In June 2023, I documented the state funeral of Silvio Berlusconi—a day defined by sweltering heat and a crowd divided between curious onlookers and fervent supporters in mourning.

I chose to focus on the people gathered in Piazza del Duomo, Milan. From those trying to withstand the heat beneath umbrellas to others climbing statues and lampposts in hopes of seeing more than just a sea of heads. I observed their faces up close—their expressions, their waiting, their sweat-lined brows.

Among the crowd, I positioned myself at the heart of the AC Milan ultras group, where grief was drowned by a visceral sense of identity—chants, vehement gestures, torn flags fluttering in the heat.

I wasn’t interested in the faces under the spotlight—the well-known figures or institutional protagonists—but in the visual testimony of those who were there by choice. I wanted to capture people and their emotions. I wanted to portray the people.