A photobook capturing the quiet atmosphere and fragile beauty of Castello di Casole through an intuitive and painterly gaze.
CASTELLO DI CASOLE is a photobook by Mexican photographer Cecy Young, produced during a two-week stay at Castello di Casole in the Tuscan countryside as the inaugural invited artist of Belmond’s photography residency. Built in the tenth century and set across 3,200 acres of land, the castle is a place steeped in history, nature and enduring stillness; it was also once a seasonal retreat for the film director Luchino Visconti. Trained first as a painter before turning to photography, Young brings a distinct pictorial sensitivity to her subjects. Known for fashion work with Dior Beauty, Chanel and Hermès, as well as editorials for Vogue Japan, Numéro Tokyo and Harper’s Bazaar Latin America, she has developed an image-world marked by poetic stillness and intimate emotional resonance.
During the residency, Young worked without a fixed plan, moving through the estate guided only by light, texture and momentary sensation. What her photographs capture is not narrative but atmosphere: a quiet meditation on memory, time and the fleeting beauty of everyday life. From shadows falling across an old chair to morning dew resting on leaves, her images gather delicate tensions drifting between reality and imagination through a soft and instinctive eye. In this way, Young’s approach—intuitive, gentle and closely attuned to silence—resonates deeply with the ethos of Belmond’s As Seen By series, which invites contemporary artists to offer personal interpretations of place beyond the conventions of documentary.
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Title: CASTELLO DI CASOLE
Artist: Cecy Young
Publisher: RVB Books, 2025
Format: Hard linen cover
Size: 168 × 240 mm
Pages: 112
Language: English
Edition: First edition
ISBN: 978-2-492175-66-4
