Alberto Giuliani's photos of medical staff's masked faces go global from Pesaro hospital

Photographer Alberto Giuliani (born 1975) documented the facial marks left on healthcare workers after 12-hour shifts wearing surgical masks at Pesaro hospital, one of Italy's hardest-hit areas early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The images, taken at the end of shifts with the help of a doctor who mediated with staff, show invisible enemy traces on nurses and doctors. Published first by Stern in Germany, then The Atlantic, Marie Claire, and Internazionale, the photos are also slated for outlets in the Netherlands and Japan. Two or three images will be used in a US government campaign urging people to stay home. Giuliani, who started journalism at 18 and later wrote the book "Gli Immortali" (a Campiello Prize contender), aimed for a less visceral, more project-based photography. He accessed the hospital through medical friends and obtained permits quickly due to Pesaro's small community. The project reflects on invisible threats like cyberattacks and the lasting psychological scars of the pandemic.