Through his lens, Dutch photographer Roman Robroek, 34, has captured the forgotten splendor of once-glorious abandoned buildings, offering us temporal insight into our present and future.
For a dozen years, Robroek has toured hordes of abandoned sites across Europe—everywhere from old Soviet power stations, to decaying Italian chapels, and even deserted homes near the bomb blast that shook Lebanon in 2020.
Amidst these ruins, Robroek portrays vestiges of past grandeur.
“Abandoned buildings offer a unique glimpse into the past,” he said. “A source of reflection, perhaps, as they prompt us to think about the future.”
It might have once been an important haven in a community, a home for a family, or a workplace where coworkers spent their day. Amidst the ruins, all that past activity somehow still haunts.
“What does that say about what we hold certain today?” asked Robroek. “These are the traces of the past of many communities, and if we follow them, we can see where we all came from and perhaps where we’re going.”
The fallen Soviet empire, politically outmoded, left behind vast industrial husks of a collapsed tyrannical juggernaut.
Once-wealthy pastoral estates, still filled with supremely exquisite architecture and artwork, were forsaken after their descendants moved to seek their fortunes in the big city.
Places once in their prime have turned into crumbling hovels.
Yet, remarkable works left behind speak volumes about the former inhabitants’ lives, while hinting at the impermanence of where we are today.
How It Started
An IT service manager, in 2010 Robroek sought reprieve from his often stressful daily grind and took up photography as a hobby.He became intrigued with abandoned buildings after he drove by a vacated stone factory in Germany and decided to drop in.
That led to his further exploring abandoned buildings throughout Europe.
“I was looking for different kinds of architecture that would interest me,” he said. “I started to explore much more of Europe, and for example, ended up in Romania where I photographed the abandoned casino of Constand.”
His photos of an abandoned power plant in Hungary, in 2016, won Robroek first prize in a large international photo competition, he said.
This garnered his work much more attention—as did a major publication that featured his photos from 2014 of Castle di Sammezzano in Leccio, near Florence, Italy.
From there, Robroek’s professional photography career took off.
He swapped his Canon EOS 650D for a new Sony A7R II and continued honing his skills, snapping shots of forsaken sites.
Robroek’s favorite foray featured an abandoned farm in Piacenza, Italy, which he photographed in 2017.
“That is located along a busy road and surrounded by industrial buildings,” he said. “From the outside, you'd have no idea a room as beautiful as this one is found inside.
“Once inside, I lay down on the floor for a while just soaking the beautiful artwork and craftsmanship in it.
“It’s a mesmerizing room and such an unexpected gem.”
A deserted palace in La Spezia, Italy, showcases a breathtaking fresco mural featuring classical mythology—with lively, dimpled cherubs and Raphaelesque female figures set in a picturesque landscape—which Robroek photographed in 2019.
“This is a photo of a room with a beautiful fresco,” he said. “The room was located in a palace, which is one of the most important buildings in the historic center of the town.”
The fresco decorates the whole wall and ceiling, he added, and was painted by well-known neoclassical artist Niccolò Contestabili. The palace is currently being converted into new, modern apartments.
A marvelous pastoral fresco on a vaulted ceiling, photographed in 2020 in an abandoned villa in Northern Italy, seems to bring an idyllic landscape indoors. Despite the dilapidated plaster work, it retains a freshness with its swaying trees and exquisite birds fluttering.
How It’s Going
One of Robroek’s more recent excursions, in 2022, portrayed a dilapidated church in Italy.A partially caved-in, arched roof and floor consumed by foliage and overgrowth illustrate the effects of time. Indoor and outdoor spaces are fused together in these ruins.
Remains of the church apse hint at the past ecclesiastical devotion of a preceding community.
Robroek says he can’t reveal all the locations he’s visited, as he wants to preserve what remains of those precious places.
Villa Sbertoli in Pistoia, Italy, was struck by vandals, he said. A piano inside was thrown out of one of the windows while some of the murals were spray-painted with graffiti.
“It’s not common to share the exact locations of the buildings I photograph,“ he said. ”I try to keep them hidden in an attempt to protect them from thieves or vandalism.
“Where possible, I will share the specific name and location. Please understand where I can’t.”
