Piero Martinello
Piero Martinello

RADICALIA Piero Martinello / 2016, Bozen (Italy) / 20,5 x 26,2 cm / 136 pages / Design: Lorenzo Fanton

‘Radical’ is something ‘acting in depth; concerning an issue beginning with its essential principles’, according to Salvatore Battaglia’s definition in the Grande dizionario della lingua italiana. With this as his starting point Piero Martinello travelled around Italy in search of women and men who – each in their own way and for different reasons – have embraced radical choices and lifestyles.

Piero Martinello –

Fools, ravers, criminals, devouts and cloistered nuns: the subjects come to life in a series of portraits in which the photographic medium appears at times in its pure form, at others grafted in items of vernacular iconography (passport pictures, holy pictures, mug shots). Everything comes together in a concept album where the face becomes a prism through which to investigate the human need to undertake extreme and unconventional life paths. Get the book here Exhibitions

Radicalia, chapter one of five: Deviation Explore

Figures like Il Lunazzi in Udine, Signora Wally and Massimo in Schio, Aladino in Venice, or Giorgio the philosopher remind us that beyond efficiency and productivity there is space for individuality, imagination and a different kind of wisdom.

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Radicalia, chapter two of five: Devotion Explore
Beyond official liturgy, communities keep their saints alive through stories, songs, pilgrimages, and personal imitation, making every Italian city’s patron a local embodiment of the sacred where the lives of saints and their devotees often intertwine.

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Radicalia, chapter tree of five: Eversion Explore
Italian mafias are vast criminal enterprises built on violence. They form Italy’s most powerful business, with global reach, and are often depicted through “triumph photography,” a historical style once used to portray and identify southern brigand gangs.

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Radicalia, chapter four of five: Contemplation Explore

Since early Christian hermits, solitude has been seen as a path to God, with cloistered nuns embodying its most radical form. Their veiled, secluded lives have become symbols of spiritual detachment, though remaining profoundly human.

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Radicalia, chapter five of five: Evasion Explore

These portraits from raves, parades and festivals capture people in raw, intimate moments, reflecting the dual nature of “to rave”: both delirium and incoherent excess, but also passion and ecstatic enthusiasm.

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