LA VILLE NOIRE - THE DARK HEART OF EUROPE

  • Dates
    2015 - 2016
  • Author
  • Topics Social Issues, Contemporary Issues, Documentary

Charleroi, La Ville Noire, a small town close to Bruxelles, symbolizes by itself the whole of Europe. The collapse of industrial manufacturing, the rising unemployment, the increasing immigration, the outbreak of micro-criminality. The regression of the social welfare, the lack of a shared identity.

Charleroi, La Ville Noire (The Black City), a small town close to Bruxelles, symbolizes by itself the whole of Europe. The collapse of the industrial manufacturing, the rising unemployment, the increasing immigration, the outbreak of micro-criminality. The regression of the social welfare, the lack of a shared identity. This feature is a journey to the roots of my family, which moved from Italy to the district of Charleroi in 1956 to work in the steel industry. Two generations have already succeeded in the promised land and, in the meantime, everything has changed. At this crossroad many populations united under the same roof of working opportunities were left without anything to share, as work vanished. Today social unease combines with the lives of the citizens. The roads, once blooming and neat, appear today desolated and abandoned, industries are closing down and spontaneous vegetation eats the old industrial districts. The same thing in a broader scale is happening in Europe. This project invites people to gaze into the very heart of Europe, unlike most stories of this genre which tend to be focused on the margins of Europe. Does it make any sense to stay together when the initial mission has almost failed? Will it be possible to have another chance? This is the question for Europe, this is the question for the dark heart of Europe. I'm a son of this culture I investigated, and what pushed me to tell this story was an investigation on my own identity. My family moved from Italy to the district of Charleroi in 1956 to work in the coal industry. Half of my family still lives there, which is why I was granted such privileged and immediate access into the world I have captured in my photographs. The idea of the project was born a few years ago. My desire was to tell through this vicinity, through this relationship with these places and people, this irritating, thorny theme. Our story is tied up with the European Community, with the political and social arguments that the introduction of the Union implied in our lives, dreams and ambitions.

© Giovanni Troilo - The gas supply tubes run along the houses built near the steel factories of Charleroi.
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The gas supply tubes run along the houses built near the steel factories of Charleroi.

© Giovanni Troilo - In this gym many youngsters practise kick boxing.
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In this gym many youngsters practise kick boxing.

© Giovanni Troilo - Belgium reached the quarter-finals of the last World Cup.
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Belgium reached the quarter-finals of the last World Cup.

© Giovanni Troilo - Mr Etienne and his son have a Second World War armored tank in their garden near Mons.
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Mr Etienne and his son have a Second World War armored tank in their garden near Mons.

© Giovanni Troilo - A typical skyline in Montignies-sur-Sambre.
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A typical skyline in Montignies-sur-Sambre.

© Giovanni Troilo - A dummy for kickbox training.
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A dummy for kickbox training.

© Giovanni Troilo - A man waiting fot his wife outside the supermarket.
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A man waiting fot his wife outside the supermarket.

© Giovanni Troilo - The daily rations of drugs for the asylum's patients.
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The daily rations of drugs for the asylum's patients.

© Giovanni Troilo - A woman in a psychiatric asylum and elderly home.
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A woman in a psychiatric asylum and elderly home.

© Giovanni Troilo - My cousin agreed to be photographed while having sex with a girl in his friend’s car.
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My cousin agreed to be photographed while having sex with a girl in his friend’s car.

© Giovanni Troilo - Montigny-le-Tilleul, one of the richest neighborhoods of Charleroi.
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Montigny-le-Tilleul, one of the richest neighborhoods of Charleroi.

© Giovanni Troilo - This woman sodomizes men in her apartment.
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This woman sodomizes men in her apartment.

© Giovanni Troilo - Urban landscape in Marchienne au Pont.
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Urban landscape in Marchienne au Pont.

© Giovanni Troilo - Cedric in his garden in Marchienne au Pont.
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Cedric in his garden in Marchienne au Pont.

© Giovanni Troilo - A street in Montignies-sur-Sambre.
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A street in Montignies-sur-Sambre.

© Giovanni Troilo - Philippe in his beautiful house in Marchienne au Pont.
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Philippe in his beautiful house in Marchienne au Pont.

© Giovanni Troilo - Working out in a playground in Montignies-sur-Sambre.
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Working out in a playground in Montignies-sur-Sambre.

© Giovanni Troilo - A street view in Montignies-sur-Sambre.
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A street view in Montignies-sur-Sambre.

© Giovanni Troilo - The husband of this couple was mowing the lawn.
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The husband of this couple was mowing the lawn.

© Giovanni Troilo - Spontaneous vegetation eats an old quarry.
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Spontaneous vegetation eats an old quarry.

© Giovanni Troilo - This old airplane, parked close to the Ring of Charleroi, houses a discoteque.
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This old airplane, parked close to the Ring of Charleroi, houses a discoteque.

© Giovanni Troilo - Friends hanging out in Goutroux.
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Friends hanging out in Goutroux.

© Giovanni Troilo - In a garage.
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In a garage.

© Giovanni Troilo - Walking home in Goutroux.
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Walking home in Goutroux.

© Giovanni Troilo - Image from the LA VILLE NOIRE - THE DARK HEART OF EUROPE photography project
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A car parking close to the train station; in the background one of artificial mountains, made by the coal mine waste that surround the city.

© Giovanni Troilo - One of a thousand police officers of Charleroi.
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One of a thousand police officers of Charleroi.

© Giovanni Troilo - Police officers charging the hooligans. In Charleroi the highest building is the police station which is 75m high.
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Police officers charging the hooligans. In Charleroi the highest building is the police station which is 75m high.

© Giovanni Troilo - A steet view of Marcinelle by night.
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A steet view of Marcinelle by night.

© Giovanni Troilo - Vadim, a painter who uses live models, creates a work inspired by an existing painting in his studio in Molenbeek.
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Vadim, a painter who uses live models, creates a work inspired by an existing painting in his studio in Molenbeek.

© Giovanni Troilo - Magali likes to be photographed by her husband on improvised sets.
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Magali likes to be photographed by her husband on improvised sets.

© Giovanni Troilo - J keeps his gun hidden in a box in the woods.
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J keeps his gun hidden in a box in the woods.

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