roberto graziano moro documents the COVID-19 crisis in venice, italy, in its most critical moments

as the world continues to digest the overwhelm of the COVID-19 pandemic, creatives are absorbing the history that has unfolded over the past months, and finding personal, artistic responses to the events. ai weiwei recently released a feature-length documentary set in the chinese city of wuhan during the outbreak, examining the political specter of chinese state control from the first to the last day lockdown.

for several years, photographer roberto graziano moro had been engaged in the documentation of the music industry in italy and today’s youth culture, but the pandemic changed the focus of his lens. the north of italy was struck early and violently by the outbreak, and areas including milan and the veneto region were burdened with an increasing number of cases, overcrowded hospitals, and an overwhelming sense of urgency to control the crisis.

all images courtesy of roberto graziano moro

it was during these critical moments that roberto graziano moro took to the streets and canals of the north-eastern veneto region, whose capital city is venice, to document — through film and photography — the health emergency as it happened. throughout the duration of the project, he collaborated with the italian red cross, hospitals in vicenza hospital and venice hospital, the carabinieri and the state police in order to narrate the services that were carried out in the area.

‘the aim of my work was to portray the effects that the spread of the virus had on people’s homes, hospitals, rest homes and along city streets,’ he says. the resulting film — which you can see at the top of the page (sound on) — and images paint a poignant picture of the crisis in its most critical moments, and the widespread toll it took on all people, from healthcare workers, to those forced to remain in their homes. 

the realization of this video has been possible thanks to the collaboration of:

croce rossa italiana vicenza
ospedale ‘san bortolo’ vicenza
ospedale ‘SS giovanni e paolo’ venezia
suem vicenza
suem venezia
carabinieri di vicenza
carabinieri di venezia
impresa funebre bordin

carol bruttomesso
corrado perria
fabio moro
filippo bano
francesco ambrosini
michela benestà
paola pivi
roanna christine sanelli
simone meneguzzo