Aldo Feroce
A Lens on Marginalised Humanity
© Aldo Feroce: Image of the photographer
“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.”
– Robert Frank
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Aldo Feroce is a contemporary documentary photographer known for capturing the intimacy and complexity of the human condition through a visual language that is both precise and deeply expressive. Born in Rome, he discovered photography at a young age, using the lens as a way to explore the world and the countless stories it holds. His distinctive style blends careful composition with a strong narrative sensibility, allowing him to move fluidly from portraiture to urban landscapes, as well as to conceptual projects that explore themes such as time, destiny, and resilience.
Over the years, Aldo’s work has been exhibited in Rome, Berlin, and Warsaw, and published in outlets such as NZZ in Switzerland. His projects have received extensive international recognition, earning him major awards including the Kolga Tbilisi Award for Documentary Story, the BìFoto Award, multiple Gold Medals at the Moscow International Foto Awards, and a Gold Medal at the Tokyo International Foto Awards for Editorial/General News. He has also been a finalist for prestigious recognitions such as the Gomma Award, the Ponchielli Award, the BarTur Photo Award, World Report Photo, Lugano Award, and Portfolio Italia. Among his most celebrated series are The Palace of Crossed Destinies, Before Night Falls, and Yo Soy Fidel, each praised for their emotional depth and ability to provoke reflection.
For Aldo, photography is more than documentation; it is a universal language that invites viewers to look beyond appearances and discover deeper meaning. Through his work, he aims to create a visual dialogue that connects people, places, and stories on both an intimate and universal level. He currently lives and works in Rome, where he continues to pursue personal projects and collaborate internationally.
© Aldo Feroce: Corviale, from the series Il Palazzo dei destini incrociati (The Palace of Crossed Destinies)
© Aldo Feroce: Corviale, from the series Il Palazzo dei destini incrociati (The Palace of Crossed Destinies)
Ana:
In your project on Corviale, you speak about giving visibility to people who are often overlooked. When you photograph someone in that environment, what inner criteria guide your decision that “this person’s story must be seen”? And do you feel there is an ethical boundary in choosing who becomes visible?
A.Feroce:
My photographic work on Corviale lasted about seven or eight years. This place carries over forty years of a negative image: it was almost always talked about through stigma, but rarely was anyone truly interested in documenting life inside the building. It seemed an impenetrable world, as if its concrete blocks kept prying eyes at bay. For me, having grown up in public housing, it was essential to understand what it was like to live in a kilometer-long building, with 1,250 apartments side by side.
The people who moved there didn’t do so by choice: the housing crisis of the time offered 1,250 families a roof, but it didn’t support them in this ambitious and problematic experiment. The encounters with the people I photographed weren’t fleeting moments: they were intense, profound exchanges, in which photography always came last. The people portrayed in my book are those with whom I shared time, confidences, joys, and sorrows. It was they who opened the doors of their domestic intimacy to me: without their willingness to be there, I would never have allowed myself to enter.
© Aldo Feroce: Corviale, from the series Il Palazzo dei destini incrociati (The Palace of Crossed Destinies)
“What I always seek, wherever I am, is the human being. They are the center of my photography, the point from which everything begins and to which everything returns.”
Ana:
Your work moves fluidly between black-and-white and color, between raw documentary observation and more lyrical portraiture. How does your narrative intention shift when you change your visual language? What can color express in your storytelling that black-and-white cannot — and vice versa?
A.Feroce:
Often, the choice of color stems from a narrative necessity. For example, I could never have told The Palace of Crossed Destinies in black and white: the gray of the building is so dominant it becomes almost obsessive. Those who live there seek beauty even where it seems entirely absent. Restoring color—as a form of desire, dream, and, above all, dignity—seemed necessary to me. In other cases, when my narrative intertwines with documentation and memory, black and white becomes the most appropriate language, and I feel naturally drawn to describing those worlds through a monochromatic dimension.
Ana:
When documenting fragile or marginal communities, how do you avoid crossing the line into voyeurism or aestheticizing hardship? Are there specific personal or formal limits you impose to protect the dignity of the people you photograph?
A.Feroce:
Fragile and marginalized environments are those I know best, those I document most, and those I love most. The people who live there inspire me with extraordinary strength, and being able to tell their stories through my photographic language—always respectful and attentive—is a privilege. I firmly believe that my work should never border on voyeurism or irreverence: the dignity of the photographer is at the heart of every image.
Knowing and applying ethical common sense is, in my opinion, one of the first lessons a photographer must learn. Without this principle, any image risks losing its human value and betraying those who made it possible with their trust. For me, documenting therefore means balancing observation and sensitivity, narrating without judgment, and conveying the complexity of places and people with authenticity and respect.
© Aldo Feroce: from the series Before night falls, portraying the unspoken struggles of Cuban people
© Aldo Feroce: from the series Before night falls, portraying the unspoken struggles of Cuban people
Ana:
Your trajectory from wedding photography to social documentary work is striking. Looking back, what internal transformation pushed you toward this shift? Was it a conscious break or a gradual realization shaped by encounters and personal experiences?
A.Feroce:
My experience shooting weddings taught me the importance of delivering impeccable work to clients, a service where mistakes were impossible. It was a valuable exercise, one that I continue to carry with me. On a personal level, around 2009 I experienced a profound change, as if a second life had begun. After thirty years as a flight attendant, I lost my job and began working in wedding photography. The real satisfaction came when I began planning long-term projects and, above all, when I discovered the language of documentary photography.
