December 2008
  Today, in the municipality of Messina the traces of the terrible earthquake that struck the city on December 28th, 1908 are still visible. For one hundred years, Messina has trailed shantytowns like those of Fondo Fucile, Giostra, Camaro, Maregrosso and many others. Messina does not and cannot get rid of these towns. The astonishing fact is that some of them have been inhabited for one hundred years, while others have been inhabited for about sixty years (circa the end of the Second World War). How is it possible that generations of Italians still live in shantytowns in a State member G4, G8, and G20? How is it possible that is reality persists in Messina, while in Perugia, the damages due to the earthquake of 1997 were solved? The shantytowns of Messina aren’t comparable with the Brazilian slums (the Favelas) or with the slums of the British ex-colonies. On the one hand the Favelas had a rural exodus towards the cities and as a consequence of the migration, there was an overpopulation of the urban areas. On the other hand, the shantytowns of Messina are due to corruption - the presence of strong personal interests of political and private nature - and to the bureaucratic obstacles. The natural and manmade disasters caused death and destruction. The local politicians enjoy free access to a considerable amount of funds that are poured into this region in order to solve these problems. By preserving these devastated areas in their current state, one can transversely obtain several types of funds and favors. With this process, it is possible for these politicians to adopt a blackmail policy during each election tour towards the voters who occupy the poor towns of Messina. Those who reside in these areas always find excellent beneficial pretexts the funds that come from the state. By now several new houses were built and delivered but with a limited number compared to the amount of allocated funds. These houses are often distributed according to the classification suggestion by “recommendations” of those politicians. In addition, nobody can leave the huts because as soon as one abandons their hut, there are always more people ready to occupy it. Several of these houses pass in heredity to parents and continue to be inhabited, but sometimes there are new houses that have no water or light! As usual, we are faced with a problem that should not exist, since honesty and transparency are supposed to prevail on the management of the Public Thing and the problem would have been solved…one would need an Italian Miracle!

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Alì El Zein  

June 2008
  The Calcio Storico Fiorentino is back! After two years of suspension, the 2008 season introduces new rules and new protagonists. There are four teams, each representing a Florentine district: the Reds ( Santa Maria Novella ), the Blues ( Santa Croce ), the Whites ( Santo Spirito ) and the Greens ( San Giovanni ). The San Giovanni players refused to play the semifinal match, in protest against the new rules, which determine that: Players must not be older than forty years of age, hence the exclusion of many old guard players; a clean criminal record or at least, a criminal record with no criminal offence involving violence and murder; it is absolutely prohibited to hit an opponent from behind and for a number of players to attack a player on his own - these type of fouls are punished with immediate arrest, as soon as the game ends. These are the fundamental new rules of Historical Florentine Football, which are causing much debate and protest from the persons involved in the games. But like many past years, this 24 th of June (feast of the patron saint of the city of Florence), the final match of the 2008 season will be played by the Reds and the Blues. The terraces are packed, the Reds full of adrenalin as they warm up in front of the entrance to the Santa Croce Church, the Blues are in a street, adjacent to the square, the flag-wavers start the show.

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net  

April 2008
  Islands in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, the Eolian Islands, have always called tourists, painters and filmmakers, not to say ethologists and volcanologists, thanks to their creative strength, to the very particular population and the harsh and sun parched territory. The smallest of these islands is Alicudi, a volcano 4 square km and extinct for centuries, where historical vicissitudes but above all economic have reduced the actual population to only a few hundred people who reside there year-round. Alicudi for this motive is special and it is very visible in the strength of its inhabitants and the spirit of their group; the Arcudari wear a common expression; the habits and attitudes of these inhabitants is very antique and natural; here one discovers what group living means. Everything is essential. From running water to gas, from electricity to food, transport, everything is works laboriously and everything is transient. The necessities hang from strings held by the god of fortune and the daily effort put forth (by tourists too) to maintain them is an effort which is now obsolete for the urban reality. Experimenting simplicity is the foundation of the beauty of this place where everything is the size of man: every that you do, you do it because your mind and your body allow you to there is not mechanical help or motorization on the island. On Alicudi one enters into contact with a special world formed by tourists but above all formed by the inhabitants of the island. Alicudi becomes like a part of your city, like the neighbourhood in which you live you recognize the stories and the things that surround you, you are inside the landscape. Also, the human relations are never taken for granted and are based on unusual mechanisms. Alicudi is a displacement, going to discover forgotten or never tried things and sensations. This photographic work features their faces, bodies and eyes in an exclusive place that is not so far away. I thank all the Arcudari that are in these portraits, defining the image of the island.

