The threshold of time

The sun, now tired, lingers on the ancient stones like an old friend reluctant to say goodbye.

Every line, every curve of the steps and the portal seems carved in stillness, in the silent habit of an ordinary afternoon. And yet, something holds its breath - perhaps the shadow rising slowly, like a thought without words. Perhaps the light, brushing everything with the grace of a farewell.

In this corner of Giovinazzo, time seems to have stepped back on tiptoe. There’s no sound, except for the invisible murmur of warmth fading on the walls, of the waiting that lives in unmoving things. A closed door can tell many stories, if you look at it long enough. It can be a threshold or a barrier, a promise or a memory. And today, for a moment, it is simply poetry made of stone and light.

The building in the photo is the Cathedral of Giovinazzo, majestic and serene, with a portal that seems to guard more than one secret. Some places have a voice that only silence can reveal. They don’t call out, they don’t demand attention. They wait. And when you arrive - maybe by chance, maybe searching for something else - they welcome you with a calm that doesn’t belong to this time.

There’s a quiet beauty in these architectures that are never in a hurry, that have mastered the art of patience. They’ve witnessed centuries pass by - names, lives. And yet they remain, discreet witnesses, facing the sea, hearts rooted in stone. On a day like this, with the right light, you almost feel like you can hear what they have to say.

Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was one of the most refined and visionary figures in contemporary music, known for blending classical sensitivity with minimal electronic textures. This track, part of the soundtrack for “The Theory of Everything”, is a musical meditation on time, the intimacy of thought, and the vastness of the inner universe.

Built on a slow and circular progression, with just a few repeated notes and a subtle orchestral crescendo, “A Model of the Universe” moves like light in the photograph: unhurried, allowing silence to breathe between notes, like between the stones of the Cathedral.

A curiosity: Jóhannsson often worked on scores inspired by science, time, and memory, turning abstract ideas into emotional soundscapes. In this piece, the model of the universe is not made of formulas - but of sounds that seem to come from far away… or deep within.