“Suddenly, I had an archive of blood.” How an inspiring female photographer took on the Sicilian Mafia, and won

Black and white photograph of a man with handcuffed wrists and held by two police officers.

Letizia Battaglia (1935-2022) was one of Italy’s most important social documentary photographers, whose images are some of the best-known records of life in the shadow of the Mafia.

This autumn The Photographers’ Gallery in London presents Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily, on show from October 09 2024 – February 23 2025.