Photojournalism 2nd place winner

This short sequence is part of a long-term project on the Rom and Sinta ethnicity developed from 1999 to 2018, in the old nomad camps of Rome where people lived in extreme conditions, without water and electricity and those newly established, legally authorized, that, in a few years time , have become real ghettos where, often, different ethnic groups and religions are forced to live together. It is worth considering that the so-called Gypsies are people like us, Gypsy women love their children like us, and their young people make life projects like ours. We often fear their faces and what is said about them. They are often at the center of racial debates, live in conditions of extreme marginalization, in a system that for them is incapable of any form of integration. A high percentage of their children do not go to school, making any change for their future impossible. Often the system that does not accept them, uses them for its shady deals, as happened in the past for "Mafia Capitale".

Pietro Di Giambattista born in Pannarano (BN) in 1956 and he lives and works in Rome. After having studied technical studies he started a full-time classical guitar course and in 1991 he became a performer. He decided to give up the study of the guitar and dedicated himself to photography, devoting his attention mainly to landscapes and portraits. In 1992 he won the 1st prize in a national photography competition at Ercolano (Napoli). In 1997 he enrolled at a Photography Workshop in Toscana held by the famous English landscape photographer Eddie Ephraums. From that time onwards he started taking part into workshops that will determine his professional growth. He also had the chance to meet Paolo Pellegrin and Antonin Kratochvil. In the year 2000 he met Francesco Zizzola in Massa Marittima at the Toscana Fotofestival and at the Polaroid workshop he met Maurizio Galimberti. He attended a workshop with Michael Ackerman and later with Yury Kozyrev in Rome. He also enrolled in some courses at thePermanent School of Photography "Graffiti" in Rome, directed by Gianni Pinnizzotto and also attended the start-up to the profession of photojournalism with Rolando Fava . In 2002 he sent a selection of portraits that are