Interview with Nettuno

Photos by Eleonora d Angelo

April 17, 2023

One day, Vogue Italia s signature photographer Eleonora d Angelo came across Nettuno s photos on Instagram and felt the immediate "very strong urge to tell that body, that story." In her words, "I felt that he radiated a very powerful beauty. I felt that such a strong choice had to be witnessed with images, and I did it. My work has always contemplated and researched the beauty that originates from the lands of the South and the sea-places where I come from-is contaminated by the iconography of cinema and lands in a contemporary, modern world made up of renewed canons of beauty, very strong in their identity. Nettuno is precisely one of those brave, unique, bastions of beauty, bearer of a message." Nettuno thus becomes one of the protagonists of the never-ending film that is Eleonora s artistic quest.

Nettuno by Eleonora d
Angelo dress Lessico Familiare

Here the interview with Nettuno.

Neptune what does your name tell about you?

I think that especially when it comes to chosen names, sometimes they contain an inherent truth that kind of sticks with us. I wanted a name that was masculine but didn t sound like it at all.

What is the form of expression that represents you most?

The performing arts and body art in general are a pool into which I can fit-and at the same time draw from-more disciplines that I like. In terms of representation I don t know, since I ve been working as a performer at Plastic I get to experiment with different things every Saturday. Definitely using my body as a medium is what fascinates me the most.

Nettuno by Eleonora d
Angelo hat Lessico Familiare

Is there anything that others don t see of you?

Almost everything I think. We all construct images of ourselves that people then read a little bit how they want.

Do you feel that you are part of something?

Fortunately, yes. I think there s a great urgency to create a solid transnational queer collective consciousness, and I m definitely not alone in that view.

Is there a conversation you d like to start? With whom?

Those who know me in person know that I m not famous for my small talk.... The characters I most admire are probably not guys who are ready to reveal their secrets.

What is your biggest dream?

To quote Cruising Utopia, "queer futurity"-which is a concept that goes far beyond the LGBTQI+ community itself-is a long-term project that we should never stop believing in. I hope to see a future that looks like us.

Nettuno by Eleonora d
Angelo underwear Alessandro Vigilante

How do you imagine yourself in a few years?

No spoilers, because definitive statements are made to be regretted. Happy, for sure.

***

Team credits:

Photo: Eleonora d Angelo @eleonora__dangelo

Talent: Nettuno Battisti @nettu.no

Fashion and Casting : Silvia Bergomi @silviabergomi

Makeup: Claudia Malavasi @claudia_malavasi

Hair: Davide Nucara @daveonhair

Location: @residenzalocation