Letizia Battaglia: Passion, Justice, Freedom : Photographs of Sicily

Letizia Battaglia: Passion, Justice, Freedom : Photographs of Sicily by Stille, Alexander. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780893818050.

One womans passionate battle for justice. Letizia Battaglias story, her vision of Sicily, and her fight for justice against the Mafia as revealed in this biographical monograph is as stunning as it is heroic. This W. Eugene Smith Award-winning photographer demonstrates photographys power to serve as both a weapon and a voice for the silent majority. After years of fighting for the life of her troubled city of Palermo-as a photographer, deputy councilwoman, ecological activist, defender of womens rights, and defender of human rights-Battaglia continues the battle with the fierce passion, intelligence, and vision for which she is known. Letizia Battaglia: Passion, Justice, Freedom juxtaposes iconic pictures of the everyday joy, suffering, and vitality of the Palermitani with images showing the effects of the Mafia predators who have controlled much of the city for so long. Along with an intimate profile of the photographer by Melissa Harris, Alexander Stille chronicles Battaglias fight against the Mafia, putting her photographs in the context of Palermo in the 1980s and 90s. Renate Siebert addresses the heretofore unexplored role of women and the Mafia in her essay. Magazine editor Simona Mafei contributes an essay about her work with Battaglia.