediterranean, following a route that symbolically and physically leads to the southern shores of Sicily. Through a powerful photographic language, the artist investigates the exploitation endured by many women within the Nigerian community, bringing visibility to stories that are too often ignored or reduced to statistics. His images do not seek sensationalism. Instead, they invite viewers into a deeper and more human understanding of migration, coercion, memory, and survival.
The exhibition is part of Bellina’s broader project “Oriri,” a word in the Bini language that can be translated as “spirits” or “nightmares.” That title reflects the psychological and symbolic dimension of the work: the rituals, fears, and invisible mechanisms of control that shape many migration journeys before departure, during transit, and after arrival in Europe. In “Legami Invisibili,” these themes are translated into a visual narrative that is both intimate and politically resonant, offering audiences a chance to confront the human complexity behind contemporary migration routes.
A distinctive strength of the exhibition lies in its interdisciplinary construction. Bellina’s photographs are placed in dialogue with Esserenero’s poetic texts and with a sound research project developed through the voice of Nabi. The sonic dimension, built from recordings gathered during Bellina’s travels, transforms the exhibition into a layered environment where image, voice, and atmosphere merge into a single narrative space. This approach gives “Legami Invisibili” unusual depth and helps explain why the exhibition has made such an immediate impression in its opening days.
More than just a photography exhibition, “Legami Invisibili” is a cultural statement about the ties connecting Africa and Europe, about visibility and erasure, and about the role of contemporary art in generating awareness. In this sense, the exhibition also marks an important moment for Codice Italia, which will highlight this event at the close of its coverage as the first chapter in a new series of cultural initiatives dedicated to promoting Italian culture through art, dialogue, and international perspective.
