Antonio García Castillo’s work operates at the intersection of historical memory and archival research as tools for resignifying territory. His investigation, based on the records and discoveries of the Milanese naturalist Antonio Raimondi in the 19th century, establishes a bridge between past and present, evoking the visual and epistemic legacy of an unexplored and profoundly complex Peru.

The exhibition, first presented at the Centro Cultural Inca Garcilaso of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lima in 2023 and later at the Consulate General of Peru in Milan under the auspices of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demonstrates the solidity of a creative process deeply rooted in research. In this context, García Castillo not only revisits the monumental encyclopedia El Perú: Itinerary of a Journey but also reinterprets its fundamental categories—geology, cartography, botany, ethnography, and wildlife—from a contemporary perspective that questions Raimondi’s legacy in dialogue with today’s challenges in cultural and natural heritage conservation.

Invited by the archaeologist and curator of the Museum of Cultures (MUDEC) in Milan, García Castillo contributes two works to the exhibition commemorating the 200th anniversary of Antonio Raimondi’s birth and the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Peru and Italy. His contribution is not merely a tribute but a critical affirmation of how knowledge has been systematized, appropriated, and transformed over time.

Concepts such as identity, memory, and territory unfold in his work through the superimposition of maps, mineral studies, fragments of botanical codices, and artistic reinterpretations of the fauna documented by Raimondi. Additionally, representations of the first cartographic map of Peru and the rediscovery of the Chavín culture are woven into a visual narrative that not only honors the Italian explorer’s legacy but also projects it into a contemporary context marked by ecological urgency and questions of belonging.

García Castillo’s work does not merely summon Raimondi’s legacy; it revitalizes it through an artistic exploration that transcends nostalgia, positioning itself as a critical reflection on the construction of knowledge, cultural sovereignty, and the unbreakable link between history and the future.

Carolina Orsini
Archaeologist and Curator
MUDEC – Museum of Cultures
Milan, Italy