Italia

September/October 2025 Once again, I found myself journeying through Italy, heeding the call of my friend Anto. His recommendations were, as always, a series of irresistible commands: “You have to go there to photograph!” And, as always, I followed. Our first destination was Sicily. We landed in Catania in the violent embrace of a thunderstorm, the sky a chaos of water and lightning. After collecting our car, we drove through the deluge to Tenuta Zannafondo, where we spent the night nestled among silver-green olive trees and the region’s characteristic dry-stone walls. The following morning, a magnificent sun had wrestled away the storm. We drove to Castello di Donnafugata on the island’s eastern side, a region whose Baroque wonders—Noto, Ibla, Scicli, Modica—I already knew. The castle captivated us instantly: the humble village at its gate, the fairy-tale silhouette of its lace-like crenellations against the hard blue sky. For William, I had prepared a white linen outfit and a hat, which he wore with a natural, unstudied elegance. And then we began to shoot. It was pure joy. We were in an enchanted place, bathed in the intense, burning light of Sicily—a light that poured over the thick ancient walls, refracted through the delicate colored glass of chandeliers, and bled through the heavy brocade curtains.