Roger Wehrli

The book title "Mezzogiorno" refers to the Italian South. The area between Naples and Sicily has been plagued by conquerors from all directions from ancient times to the recent past. The tumultuous history of the regions of Campania, Calabria, and Sicily has left its mark. From the ancient Greeks to the Arabs and Normans, and through to the Risorgimento of 1861, the Mezzogiorno has almost exclusively been under foreign control. In my images, I follow the traces of this history and these stories. Naturally, as a photographer, I move in the present, but I feel the past at every turn. In cities like Naples or Palermo, the epochs blend in a wondrous way, giving the impression that long-gone times are still very much present. Roger Wehrli.