AMARA TERRA MIA (Ongoing)
For the ancient Greeks, the fertile valleys of the Agrigento region were of such profound beauty that they were likened to Eden. It was for this reason that in the sixth century BC they founded Akragas (ancient Agrigento), one of the most significant Mediterranean cities of the era. Today, the only testament to that ancient wealth is the Valley of the Temples, the most imposing Doric monumental complex alongside the Parthenon in Athens. The surrounding landscape tells a different story. Advancing misery and abandonment define a region where the equivalent of an entire town disappears every year. According to the latest Migrantes report, 156,000 people from Agrigento have emigrated abroad; of those who remain, almost half are neither in work nor in education. Below the surface, the bowels of the sulfur mines have been repurposed as burial grounds for prohibited toxins. Above ground, with every gust of wind, disused industries and warehouses release asbestos dust into the air. In Vallone, located between Caltanissetta and Agrigento, the cancer registry is 43% higher than the national average. Scattered across the landscape stand the unfinished houses of the fathers — built by emigrants with the hope of one day returning, they have become monuments to broken futures: those who can, escape; those who cannot, face a slow death.