In January 2015, two Italian women, Giulia and Mari, decided to marry each other, notwithstanding the apparent "impossibility". As they weren't allowed to get married in Italy "officially", they decided to seal their relationship with a Buddhist ceremony, as Buddhism would allow such vow (Mari has been Buddhist since she was 18). The wedding was celebrated on May 15th 2016, by chance 4 days after the civil union bill was approved in the Italian parliament, and the wedding event was organized just as any Italian wedding except for the ceremony (which mixes different elements as in Buddhism there actually is no such thing as 'marriage'). The spouses are planning to make their union official as soon as the new law will be effective.

This story featured on Lagom, issue #4 (May 2016) – www.readlagom.com One of Milan's first gastronomic events with insects, at "Hidden Kitchen" evening organized by Taboolata (www.taboolata.com) together with chef Tommaso Fara. Insects are slowly gaining attention in world's nutrition scene; in many places it's just normal to eat insects, and now also western countries are focusing on it more and more. Insects are high in protein and many of those speaking in favour of introducing insects in the menu point out also that they would be a valid alternative for meat as a source of protein, as producing meat requires huge amounts of water whereas for insects there isn't such need.

Addiopizzo is an association based in Palermo and its name means "farewell pizzo". Pizzo stands for the "protection money" collected by mafias from businesses under various excuses – in the end it's nothing but extortion. In 2004, a group of 7 young Palermitans managed to start a collective movement which consisted in business activities (shops, bars, hotels...) who simply refused to pay the pizzo requested by Cosa Nostra (Sicilian mafia) families. Today there are over 900 businesses who adhere to the movement. Among them there are also the companies of the children of Libero Grassi, an Italian enterpreneur who tried to oppose alone to pizzo in the early '90s and paid for it with his life as Cosa Nostra shot him dead in 1991.

Dr. Aldo Marchesini (b. 1941) is an Italian surgeon living and working in Mozambique. He has HIV, which he got through his work in 2002; the disease is one of Mozambique's main problems. Currently Dr. Marchesini is based in Quelimane, where he has lived since 1981 and works as a surgeon and a physician in town's hospital. Dr Marchesini arrived in Africa for the first time in 1970. Surgeons sometimes cut themselves during surgical operations; it was through that kind of accident that Dr. Marchesini contracted HIV. However, Dr. Marchesini hasn't stopped working, nor returned to live in Italy. He continues leading his busy life, taking every day his antiretroviral drugs that nowadays are so advanced that patients live perfectly normal life. He also has never tried to hide his illness. At the time when he got infected, the therapy was free in Italy but not in Mozambique, but he felt bad being a privileged person and didn't feel he could've left his Mozambican patients. Not long afterwards he had found out about his own HIV, he managed to set up in Quelimane a day hospital for AIDS patients with the help of community of Sant'Egidio, which already had a hospital like that in Maputo, Mozambique's capital. Today antiretroviral therapy is free also in Mozambique. One of Dr. Marchesini's main projects is related to vesico-vaginal fistulas, repairing operations of which he both carries out and teaches around Mozambique as much as he can. In remote areas it's common that women give birth to their babies at home, but if during delivery complications emerge, a Caesarean section or other advanced help can't be provided immediately and the closest hospital may be far away and/or there may not be transport available. Besides being a dangerous situation for both baby and mother in many ways, the baby's head may start putting pressure on the urinary bladder preventing the blood circulation. The bladder's tissue dies, fistula is being formed and bladder won't retain the urine. In addition to being a very uncomfortable problem, it also has effects on women's social lives; they don't want to go out, they husbands may abandon them and they may remain isolated. Dr. Marchesini is specialized in operations that close the fistulas, allowing thus the women to restart the normal life. Every year he organizes “campaigns” for these operations; he goes either together with his Quelimane hospital's team or alone to other hospitals around the country, for a week approximately in each hospital, where besides performing the operations himself, he teaches it to local surgeons. The women in the nearby area are informed about these campaigns through radio and local healthcare professionals. The operation is performed in topical anesthesia and usually succeeds in repairing the bladder permanently. On 12 Jun 2014 Dr. Marchesini received 2014 United Nations Population Award.

On the set of Dario Buccino's video for "Che tutto conserva intatto" (director: Chiara Andrich) from album "La costrizione della nudità" (2014). The video was shot in Milan and in Ivrea in September 2013 (the photos here are taken only in Milan).

