Traveling along the Via Emilia, the most noble of the ancient Italian roads, which for over 2000 years has connected Piacenza to Rimini. and meeting people whose hands continue a tradition that seems ‘dirty and laborious’ to us.
People whose time-worn, bright eyes are eager to learn the gestures and secrets of Emilian cuisine, to pass it on to the new generations born along the Via Emilia.
People whose destinies converge once a week in the Gurdwara, the Sikh temples where hands, eyes, and hearts fill the anonymous structures of the outskirts of cities along the Via Emilia with meaning.
Life flows on the Via Emilia like on the roads of Punjab, in a parallel of shared moments and overlapping stories, like the pages of a book that everyone can read, savor, listen to, and touch.
I began this project in March 2016, with the intention of documenting the life of the Sikh community living in the province of Reggio Emilia and introducing their hard lives and traditions to those who do not yet know them (or do not want to know them). These are just a few of the images I have collected over the years.