 

Text and Photography by Francesco Gnot  
Translated by Nicole Fiore  

November 2007
  In Italy we have been talking about it for five years, in the rest of Europe (Barcelona, Madrid, Frankfurt on the Main, Hamburg, Zurich, Basel, Geneva, Rotterdam and many others) they have been experimenting for more than fifteen years. What is an shooting room? Drawing on Europe-wide experience, an shooting room is: a confined space (a bit like a doctor's surgery) under the jurisdiction and control of the National Health Service. It is managed by doctors alongside social and voluntary operators. In agreement with the Courts and the Police Force, access is granted to verified drug-addicts: medical files are created for them, pre-equipped with drugs. The aim is to allow them to use the very substances they are addicted to, but in a hygienically-protected environment which inhibits contagious infections (HIV-HBV-HCV) and guarantees the ready intervention of a doctor in case of overdose or other necessity. In essence it is a social healthcare service. Social healthcare problems are addressed and while the use of drugs is not promoted, health is safeguarded. Those who continue to "give themselves a hit" meet those who want to stop and those who just want to stay alive. It is hard to imagine how important it is to have a chair and a purpose on which they can support themselves, rather than be forced to do so on the ground and on the street; it is just a matter of getting some dignity back. Hooking a drug addict to this type of service provides benefits for society as a whole. The facts are clearly visible to operators, those who are in the field and people who live in these European cities in the so-called "neighbourhood". Here are a few words from the doctor, Manel Anoro, and judge Jurgen Weimer, in charge of the Sala Baluard in Barcelona and the Narco Room in Frankfurt on Main respectively: deaths by overdose have been drastically reduced. In contrast to what happens on the street, there are specialised doctors in these places ready to intervene; contagion diminishes too thanks to the greater level of hygiene; finally, disposal of syringes and infected material is more efficient. Recognising the need for such places helps to restore some dignity to these people, sick individuals in need of the cures and assistance provided for so many other types of sickness; for those who decide to change, this is an intermediate stepping stone. There are individuals who succeed in going further still, getting signed on by the Council for specific duties like cleaning some streets and the public park. They thereby learn a different use of legally-earned money as opposed to money earned illegally. Their cooperation in helping to clean the city helps change the perception that people have of those who use hard drugs and shopkeepers often give them something to drink and eat. From all this, the end-result is a reduction in crime. Turin is the only city in Italy where the Town Council is close to approving an experimental shooting room; in the meantime, Stura Park continues to be the "park of syringes" (the park in Zurich ceased to be like this twenty years ago). Bringing the debate and its subsequent decisions into the realm of the concrete and away from ideology, would enable Italy to take a step forward with Europe as well as help to save a few human lives. We thank all the people who have agreed to be photographed.

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net  

October 2007

 

 

 

Photography by Marco Calò  

September 2007
  This service represents the willingness to examine something taken for granted: the product, the event, the typical dish... used to promote nationally and internationally the economy of a city (Bari) its provinces. For this end it is indeed necessary to focus lens on everything that is typical and I believe that in the provinces of Bari the list of connections between the Municipality -Typical product is one of the longest and consolidated; various small business owners, small and medium sized companies, handicrafts and agriculture. In the places in which there exists such a strong connection between the municipality and typical products the social awareness of the products has a taste of familiarity, pride and belonging... the product becomes a symbol. A few products/events are already well known to a large part of the public: the oil of Bitono, the bread of Altamura, the festival of San Nicola, etc,; others are known in the region or local province. There are those who would like to preserve the typical vocations of women in Bari Vecchia (Old Bari) that make orecchiette pasta in front of the entrance to their houses (it is said this "ear" shaped pasta was invented right there!); those who wants to keep alive the refined elements of distinction like the baker of Altamura that bakes the bread in a wood oven built in 1400, being satisfied with a smaller production but very high quality and there are those who would instead choose in the ever globalized market, to cook the bread in an electric oven but export it all around the world; there are those who have the need for innovation like the floriculturists in Terlizzi that started such an activity in the sixties by substituting horticulture with the cultivation of prettier flowers; there are those who continue to produce products that risk year after year of being trampled by the international competition like the wine of Locorotondo. Nevertheless, traveling in the provinces of Bari was like sitting at a banquet table where time and time again the typical dishes are served, eaten with ones' hands, just out of the oven or even raw; at the end I realized I had seen, tasted and devoured a "myth".

