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Italian photographer documents the ruins of former nightclubs across Italy

Antonio La Grotta’s Paradise Discotheque is a series of images capturing the ruins and memories of former nightclubs and discotheques across Italy.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist

He photographed nine former nightspots as part of his project. Of his work, he said “Discotheques, the symbol of '80s and '90s hedonism, were fake marble temples adorned with Greek statues made of gypsum, futuristic spaces of gigantic size, large enough to contain the dreams of success, money, fun of thousands people. And then the dreams are gone, people disappeared and nightclubs became abandoned wrecks, cement whales laid on large empty squares, places inhabited by echo and melancholy.”

La Grotta is a graduate of IED (European Desing Institute) where he now teaches Reportage and Events Photography. A freelance photographer, he owns and runs NOPX, a contemporary art gallery. Find out more on his portfolio.

Divinа nightclub's yellow and black marquee sign topped with stars looms above the abandoned building's faded blue and brown facade under stormy skies
Facade of an abandoned Cesar Palace nightclub with boarded-up black doors, weathered cream-coloured walls, blue-grey shuttered windows and moss-covered steps
Abandoned nightclub interior with crumbling walls, circular ceiling lights, a rusted pool with turquoise tiles, and faded decorative panels along the upper walls
Abandoned discotheque with white curved facade, large circular arches and a small pond in front, surrounded by empty concrete plaza under clear blue sky
White modernist nightclub building with antenna surrounded by evergreen trees and vegetation under blue sky with clouds
Abandoned concrete nightclub building with boarded windows and graffiti, surrounded by overgrown vegetation and cracked pavement under a cloudy sky
Overgrown trees frame an abandoned concrete building with boarded windows under a clear blue sky, part of Antonio La Grotta's Paradise Discotheque series documenting former Italian nightclubs
Rusted metal dome structure with vertical ribs and arched openings, surrounded by overgrown vegetation and trees in an abandoned landscape
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