The late artist and photographer Luigi Ghirri had a lifelong interest in the relationship between fiction and reality. This was a prevalent theme within his practice, and the subject of many of his works, including a series of photographs titled In Scala, which he began in 1977.

During this time, and well into the 80s, Ghirri made several visits to the famous Italia in Miniatura theme park, situated just outside of the city of Rimini. Here, he became fascinated by the park’s extensive collection of scale models representing Italy’s iconic natural and architectural landmarks. In particular, he was drawn to the way in which they enter into dialogue with reality.