Ciao Enrico! When was the spark that made you want to explore remote and abandoned places?
I’ve had a passion for abandonment since i was a child but at that time i only explored by walking around and looking, without taking pictures, but in 2016 i seriously started to explore and have practically not stopped since then! (Ed. note: Laughs)
At first i explored only in Italy then combining my passion for travel i started to travel and explore abroad as well, most of the trips i did with C. with whom i always got along very well.
Tell us how the idea of exploring the Buran hangars in Kazakhstan came about?
The idea to explore the Buran came after the video by Bob Thissen (Ed. note @exploringtheunbeatenpath) who is also a dear friend, in 2017 I had done a solo survey in Kazakhstan but i didn’t have enough information to be able to get there and in fact i had to “buttare dentro” (Ed. note: “Give up!”) because at that time there were several checkpoints in the middle of the desert and if you didn’t know exactly where they were, you would end up in the mouth of the Russian army.
Two years passed, in 2019 i started collecting as much information as possible thanks to my friend Greg Abandoned, (Ed. note: @gregabandoned) a Polish guy living in China who i met in Taiwan! Through him we started gathering all the information about the route and everything there was to do.
Then in 2020 i wanted to leave for this adventure but thanks to COVID i still had to “buttare dentro”.
In the meantime i met C. and talking about this and that i told her about my idea of the Buran, she immediately liked it so we began to seriously plan the project.
Of course there were people who wanted to join us, more because participating in this adventure was cool than anything else, but we opted to go alone, first for a logistical factor and then because i had already done so many trips with C., i knew her abilities to take on such a trip and also she speaks excellent Russian!
COVID passes and on a trip we made together to Japan we set the departure date for the holidays of 2nd June 2023: we purchased the 3 flights to get there and put together all the information we had gathered while also finding a trusted cab driver previously used by a Canadian friend and … we were finally ready to go!
We had decided to do some preparation for this desert hike but never actually did it. We managed very well even without training in fact we had to do a lot more kilometers than the normal tour because unfortunately as soon as we left we discovered the presence of a truck of “Desert Marauders” (Ed. Bands of thieves) which disturbed us quite a bit so we diverted the route by a few kilometers.
After 17 hours of walking with daytime temperatures reaching 51° C we finally managed to get to the shuttle hangars.
What was the place that fascinated you the most? Why?
The place that fascinated me the most undoubtedly was Buran, when you stand in front of Energia or the two immense shuttles of Buran you are truly speechless.
We were almost resigned to the fact that we could not get in because we had been looking for access into the shed for over an hour and a half.
When we finally find an open door, we find ourselves under the rocket’s reactors and feeling like little ants under a giant, we look up and see this immense thing almost 70 meters high: seeing live among the first spacecraft to fly in space with all their incredible history, it really leaves you speechless.
This is the place that fascinated me the most ever then whatever then there are many others for example in Japan in the Fukushima area or others, but nothing compares to that.
Your passion for travel and exploration takes you around the world. How do you choose the destinations in Italy, Europe and the rest of the World that you want to explore?
The passion for travel has always been there, i have visited almost 90 countries around the world and most all outside Europe, absurdly in Europe i have done very little while i have toured a lot in the Far and Middle East, North Africa, America and Central America, Australia, this year even the North Pole, basically a little bit of everything.
Since then i discovered Urbex the trips are planned (especially the last 20 trips i have done with C.) based also on Urbex locations, we usually make a vacation focused on Urbex adding some tourism.
Lately we’ve gotten a bit of a fixation on ex-Soviet places so our latest vacations are very much focused on locations of that type.
How do you feel about the Italian scene compared to other countries? (Ex: Is it easier to find support or help for exploration outside Italy? )
The Italian scene lately is not pleasing me at all, so much so that i try to stay out of all the messes and all the people’s shows.
The true explorer does not do it to be seen by others, he does it solely because he likes it. Of course it pleases everyone to find a nice place but this does not have to be done by smashing, for me that is not Urbex.
Urbex is finding an open place to take your pictures, if it is closed it must remain so, instead unfortunately I have seen that now, especially in Italy, it is very fashionable to do this. People don’t even realize the risks that you can take and think that it always goes well for them.
For this reason i try to do my own things even maybe out of fashion or to find something that hasn’t been seen, however i definitely don’t care to appear more than that also because if I wanted to put stuff to appear i could do it for the next 3 years without any problems.
Today the most beautiful nation to do Urbex is Japan because there is full respect for abandoned places and all the locations are intact and go into natural decay; photographers don’t touch anything unlike us who steal and smash all the time.
I happened to go to some places 2/3 times years later and find them intact as the first time, not changed one iota, the only change i find is the passage of time is that in my opinion is the most beautiful Urbex in the world: that is to have respect for the places.
Anything else you want to add?
In the Urbex environment you can find real friends, and i think i am among the few who has really bonded with people anyway that he hears from on a daily basis, not only to talk about Urbex but also to talk about something else, i see a lot of envy, jealousy, and trivial fights.
Sometimes if you want to instead, you can find true and sincere friendships, but it’s not that easy…