Massimo Sestini's Aerial Photography Exhibition Opens in Lecce

The Castello Carlo V in Lecce hosts 'L'Aria del Tempo', a solo exhibition of photographer Massimo Sestini running until September 30. Curated by the Kunstschau collective in collaboration with RTI Theutra-Oasimed, the show presents forty large- and medium-format iconic photographs taken from helicopters and military aircraft. Sestini, born in Prato in 1963, has captured pivotal events in recent Italian history: the Capaci and Via D'Amelio massacres, the rubble of Amatrice, the 2001 G8 clashes in Genoa, the Costa Concordia shipwreck, the Ilva steelworks in Taranto, and crowded Ferragosto beaches. His 2014 image 'Mare Nostrum', depicting a migrant boat during Italian Navy rescue operations off the Libyan coast, won the World Press Award 2015. Since 2000, Sestini has specialized in vertical aerial shots (zenitali), shooting from extreme, perpendicular perspectives. The exhibition extends his 2018 photobook of the same name published by Contrasto Books. Curator Gianluca Tenti describes Sestini as a 'cultore dell’istante' who acts on instinct and adrenaline, merging art and journalism.