As you stand in the middle of Vuoto, you are not immediately aware of its magic for most of it is not even there. Only the visitor or inhabitant who trains their eyes to really see all there is to be seen will become aware of the two worlds intertwined into one city- the negative and the positive, the void and the solid. The two dimensions are opposites, but complementary- one would not exist without the other.The structures of the city of Vuoto can be touched, seen, smelled and heard. The invisible dimension of this city- the voids or negative spaces- cannot be realized in this way, but they can be understood and even seen if one closely observes the structures that surround them. The city is made up of physical layers, separated by spaces of different distances and sizes. Along the crowded streets are crevasses, gaps and alleys, which lead the eyes of the traveller into a new space, beyond that of the immediate street facades. The eyes are drawn over the gates and through these tunnel-like-spaces towards the next layer of structure or towards the infinite sky. All scale of the scene beyond is lost and the view appears flat, the physical distance compressed.
As the dusk settles into the city's spaces, one becomes aware of the contrast between the dark city forms and the lighter sky. Parts of the atmosphere take on various shapes, framed by the silhouettes of the city. It is only then that we actually see a piece of the sky and become aware of its entirety. When the dawn reappears, the silhouette arrives with it and we catch another glimpse of the void- the essence of the city of Vuoto.
-This text was based on Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino-