Gomorrah Girl: Connected by Violence

A Mourning Father

Giovanni Durante wears his deceased daughter Annalisa's necklace. He's taken breakfast with milk to his daughter's grave every morning since she was brutally killed.

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Photograph by Valerio Spada.
Sabrina, 11-year-old Neomelodic Singer

Girls like Sabrina make up to 200,000 euros to sing at weddings and various ceremonies, sometimes performing at 20 on a single weekend. The Camorra is sometimes involved in this market, according to Spada's book.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
An Angel and a Pistol

This graffiti covers a wall 50 meters from where 14-year-old Annalisa Durante was killed.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
Woman Under House Arrest

A pistol tattoo is just visible above the line of her skirt.

Photograph by Valerio Spada.
11-Year-Old Fighter

This girl has been training since she was 5 years old. She can hardly wait until she is able to fight in official boxing matches at age 18.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
Girl from Secondigliano

Though many of the women Spada photographed are not explicitly connected to Annalisa Durante's murder, her story affects their lives, he says.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
Rosi and Her Mother

This is one of the homes Spada photographed in La Vela Blue (The Blue Sail) housing complex.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
Gun Play

A 16-year-old actor jokes around with his friend while his sister watches.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
Polizia Scientifica, Naples

These are weapons seized from the Casalesi's family, now in the forensic laboratory.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
The Killer of Scampia

The 31-year-old "Killer of Scampia" at the Vela Rossa, the most notorious of three buildings in the Scampia neighborhood of Naples. He served 12 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was 19 and is currently on trial for a robbery and some misdemeanor crimes. He and his girlfriend were arguing when Spada met them. He agreed to the portrait; she didn't.
The Smurf's House, Scampia, Naples

La Scuola or I Puffi (The School or the Smurf's House), located in what used to be a kindergarten, is one of the most dangerous places in Italy. According to Spada's book an average of 300 people per hour go there to get their heroine fix.
Photograph by Valerio Spada.
The Line Between Sails

Nine-year-old Anna plays in the street between La Vela Rossa (Red Sail) and La Vela Gialla (Yellow Sail) housing complexes in Scampia, Naples.

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Photograph by Valerio Spada.