Justly celebrated this year at the Rencontres Photographiques d’Arles, Letizia Battaglia’s work is now highlighted in the gallery Berthet Aittouarès alongside Franco Zecchin. This exhibition presents the work of the photographer duo, who documented the dark 1980s in Sicily under the rule of Cosa Nostra.
Born in Palermo, Letizia Battaglia (1935–2022) was one of the first female photojournalists to achieve parity with her male peers. Passionate, committed, and driven by justice and democracy, she fought the mafia armed with her camera. In 1975, she met Franco Zecchin, and as a couple, together, they produced work for national and international press, documenting a Palermo marked by murders and mafia vendettas. Sicily then lived to the rhythm of a bloody violence caused by this “Second Mafia War” (1981–1992), the trial of the 100 mafiosi, and the vendettas that led to the deaths of judges Falcone and Borsellino. The forty black-and-white vintage photographs from 1970–1990 reflect their unique perspectives on the era, highlighting the reciprocity of their gaze.
The use of the photographic files is strictly limited to the Battaglia/Zecchin exhibition as part of PhotoSaintGermain 2025. All photographic files must be deleted at the end of the event.
Galerie Berthet-Aittouarès
Since its opening in 1986, Michèle Aittouarès and Odile Aittouarès-Inzerillo have curated the gallery as they would their own personal collections, bringing together paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and videos…