1 year in 123 stories and 55k posts (so far)
These are the numbers of What Italy Is. And we are quite happy with them.
What Italy Is was born exactly one year ago. It started as an idea between Simone Bramante aka @brahmino and Giuseppe Mondì aka @masinutoscana. The idea was to show the brightest side of Italy: that one too often darkened by the images of what is bad in Italy. But Italy was and is not only that kind of country: it’s a beautiful land where beautiful people live and work, trying to make it better day by day. That is the Italy that Simone and Giuseppe decided to tell and show on Instagram, along with eight others photographers (Cinzia Bolognese, Donatella Sedda, Giulia Ficicchia, Marta Milanese, Alessandro Croci, Gabriele Infranca, Martino Pietropoli, Rocco Rossitto) that each week select the best stories they pick in the flow of the ever growing #whatitalyis hashtag flow.
Numbers that show how much Italy is loved in Italy itself and abroad.
What Italy Is is just one year-old. Nobody would have ever thought it to be so big in such a short time span: 24,000 followers on Instagram, thousands of pictures from everywhere tagged #whatitalyis, the passion for photography and for Italy to blend all these numbers together.
Let’s go on and see what Italy is next: a bright one, as always.
This is a selection of the most loved stories we found around. Loved not only in terms of number of likes but because each one tells something about Italy. And we love telling stories.
“Italy is the place where I want to live, the one where I was born, that disappoints me and makes me proud. It’s my home, I had no choice, but I love it” tells Donatella.
Ancient hands tell ancient stories.
Italy can be like an imaginary place, like in this place photographed by Livia. Does it exist for real?
Italy is such a mixture of religion and its opposite: it might be the laugh of a children or simply what is unexpected, like this photo of the cupola of San Pietro in Rome, coloured by baloons. Filippo took it.
What place is this? Is it Italy? Yes it is, and Mario took it in all its grace.
This is the idea of a city in wintertime. Yes, it’s winter in Italy too and it can be cold as well. This is Milan and Buddy Bradley was great in capturing it.
How strong is the past in Italy? Very strong. Italy is made of its own past. You can see it everywhere and you can contemplate it from the modern window of the Novecento Museum in Milan. Photo by Anddicted.
This is the real “Made in Italy”. Born and made here.
Photo by Domenico Principato.
You know when you have a great idea? It’s like a light that pops up in your mind. This is what this photo tells. And Italy is full of great ideas and creativity, and databhi tells it perfectly.
There are no bells left in this church, but they say you can still hear them sometimes. This place near Bolzano is full of magical mistery, and Juep got exactly that feeling.
So many churches in Italy, so many good ones. If it’s not enough, there’s the italian light, perfectly portrayed here by Andrea.
The light, again. Of yes, like this one that Epicfe took in such a good way in Milan.
The future of the past: Matera photographed by Rocco Rossitto. Matera will be the European Capital of Culture in 2019.
A lot of things to teach to the world still. A bright future for Italy ahead.
What Italy Is will be here to tell you.
