“Before the culture of football, I love Italy and its provincial culture. In Italy, football is everywhere – it is habitual. And with my shots I try to show this.”
Luigi Di Maso
Luigi Di Maso was born in the South of Italy. Despite his family connection’s to Calcio Foggia 1920 (his father worked for the club in the 90s), he is happy to enough to admit that he no longer associates himself with one club.
Instead, it’s the wider culture around Italian football that has gripped Luigi and something he relishes showcasing through his work. As he put’s it – it’s the cities, and the passion of those fans that interests him, and not just in Italy, but around Europe.
Luigi’s work takes in cult clubs such as Sampdoria, Vicenza, Parma, Livorno and Bari, focusing on the supporters, young and old, and their rituals, pride, loyalty and passion.
“I was born in the South of Italy but I now live in Livorno in Tuscany.
“I work in football as social and digital media editor. As part of my job I get to tell football stories with video and photographs.
“Nowadays I do not really support any particular football team, but there are many clubs that I love and follow because I appreciate both their identity and cities. Clubs like Livorno, Genoa, Sampdoria, Union Berlin and Arsenal. My idol growing up was Alessandro Del Piero. For me, he represents for me the beauty of football and the Italian way of life.
“My father has worked with Foggia Calcio during the 1990s, during the “Zemanlandia” era. It was a remarkable period for my city when I was 5 old. This period and the memory of it connected me to the football. Foggia is now in Serie C, but the passion and the feeling of fans is the same compared to that of a Serie A side. It’s a very Italian way to support your local team.
“Before the culture of football, I love Italy and its provincial culture. The vibes you can feel in a small town, the caring of the people for the little things. Here, we say that: ‘Italy is country of poets, artists, heroes, saints, thinkers, scientists, navigators…’ I would add ‘football lovers’.
“In Italy, football is everywhere – it is habitual. And with my shots I try to show this. I always say: “being in a football stadium is the best sociology book you can ever read”. When we switch from civilians or workers to fans, we show up a primordial part of us. In the stadium during a football match, we are real, without filters and this is amazing catching it with photography: it creates dopamine both in photographers and fans.
“I’m inspired by and appreciate the work of my Italians colleagues, like Francesca Scandella, Giacomo Cosua and Giuseppe Romano to name just a few. I try to learn and take inspiration from everyone, not only from photographers.
“In the future I would love to travel around the world working on football projects. The dream is making some project during next EURO in Germany, but especially in next World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada.”
Keep up with Luigi on Instagram.
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