Location: ITALIA

When I first went to Campania in 2016 to report on the Land of Fires, I never imagined it would become my longest project. Focused on environmental pollution in Italy and its impact on local communities, Terra Mala is now in its 8th year, extending to Sicily and Veneto.
The Land of Fires, between Caserta and Naples, has been contaminated for over 25 years by illegal toxic waste dumping, affecting soil, agriculture, and the aquifer. In 2016, the Italian Higher Institute of Health confirmed a link between pollution and the alarming rise in cancer cases, higher than the national average.

My work then shifted to Sicily, where the petrochemical complex on the eastern coast has polluted the air, soil, and water for decades, harming both people and marine life. A CNR Pisa study found over 400 cases of birth defects between 2003 and 2015.

The final chapter of my project highlights water pollution in Veneto, where a grassroots movement has taken the chemical company Miteni Spa to court for dumping carcinogenic PFAS chemicals into the local water supply. More than 300,000 people have suffered health problems as a result. The ongoing case could set a legal precedent in Italy.

Through my photography, I aim to raise awareness, educate, and inspire change. Exhibitions and talks have shown me how much more needs to be done to inform the public about these hidden realities.

ABOUT STEFANO SCHIRATO

Stefano Schirato works as a freelance photographer with a keen interest in social issues. He collaborates with various magazines, associations, and NGOs such as Emergency, AVSI, Caritas Internationalis, and ICMC, with which he has participated in projects related to human rights, refugee crises, and illegal immigration.

His work has been published by the New York Times, CNN, Newsweek Japan, Vanity Fair, Al Jazeera, Le Figaro, Geo International, Burnmagazine, and National Geographic.

He has several ongoing projects in Eastern Europe and Africa focusing on the refugee crisis, and over the past 10 years, he has been working on a project about pollution and corruption in Italy.

Since 2014, he has been teaching photojournalism in Pescara, the city where he lives, at Mood Photography School, of which he is a founding member.

He is also a lecturer at Leica Akademie Italia and teaches photography at ISIA (Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche) University in Pescara.