A couple months ago the Roger Waters gig was the perfect excuse to explore Bologna, a city I saw only once when I was a twenty-something student.
I only had blurred memories, so I was more than happy to come back – and I wasn’t disappointed: I found a city so sparkling and lively I never imagined. Apart from the city’s trademark arcades, what I loved the most were the countless hidden corners, however full of bars and small places to eat local. I wish I had the time to try more food-goodness!
In this photo essay, I tried to capture the cheerful and refreshing spirit of Bologna, and to do so I chose to focus on its dynamic and ever-changing force – people. The lovely, sunny and warm day was perfect for al fresco eating, making for no shortage of appropriate sceneries. However I must admit to still be very much (too much) shy, I need to learn to get closer to the people I want to photograph. It’s a skill that I’m working on, and that – I know I know – requires so much practice. As well as self-confidence. Along with that, the other challenge here was about timing: I had in fact just half a day to savour the place and to decide which aspect of the city I wanted to capture. That is another expertise that comes only with countless attempts. And in fact in my mind always resonates what Martin Parr once said: “Photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work”.
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