Letizia Battaglia, pioneering Italian photojournalist and anti-mafia symbol, dies at 87

Letizia Battaglia, who became Italy's first female crime photojournalist, passed away at the age of 87. Her impactful photography represented the struggle against the Mafia. Although she was born in a peaceful era, her childhood was marked by the horrors of war, as she evaded bombs throughout Italy. At 16, she entered into marriage to escape her father's control, yet found herself constrained. Relocating to Milan at 36 with her two daughters, she began capturing images to provide for them. After the assassination of Giuseppe Impastato in 1979, she deepened her anti-mafia activism while working for L'Ora. In 1985, she received the W. Eugene Smith Award, later joined the Green Party, and served on Palermo's city council. She also launched magazines and founded Edizioni della Battaglia, and in 2016, she created the International Center of Photography of Palermo.