From Venice’s campielli to the streets of Palermo: adidas and FIGC launch “Scatti d’Azzurro”

adidas and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have launched Scatti d’Azzurro — “Shots of Blue” — a photographic journey across Italy that celebrates the enduring relationship between the country and football.

From the Alps to the islands, from bustling cities to quiet provincial towns, six Italian photographers have documented the game as it lives beyond stadiums and major tournaments. United by the unmistakable blue of the Italian national team, the project explores how football continues to shape everyday life across the country.

The initiative stems from adidas and FIGC’s shared desire to celebrate the deep cultural bond between Italy and football. In Italy, the Azzurri shirt is more than a sporting uniform — it is a symbol that connects generations, regions, and communities. Through Scatti d’Azzurro, the photographers return to their hometowns to capture football in its most authentic settings: neighbourhood squares, improvised pitches, narrow streets, and spaces transformed by imagination.

The journey moves between Palermo and Turin, through Venice and Matera, to Ancona and the valleys of Lombardy. What emerges is a portrait of a country where football thrives far from the spotlight — played on gravel fields, in small village squares, and even on snow-covered ground with makeshift goals.

Each photographer was asked to frame the iconic blue shirt within the landscapes that shaped their relationship with the game. The result is a series of images that speak to football as a shared cultural language.

Below, the photographers reflect on the places and memories behind their work.

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Cecilia Palmeri — Venice

“The photos were taken between the Venetian patronati (community centres) and the few fields where it’s still possible to play football like in the old days.

Very few residents remain in Venice today, but those who do still manage to carve out small spaces for themselves amid the constant flow of visitors. After the school bell rings, children gather in the campielli (small squares), transforming them for a few hours into improvised football pitches.”

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Francesco Freddo — Matera

“The first thing I did was pick up my camera and return to the places of my childhood: the squares, the dilapidated pitches, those imperfect spaces where friendships were born and thousands of kicks were taken at a ball.

Places I never forgot. To my surprise, years later I still found kids playing there. It’s not something to be taken for granted today, in a time when street football is disappearing. Yet in Matera, something of that spirit remains.”

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Paola Massarenti — Turin

“These photographs were taken on provincial pitches between Pavarolo, Chieri, and Riva presso Chieri — the same places where I started playing football myself.

The images tell the story of generations united by their passion for the Azzurri shirt. When you wear it, any field can become a stadium.”

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Alessandro Belussi — Brescia / Valle Camonica

“Like a fragmented yet lucid dream, these images attempt to give form to my imagination of football.

It is the game that begins when you don’t yet know who you are, and which accompanies you as you grow. The squares and the oratory fields where we played after middle school, searching for the perfect goal while imagining ourselves as Del Piero.

Behind it all lies the layered history of my territory — from the Roman remains beneath Brescia to the peaks of Valle Camonica.”

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Giuseppe Scianna — Palermo

“This work follows football where, in Palermo, it continues to exist in its purest form: the street.

The photographs move through improvised pitches and symbolic places in the city — from the mural of San Benedetto il Moro in the Ballarò district to the pitch in Zen 2, from the alleys of Vucciria to the mural dedicated to Totò Schillaci.”

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Lorenzo Bonanni — Jesi (Ancona)

“These photographs were taken in Jesi, my hometown, where my passion for football first began.

In the images, I tried to capture the memories tied to this place: adolescence, friendships formed during those years, and long afternoons spent chasing a ball around the city — from the parks beside the middle schools to gravel pitches with torn nets.”

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Together, the six photographers offer a visual tribute to a country where football is woven into daily life. In these images, the blue shirt of Italy becomes a thread connecting landscapes, communities, and memories — a reminder that the spirit of the game often lives far from the stadium lights.

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