Letizia Battaglia

The signature

Fearless black-and-white witness to the Mafia years in Palermo, and to the life around the violence.

What to study

Battaglia photographed the Mafia's bloodiest years in Palermo for the newspaper L'Ora, at real personal risk. Study her courage, but also her tenderness: alongside the murders she photographed girls, festivals, ordinary Sicilian life. Her archive became evidence in court. She is the example of photography as moral act.

Italian context

A national hero of engaged photography and a feminist icon.

Why for Matias

She defines the ethical stakes street photography can carry. Study her to understand courage and conscience behind the camera.