Mundus Patet, “the world is open,” as they used to say in ancient Rome when a circular pit at the center of the city was opened to connect the world of the living with that of the dead. Walter Benjamin, in his Arcades Project, wrote that in modern life the so-called rites of passage—ceremonies linked to death, birth, marriage, coming of age, etc.—have become increasingly unrecognizable and imperceptible, that we have grown poor in threshold experiences, and that falling asleep may be the only one we have left.
With these suggestions in my heart and mind, I began to linger before the doors of Rome that I had previously crossed absentmindedly. I recalled certain sensations I had felt near them. One question in particular: will I ever be the same after crossing through? But there are doors that provoke more questions and desires than others. Standing before the entrances of homes once inhabited by friends and relatives, but also by writers and artists no longer with us, I feel a painful vertigo and an irresistible urge to ring their bells, to cross that threshold. The closed door makes me imagine that beyond that now-inaccessible limit, everything is still possible.
The work is composed of two single-channel videos. The first is a short story about Rome observed through its doors, with photographs, sounds, and archival materials. The second is a collection of images that illustrate the creative process and the outcomes of this personal exploration.

Virginia Eleuteri Sepieri
Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri is a director of artistic research films and documentaries. After earning her diploma in sound engineering from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome and a degree in Literature from La Sapienza University, she dedicated herself to the art of images and sound, exploring various media and languages—from Super 8 film to computer graphics.
Her first feature-length documentary, Amor, produced by Stefilm and Era Film with RAI Cinema, was selected for the 80th Venice International Film Festival, the 2024 FOCAL Awards, the 2024 Nastri d’Argento, and the 2025 David di Donatello. It also received several awards, including the Premio Solinas, UnArchive Found Footage Fest, Rome International Documentary Festival, and Libero Bizzarri.