Italy celebrated 150 years of its national unity on March 17th 2011. Several special events were organized for the occasion and Italian towns and cities were decorated in various ways. One of the special decorations concerned the landmark of city of Turin, Mole Antonellana (the building was supposed to be a synagogue but eventually was never used for the original purpose and today it houses the National Museum of Cinema). The decoration of Mole Antonelliana for the celebration of Italian Unification consisted in a light installation which recalls Italian flag, the "tricolour". The original project was made by Italo Lupi, Ico Migliore and Mara Servetto. The installation was made with three squares built with trusses around the Mole's top and to which were attached a series of leds. The mounting was carried out by Puma Lavori in Fune, a company specialized in working on rope at elevation. It took two weeks to mount the installation. Restrictions for all the photos in the gallery: NO MODEL RELEASE, NO PROPERTY RELEASE

Foreword: My original intention was to follow few candidates from various parties and/or movements during their electoral campaigns for European elections in May 2014. However, due to lack of response from the persons I tried to contact (allowing them some time to reply before moving on to next possible person) and my other commitments which left me too little time to search for other persons, I eventually only made a photo story about Green Party candidate Mercedes Mas Solé. The photo story covers the last 2–3 weeks before the election day (25 May 2014). Mercedes didn't get elected. Mercedes is originally from Spain but has been living in Italy for 25 years. She lives in Trezzano sul Naviglio (a municipality which belongs to city of Milan) and works as a coordinator in a peace and nonviolence promoting cultural association and as a guitar teacher. She also participates regularly in several volunteer activities such as Guerrilla Gardening, or promoting solar cooking and associated fund raising for solar kitchens for people in developing countries, or teaching Spanish at Banca del tempo (Time Bank). Usually she moves around by bicycle; she has two of them, a folding one she can take onto the train and another one with three wheels and a racket between the two back wheels for carrying things. She often cooks her meals in a solar oven on her balcony. She has two adult daughters, one of whom is a candidate for Trezzano's city council. She used to be a councilor in her hometown's city council herself and she wrote even a book about her experience. She says she accepted being a candidate at the European elections in order to increase the presence of female candidates, but she says that she's facing the possibility of being elected with a certain nervousness. Green Party isn't very visible in Italy notwithstanding their members' clear commitment to their causes, principles and ideas. As Ms. Elena Grandi, one of Greens' candidates in Northwestern Italy points out, “in European parliament the Greens are currently the fourth largest political group, yet there is not even one Italian member.”

Giovanni Rubino (1938, Naples) is an Italian artist who lives in Milan. His work concentrates on social conflicts and struggles, to which he participates himself as well, processing his experience into artwork. One of his long standing projects is called "Farememoria" ("Makememory") which consists in copying, by using the frottage technique, the memorial plates that have been made in memory of the martyrs of the Italian resistance. Giovanni's own website is www.farememoria.it Albergo Regina (Hotel Regina), Milan, Italy, was a nazi headquarters from Sep 13th 1943 through Apr 30th 1945. A commemorative plate for the nazis' victims was affixed on the wall of the building on Jan 29th 2010. "Nati il 25 aprile" ("Born on April 25th") is a documentary film by Giuseppe Selva, who wanted Giovanni to feature in his film. The photos are taken during the shooting of the scenes in which Giovanni appears. Piazza Fontana (Fontana Square) is a square in Milan, behind the Duomo. On Dec 12th 1969 a bomb exploded in a bank on the square, killing 17 and wounding 88. The bomb was one of the five terroristic attacks that took place that day both in Rome and in Milan. The case was closed in 2005 after seven trials with no-one convicted. Binario 21 (Track 21) is a track of Milan Central Station from which departed the trains with the deported persons to the Auschwitz concentration camp between Dec 6th 1943 and May 1944. The track isn't in use anymore.

Lucica belongs to the Romas of Romania and has been living in Italy for 20 years. She used to be a singer but a car accident damaged her voice permanently over 20 years ago. She has proclaimed herself queen of Romas of all Europe and has even managed to obtain a crowning from Orthodox Church. At Easter 2011 she visited the Roma camp in Via Triboniano (Milan, Italy) which was going to be emptied and demolished by the end of April 2011. The people of the camp welcomed her warmly as she had guaranteed that she would stand by them against the demolition. The camp was demolished few days after. The people living at the camp returned to Romania. One of the effects of the camp emptying concerned the camp's children who had been going to school in Italy for years and now basically had to start school all over again in Romania. Restrictions for all the photos in the gallery: NO MODEL RELEASE, NO PROPERTY RELEASE

Maurizio Cattelan (Padova, 1960) is an Italian contemporary artist. His work "L.O.V.E.", mounted in Piazza Affari in Milan, is an 11-meter high marble sculpture of a hand with all fingers but the middle one cut off. The sculpture was part of Cattelan's exhibition in Palazzo Reale (Milan) called "Contro le ideologie" ("Against the ideologies") and the hand sculpture recalls the Nazi salute. In 2012 Municipality of Milan decided to keep the sculpture in Piazza degli affari, and on October 12th a party was held at the square to celebrate the decision. Restrictions for all the photos in the gallery: NO MODEL RELEASE, NO PROPERTY RELEASE

C.A.F. (Centro di Aiuto al bambino maltrattato e alla Famiglia in crisi) is a help center for abused children and for family going through a crisis. The center, located in Milan, is run by a non-profit association, and besides hosting children at their facility the association offers also other kind of support services.

Small artisan shop "La Stele", that produces nativity scenes, which are very common and popular in Italian Christmas tradition. A Milanese sculptor founded the shop in the beginning of 20th century and it has always produced religious statues of all sizes, both related to Christmas and not. In Christmas time their production concentrates on the figures of the nativity scene.