WOOL

WOOL is a sheep shepherd story, it's a project about Transhumance Sheep Farming in North Italy. Living with the shepherds and following them throughout the whole transhumance session gave me the opportunity to fully immerge in their environment experiencing it first hand. Sleeping, eating, showering as they do, facing their same challenges and helping them in their daily working activities, allowed me to capture an intimate overview of their lives. A portrait that goes far beyond the sheep, reaching the within of their personality, sculpturing their inner thoughts into a series of photographs.

Sunrise over the flock - Bergamo 2019

Going toward the light after grazing - Orobie Alps 2019

Storm is coming - clouds rumble downs from a narrow valley

Who is the Transhumance sheep shepherd?

A breed that in western countries is slowly disappearing, they are humans being that choose to live their life according to the rules of Mother Nature. A mother that care for them with compassion when respected, and discipline them when guilty of arrogance.

They do not look for the comfort of a house or the warmth of a thick duvet, when rain pours they do not seek cover and when cold snow falls, they leave their mark on the white mantle.

Is a tough way of living, that requires high sacrifices, but at the same time is a choice of freedom, and the luxury of choosing it makes them imperishable. Nobody force them to suffer cold, to work for 14h per day, to be out when the sun is scorching or when a storm moist their bones, because the thing they value the most is the sense of freedom that pervades them each time they wake up.

They are those who made the World their home.