One of the least known and visited countries in Europe, Moldova is a small fascinating land which deserves to be fully explored and understood. Renowned wineries and shiny monasteries aside, its greatest charme lies above all in its details.

“Drum Bun” means in Moldovan language “Have a nice trip”.

Driving off the beaten path the traveller comes upon the many, well-finished Soviet era road signs: like big imposing beton sculptures, they are standing there for decades marking sovkhoz, rayon and towns. Hammers and sickles, corn spikes, red stars and collective farmer women carrying grapes pop up in the middle of green gentle hills and long dusty roads.

As most of them are slowly but inexorably disappearing – left to rot, updated or just replaced – preserving their peculiar role in Socialist architectural heritage turns now essential.

That’s the reason why between 2016 and 2018 we travelled extensively all through the country – trying to record from North to South these underrated memories of the past and build an everlasting on-the-road photo catalogue out of them.

Elena Amabili
Alessandro Calvaresi