by MK
All photographs courtesy of Davide Marchionni
From top creative professional in New York City to traveling in his van around the world, the wondrous life of Davide Marchionni is anything but ordinary.
We interviewed the zealous traveler via video chat as Davide is in Poland helping the fleeing refugees get on the busses to Italy. But let’s begin from the beginning.
Are you a Triestino?
Yes, born and raised. I went to university in Milan and then took off to New York City where I lived for twenty years. My life hasn’t been easy and I started at the bottom and got to the top through hard work and resilience. I started working in visual arts in Italy. I started at the very bottom of my industry and eventually become an internationally recognized head of creative departments within global ad agencies, production studious, and later a fashion magazine.
Wow! And then what?
One day I thought basta and that’s when I decided to go back to Trieste. Back in NYC I would sometimes works up to 18 hours a day and even though my life seemed glamorous sometimes I felt that I had no life at all, you know? Trieste has always been a safe haven for me. My family has a villa in Miramare and that’s where I settled for a bit.
Nice.
I am not the kind of person who can sit still for a long time. My life back in New York made me yearn for more so one day I bought a van, packed all my stuff there and that became my office. When there was a break in pandemic in June 2020 I packed up my stuff and went to Sicily, on the way back I stopped in Abruzzo, then South Tyrol. I was on my way to Trieste in October of that year but as I saw things getting worse, I got my permit to stay in Greece and the next thing I knew I was living all over the Peloponnese, with my van and two dogs. I would always be on the beach, hiking and taking pictures.
Amazing.
It really is. You know as the saying goes, the best things in life are not things at all. I believe that wholeheartedly so instead of going home after Greece, I proceeded my adventures in the van towards Turkey. People would call me crazy but I didn’t care. I can’t sit still, you know? And I hope my example shows that if you really want to do something, you can. You can work in your van, travel around the world, learning a lot, supporting local economies, small businesses and waking up in the most amazing places on earth.
And now you’re in Poland, on the border with Ukraine. How did that happen?
Well, when I was back in Trieste for a brief moment a couple of months ago, my friend whom I met back in NYC called me and asked me if I wanted to go help refugees. I said absolutely yes, packed my van and drove for 900 km the next day to be here. I’m living in my van, even though I had a room booked at a hotel, with my beautiful dog, Stella and trying to make a difference in this crazy situation.
Amazing! And what are you guys doing there?
We rented a bus for the refugees fleeing from Ukraine and traveling to Italy. We are in contact with the fantastic ROE Protezione Civile in Rome who manages the transportation of refugees. We are also in touch with the local Polish authorities who help us get refugees on the busses. You know, there’s a lot of chaos. Most refugees coming in are under shock and I have to say that I’ve seen some horrific things here on the border where unauthorized people would just come and give ride to refugees who knows where. Or unaccompanied children are being picked up by couples who can’t have kids, but that’s not the way to adopt anyone and these things should be well know. Human trafficking is the beast we are fighting against.
Are you going to stay there a lot longer?
For another week or so. It’s a gratifying but a very challenging experience of course. But I am here also to tell the world what’s going on. Some things should not and cannot be happening.
Can people follow your adventures somehow?
Yes, through my Instagram account: davide_marchionni_
