“Suddenly I had an archive of blood.” How an inspiring female photographer took on the Sicilian Mafia and won.

Letizia Battaglia (1935-2022) was one of Italy’s most important social documentary photographers, and her photographs are some of the best-known records of life in the shadow of the mafia.

This autumn the Photographers Gallery in London presents Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in SicilyIn theaters from 09 October 2024 to 23 February 2025.

Battaglia was a photographer, but also civil rights activist, journalist, broadcaster, film director, environmentalist, politician, photography museum director, and an important figure in the contemporary history of Sicily.