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Nicole Fiore  

June 2007
  The semi-finals and finals of the 36th National Lawyer's Football Championship were held in the municipal stadium at Misano Adriatico (RN). Members of the Legal Profession took to the field in yellow and red, white and red, black and blue strip to win with their own home teams. Leaving aside Judicial Acts....the strength in the legs, the level of training, concentration and team spirit make the difference, just like the top football teams. The tension is high before each game, during the match plenty of blows are exchanged, and even more insults. But that's to be expected, given the high prize: the winner is Champion of Italy and that, when it happens, is worth more than any victory in the courts. Bari (first) and Lecce (third) stayed at the top for the second successive year; but Genoa (second) and Latina (fourth) didn't relent, right up to the final... penalty! After the match you go back to the way you were, chatting to colleagues from the other towns and confirming appointments for Monday morning in the courthouse bar with your team mates. Only the referee (from the Italian Sports Federation) is still under the "spell" of football: having gravely insulted a player, he's locked himself in the dressing room and risks being the subject of a complaint by a Champion of the Courts.

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net  

May 2007
  In Denmark, during the 1970's, a big group of yuppies got together and built the largest windmill in the world. This changed the history of energy production in Denmark, which at that time was mostly nuclear. Since then, many windmills have been built there, enabling Denmark to produce 20% (predicted to reach 50% in 2025) of its energy cleanly, using wind power. Windmills are like giant flowers and those who maintain that they spoil the countryside don't realise the good these mills do to the environment, allowing us to produce energy without highly polluting power stations. In Italy, as usual, we are at least thirty years behind, considering the fact that only now, in some regions, has the installation of a few dozen windmills started. Wind and solar energy are of fundamental importance to mankind and the environment, and Italy should be at the forefront in research and production, both private and public. You just have to think that Italy has no oil, gas or coal, but plenty of sun and wind.....

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net  

April 2007
  In 1997 violent earth tremors hit the heart of Umbria . Places such as Nocera Umbra, Belfiore, Vescia, Capodacqua, Verchiano, Colfiorito, Scopoli and many others were seriously damaged; residents had to abandon their homes to go to temporary accommodation in fields of containers which were set up in the space of a few days. In 1998, a year after the shock, against the ever equal and homologous background of the prefabricated homes, people tried to pick out the diversity of every individual experience. Within a general framework of instability, the existence of a permanent way of life re-emerged. The faces, bearings and clothes of the people photographed, like the curtains in the windows and the plants in front of almost all the containers, told of a need for those living "Outside the house" to go back to living in a real house. In 2007, the containers in the fields are no long there; in 2000/01 they were replaced by log cabins.

 

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net  

March 2007
  This is a journey taken via a computer connected to the network. Go to Second Life, download the software, put in some personal information, create a password and then...and then you are any old idiot, you don't even have a real body. If you don't speak English you're also extremely illiterate! You're only wearing a little white top and a pair of jeans. We are on the first island, where you are born and where we see the pixels illuminated by SL for the first time and our avatar seems to look like Barbie's fiancé in the good old days. Travelling dressed like this in SL is like walking down the street naked; the other avatars run away and from that point of view there are no scruples. There are tutorials to follow (voluntary?), making them seem like a little game. Then we start to take our first steps. Damn! But if you're still in a little white top and jeans, click above the avatar with the right button and open Appearance. .....

 

Text and Photography by Uelo Vuckovic  
Translated by Translated.net  

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net  

Text and Photography by Marco Calò  
Translated by Translated.net