Ana:
In your Cuban work — including Yo Soy Fidel — there is a tension between vividness and a deep, quiet melancholy. How do you navigate the balance between empathy and objectivity when portraying a culture that is not your own?
A.Feroce:
I’ve built deep relationships with Cuba; for me, it means participating, being involved. This applies to Corviale as it does to Cuba or Argentina. I feel like a witness of my time. Empathy is what allows you to connect more quickly with people and places. The melancholy of Cuba is something I carry within me and that I’ve felt every time I’ve returned: this is exactly what I wanted to convey.
In Cuba, as in Corviale or Argentina, I always try to be present, immersed. My approach always remains the same. Fidel is certainly one of the most charismatic figures of the last century. Being able to witness such a significant event enriched me on a human level like no other experience in my life. I traveled 700 kilometers and met the gaze of its people: a gaze I will never forget.
© Aldo Feroce: from the series Yo Soy Fidel, documenting the funeral caravan carrying the ashes of Fidel Castro, on November 3, 2016
“I believe it’s essential to show “clean” images, free from contamination and prejudice, capable of conveying reality in its authentic complexity.”
© Aldo Feroce: from the series Yo Soy Fidel
Ana:
You often describe your visual language as “clean and straightforward.” Yet social realities are rarely clean. How do you reconcile the idea of an “honest” photograph with the complexity, contradictions, and stereotypes embedded in the environments you document?
A.Feroce:
My job, as a documentary photographer, is to describe a place beyond stereotypes, because stereotypes don’t help us truly understand it. This is why I believe it’s essential to show “clean” images, free from contamination and prejudice, capable of conveying reality in its authentic complexity.
Ana:
In an era saturated with images — especially on social media — what role do you believe documentary photography still plays? And how do long-term projects like Corviale maintain their power when audiences are inundated with visual content?
A.Feroce:
Honestly, I was surprised by the interest and attention the Corviale project attracted. I wasn’t expecting such a strong response, either from the public or from professionals. It was probably the narrative language that struck me: a gaze that doesn’t simply document, but seeks to connect with people and their spaces, portraying them with respect and depth.
Perhaps this is precisely what surprised me: a way of storytelling that seeks not effect, but the emotional truth of places and faces. And, ultimately, this is simply my natural way of narrating through photography.
Ana:
If you had to choose one single photograph from your career — not for its beauty, but for its narrative or symbolic weight — which image would you select, and why does it stand above the rest?
A.Feroce:
Choosing a single significant image is always difficult, even though over time the strongest or most iconic one almost always emerges. For me, one of these is the photograph taken in 2016 of two women sitting on their doorstep in Canale Monterano. It’s an image that could belong to 1940, 1960, or any other era: a fragment suspended in time. Its symbolic power lies in the way it conveys the sense of community of this small town where I have lived for thirty years. It’s no coincidence that it was chosen as the official image to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Canale Monterano Community.
© Aldo Feroce: from the series “Today Like Yesterday” documenting the daily life of Canale Monterano
© Aldo Feroce: from the series “Today Like Yesterday” documenting the daily life of Canale Monterano
Ana:
You have photographed vastly different environments: Roman peripheries, industrial landscapes, Latin American communities, shipyards. What is the common thread that draws you to such diverse subjects? Is there a human or visual element you always seek, regardless of geography?
A.Feroce:
What I always seek, wherever I am, is the human being. They are the center of my photography, the point from which everything begins and to which everything returns. This is why I consider it essential that a human photograph be a portrait in its own right: an image that doesn’t simply show a face, but that allows us to perceive the place, the atmosphere, the context in which that person lives or moves. The environment becomes a second skin, an essential part of the narrative.
I deeply believe that a photograph must be able to communicate an authentic emotion. Without emotion, the story loses consistency, becoming a simple aesthetic exercise. I therefore seek a lens—both real and symbolic—capable of conveying not only what I see, but what I feel in the moment I encounter that face, that story, that humanity. It is in this intertwining of person and environment, between gaze and emotion, that for me photography is truly born.
© Aldo Feroce: from the series Otro Aires, document the life in the so-called Villas Miseria in Argentina, informal settlements where thousands of people live in precarious conditions
“Photography is the result of multiple elements coming together—technique, light, composition, gaze—and must always possess an emotional tone, reflecting the personality and soul of its creator. In my work, I have always favored two fundamental dimensions: the preservation of memory and the search for beauty and hope.“
Ana:
Is photography, for you, primarily an act of documentation, a form of denunciation, a search for hope, a preservation of memory, or a pursuit of beauty? Or do you see it as a blend of all these layers? How do you determine the emotional tone a project should carry?
A.Feroce:
For me, photography is much more than an image: it is a form of language, a means of communicating ideas, emotions, and stories. It is conveyed through a device, of course, but what truly matters is not the instrument, but the vision and sensitivity of the photographer. Photography is the result of multiple elements coming together—technique, light, composition, gaze—and must always possess an emotional tone, reflecting the personality and soul of its creator. In my work, I have always favored two fundamental dimensions: the preservation of memory and the search for beauty and hope.
I believe that every photograph has the power to express who we are, where we come from, and, at the same time, to suggest possibilities, desires, and dreams. Beauty, even in the most fragile or marginalized contexts, then becomes a form of resistance, a message of dignity, life, and humanity. For me, photography means seeking that balance between documentation and poetry, between concrete reality and the emotional power that only an image can convey.
More about Aldo Feroce:
official website: https://www.aldoferoce.it/
instagram: @aldoferoce
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