Black and white photo of a woman with long dark hair, smiling and raising her arms, standing in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa with a cloudy sky. She is wearing a jacket and skirt, and is positioned on a small platform with a sign nearby.

Arrested Development

About the Project

Charles Darwin proposed that species evolve toward greater complexity and fitness. I often wonder what he would think after seeing the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa or the Stonehenge boulders as they look nowadays: under siege.

Arrested Development is a long-term documentary project examining the regression of contemporary human culture. It’s a photographic record of a civilisation that has looked at good taste, weighed it carefully, and decided it probably wasn't worth the bother. Irony defeats discouragement. In the end, we all have a choice: the opportunity to do things differently, assuming we actually want to.

2025 — ongoing

The Project - Four Parts

Part 1 — Tourists Worldwide, 2025 - Ongoing

This is Part 1 of Arrested Development: a photographic demonstration, through observable behavior, that the human race is moving along a dysfunctional behavioral path, and marked by a general loss of good taste. Darwin was wrong. Or perhaps he simply never visited Pisa after the invention of the selfie stick.

Part 1 is also a personal tribute to Martin Parr, who passed away on the 6th of December 2025.

I had the immense fortune of meeting Martin during a video conference organised by Tomasz Trebiatowsky for FRAMES. We talked about his sources of inspiration. Since I am Italian, it was natural for him to move toward the subject of tourism and the places ruined by tourists. He mentioned Venice. He also knew Pisa well: a capital of kitsch behaviour conducted in the shadow of one of the world's great architectural achievements.

Martin photographed his subjects with love. I photograph mine with resigned fascination.

Black and white photo of a young woman standing outdoors near the Leaning Tower of Pisa, smiling and waving at the camera, with a small plaque at her feet.
A man with glasses, wearing a white sweater and dark pants, poses outdoors with his right arm raised and left arm extended, standing behind a chain-linked fence on a grassy area with a large hedge in the background.
A woman dressed warmly with a hat and scarf smiling and waving her hand in an outdoor setting with historical stone buildings, fencing, and a crowd of people in the background.
A woman with long hair and a fitted long-sleeve top stands near a metal fence in front of a large, historic building with arched windows. Her hand is raised above her head, and the image is in black and white. There are other people visible in the ba
A woman with long dark hair smiling and posing with her arms raised in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. She is wearing a dark long-sleeve top and pants, white sneakers, and is standing behind a metal barrier. There are backpacks and a sho
A group of people outdoors near the Leaning Tower of Pisa; one person standing on a small platform with their hand raised, one person sitting on the ground taking a photo, and others standing, with some behind a metal barrier.
An elderly woman wearing glasses, a headband, and a coat wave to a group of people gathered outside a historic building with rounded arches and stonework. She is smiling and appears to be addressing or greeting the crowd.
A woman wearing glasses and a winter coat taking a selfie with a selfie stick in front of an old stone building with arches and windows. There are people in the background walking near the building.
A young man with short hair is smiling and raising his right hand in a street filled with a crowd of people. He is wearing a white t-shirt with the words 'MONASH SPORT' printed on it and light-colored pants. The background shows brick buildings and s
A black and white photograph of a man with glasses and gray hair waving his hand. He is wearing a jacket and standing on a city street with a crowd of people behind him. The background features iconic architecture, possibly in Italy, with a recogniza
People taking photos near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
A woman with dark hair taking a selfie with a smartphone in a crowd outdoors, with historic buildings in the background.
A person standing outdoors, smiling, with their head slightly bowed and pointing downward, in front of a historic building with arches and columns, trees in the background, black and white photograph.
Child wearing a winter hat and coat, walking down a hallway past two closed doors with emergency fire exit signs, with a slight forward angle view.
Person wearing glasses, a knitted beanie, and a white jacket making a peace sign gesture outdoors near stone columns.

Part 2 — Classy Worldwide, ongoing

The industrialisation of personal decoration, a visual landscape of extraordinary ambition and variable outcome, most of the time less than great. The body as billboard, the self as brand, identity available off the shelf, for £1 a spray. Somewhere between the desire and the result, taste got left behind and kitsch moved in. Loud and ignorant, but also funny, at times.

Classy documents the gap — between the suave and the merely loud, between what it could be had we evolved in the right direction and what it is — across geographies, because the phenomenon recognises no borders.

Part 3 — The High Street United Kingdom, ongoing

What replaced the butcher, the baker and the cosy restaurant right there on the lovely town square? The shawarma shop, the bubble tea franchise, and the fourth barber on the same street. Part 3 is a visual archaeology of the British high street: what was lost, what arrived, and what the resulting combination says about who we are now. I am not so sure that the balance looks good.

Front view of King Shawarma restaurant with a large red sign and logo above the entrance, two people sitting inside, and a man standing outside with a shopping bag.
storefront with black sign reading 'Rihanna Nails' and floral design, located at 90, featuring a glass door, decorative window, and an 'OPEN' sign, on a brick building with neighboring architecture.

Part 4 — Leisure Worldwide, ongoing

Betting shops, the electronic gambling machine that promises everything and delivers nothing. And quieter forms of absence too: the group of friends who are together but not present, each sealed inside their own audio world, occupying the same space without sharing it. Part 4 documents how contemporary leisure looks from the outside; which is to say, how it looks when nobody is performing for the camera, when all the selfies have been taken.

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A person with curly brown hair, wearing a green plaid shirt and gray sweater, using a headset and holding a smartphone, seated in front of a mirror with blurred reflections.
The image shows the front of a building with signs for a business called "THE MILLIONAIRE SALA SLOT VLT." The signs are black with white and red text, and there are windows and a door with similar signage, including an Italian message warning minors
A horse with a racing mask and helmet, standing on a racecourse with green banners and a scenic background, during the Cheltenham 2021 event.
A black and white photo of a person walking outside a building while playing a violin. The person is wearing a jacket and a striped cap with headphones on. They are holding sheet music in one hand and the violin in the other. The background shows a w