During a trip to Kabul in 1971, Alighiero Boetti (1940–1994) commissioned Afghani craftsmen to embroider the first Mappa, a map of the world in which each national territory is filled in with the colors and symbols of its national flag. Over a period of twenty years, more than 150 Mappe were embroidered in different colors and sizes based on his drawings, forming his image of the world while showing the passage of time and the political changes that were taking place. In 1973 Boetti began hanging pictures, drawings of friends, photographs, calendar pages, and found objects on a wall of his apartment in Rome. Over the years, this domestic work in progress grew into Il Muro [the wall], a sort of personal poetic constellation. A metaphor for a human journey, an intimate space for reflecting on the world. As a child, Boetti dreamed of becoming an orchestra conductor. Although he was not able to fulfill that dream, his drum set has been included in the exhibition.