On Thursday, April 9 The American University of Florence's Palazzi Community Center became a crossroads for art, language and identity. The evening celebrated the launch of "X”, a collaborative book by author Sofia Galli and photographer Marco Gualtieri, published by Maschietto Editore. This combination of mediums through visuals and text let visitors connect emotionally and intuitively with the project before moving into a more structured book presentation.

Following the exhibition, guests gathered outside for a discussion led by the gallery's curator, Lapo Morgantini. Morgantini posed questions to both artists before allowing audience members to join in. The atmosphere was lively, with audience members laughing, nodding and clapping in response to the artists’ insights. This interaction created a sense of shared experience as opposed to just passive watching, reinforcing one key idea of “X” that meaning is not fixed but shaped through interaction.

“X” does not present itself as a definite narrative, but as a shifting space open for interpretation. The exhibition and presentation environment strengthened this idea. The photographs and texts were arranged differently in the exhibition than in the book, creating new relationships between images and words. As Gualtieri said, this rearrangement allows for new connections to appear, highlighting that the work is not stagnant but is continuously reshaped by context and the viewer's perspective. The exhibit was not just a preview of the book but rather it became an extension of it by allowing for a different way of reading and experiencing the project.

It is crucial to consider the meaning of its title, “X”, which both artists describe as intentionally open and convoluted. Gualtieri explained that, “X is the crossing and the meeting and also the differences and the departures and the arrivals in different places,” portraying it as both a symbol of movement and connection.

His photographs, which span the course of more than a decade across Italy and the United States, were not originally meant to be a single project. Instead, they were created with what he called “absolute freedom,” capturing sites in a way that viewers often could not tell where an image was taken which only reinforced the idea of blurred lines between places and experiences.

Galli’s view on the title adds to this framework by defining it in terms of structure and history. She explained how the book’s visual and textual format initially formed an “X” by pairing photographs from Italy and the United States and building texts around them. However, the title grew beyond its original meaning. For Galli, “X is also the representation of any person because it’s not a full-fledged name,” therefore linking the symbol to themes of identity and anonymity.

She also connected it to migration history by relating it to how immigrants at Ellis Island would sign with an “x” when they were illiterate. This connection then also turns the symbol into a mark of displacement and universality. This allows “X” to become not just a title but a central character and the conceptual anchor in the work.

The theme of migration runs throughout the entire project and was a key point in the evening’s discussion. Both collaborators took inspiration directly from their own experiences moving between Italy and the United States, using their work to explore what it means to exist between cultures. Galli stressed that migration is not just a historical event, but a current reality for many. She gave the example of the continuous influx of study abroad students and individuals traveling between countries. Simultaneously, the project acknowledges that along with the wonders of migration come many complexities and inequalities that shape different migratory experiences. Identity is constantly changing and being influenced by interactions with other cultures.

The book is written in both Italian and English, often showing translations side by side. Galli does not consider translation a simple linguistic task, instead, she describes it as a structure that reveals both connections and gaps between languages, with some nuances left unresolved. The reader is invited to engage actively with the text and create meaning. This approach reflects the experience of navigating multiple cultures, where meaning is often layered and not entirely clear.

The collaborative nature of “X” emphasizes its openness. Galli and Gualtieri worked together without a fixed goal in mind. They approached the project as a journey of discovery that would only be realized with time. For instance, Gualtieri initially thought only a few poems would accompany his images, but the collaboration quickly grew into something a lot more intricate. He described the interaction between text and image as a transformation, where “one plus one is not two, but it’s three.” 

This metaphor captures the creative potential of partnership, where combining different artistic views and mediums produces something completely new. Galli shared this feeling, stating how the book’s narrative developed naturally from the photographs. She felt “enlightened” by the images, which seemed to tell a story on their own in her mind. Writing in response to these visuals allowed her to engage with similar themes to Gualtieri’s, but through a different medium. This interaction between photography and writing highlights the strengths of each form while showing how they can enhance each other. Such enhancement could be seen as a metaphor for the flourishing that occurs when cultures exchange through openness and acceptance.

As the evening wrapped up, guests had the chance to purchase copies of “X” and get them signed by both artists. Many guests lingered afterward and seemed eager to engage in more personal conversations with Galli and Gualtieri. "X” will remain on display inside of the Palazzi Community Center's Corridoio Fiorentino until April 30, 2026.