VENEZIA FC THROUGH MY EYES

December 1, 2024

“I walked among them, I perceived their glances, the tension, the pride, and the awareness that everyone has to contribute to the final effort.”

LEVI CALANCO

Photographer Alessandro Ferlini, also known as Levi Calanco, writes exclusively for The Atlantic Dispatch to reflect on his favourite moments as a club photographer for Venezia FC and choose his favourite images.

MOMENTS OF CHAOS, SPEED AND STRONG PASSIONS

I started originally as a street photographer, but over the years I have specialised in sports photography.

My experience in sports photography started in the summer of 2022 when my destiny crossed paths with Venezia FC. Ted Philipakos, the team’s brand manager at the time, noticed my work and contacted me.

His keen intuition was to recognise the unique qualities of my street photography and see its potential for sports photography. As a result, I became one of the official photographers for Venezia FC. With my photography, the goal is to give a strong aesthetic imprint to what I immortalise.

My philosophy is that every moment can be aesthetically ‘high’ if taken correctly. From this perspective, nothing is trivial; everything becomes a bearer of meaning. This is the creative power of photography: reshaping what surrounds us.

The ultimate goal of my shots is that the “what” and the “how” must blend harmoniously into the composition of the photo.

I find street photography and sports photography to be very similar fields: capturing a sporting event is nothing more than an exercise of street photography in a specific place and time with hyper-speed timing.

I love photographing moments of chaos, speed, and strong passions, where I can move freely on the field in a continuous search for the perfect moment, the fleeting gesture that appears before me, unique and unrepeatable. I feel like a seeker of small, tiny events.

HE IS THE SYMBOL OF REBIRTH

With Venezia FC I have the opportunity to follow all the club’s teams: the men’s first team, the Primavera team, and the women’s team.

Each team has its own peculiarity, represents and exhibits different values, and creates their own unique stories.

With the men’s first team, I have been lucky enough to immortalise iconic moments over the past few years: Giorgio Altare’s shot is one of my favourites.

I remember it as if it was yesterday. The atmosphere at the Penzo Stadium is warm. April has arrived and brought a sun that heralds the fine weather, the light is full-bodied, good omens are in the air: the breeze blows lightly over the stadium, and the harbour boats that flank the stadium make their mast flagpoles dance lightly.

The match is being played against Brescia. Day after day, the fans in the stands are more and more present, more united, more convinced: the ascent towards Serie A begins to take shape, and hearts in the stands are beating.

A match in which Venezia plays free of fears, with harmonious, almost automatic movements, on well-known tracks, ends 2-0.

The crowd is in ecstasy, the energy that spreads from the curve acts as a bond with the players on the pitch.

As soon as the whistle blows, Altare – author of a solid defensive performance – runs under the ultras and grabs one of their flags. He stands Herculean before them, grasps their symbol, and becomes the guardian and defender of their faith and their hopes.

Together they sing a single chorus. Iconographically, this shot reminds me of the St. George of the Renaissance altarpieces, who embracing the long spear defeat the perfidious dragon by piercing it. He is the symbol of rebirth.

Pohjanpalo’s is another photo I am particularly proud of because it captures a moment that has become iconic.

The setting is the Venezia FC – Modena match of 2023. The two supporter groups are linked by a deep brotherhood.

Arriving at the stadium by Vaporetto I could already see on the streets of the city Modenese and Venetian supporters walking, toasting, and celebrating together as brothers! Something extraordinary in my eyes, an atmosphere of celebration and sincere mutual love that I had never seen before.

Sport at its best was on the scene in Venice that late afternoon. The Finnish striker scored no less than four goals in a match that ended 5-0 in favour of Venezia FC.

At the end of the match, the captain took the direction of the stadium kiosk, amid the supporters, and enjoyed a well-deserved beer on his way back to the locker room.

I like this shot because, beyond highlighting the personality and significance of Pojhanpalo as both a player and a person in the city, it holds a deeper meaning.

It captures a moment of everyday life on a professional football pitch, reaffirming the unique connection between the pitch and the stands, players and supporters, fans and professionals—a bond that only the distinctiveness of the Penzo Stadium and this city can create.

A DREAM CRADLED IN THE WAVES OF THE LAGOON

The shots I am most attached to relate to Venezia FC’s promotion to Serie A after winning the playoffs in 2024.

The match is against Cremonese, opponents and protagonists of a head-to-head that has lasted throughout the championship. The whole city is called upon to come together to aim for a single goal.

The tickets sold out immediately, the summer air ventilated the warm streets of the city, and the vibrations a few hours outside the stadium heralded that the evening would be one of the great celebrations.

It has been a 48-hour interrupted shooting: a global, all-embracing, humanly fulfilling event. I started my shoot outside the stadium, in Via Garibaldi, the place where fans gather in the pre-match period.

Here people meet, hug each other, and smile. I walked among them, I perceived their glances, the tension, the pride, and the awareness that everyone has to contribute to the final effort.

The city returns for once all for the Venetians, gathered and ready to be one, like the name of the team they cheer on: the Unione (Union).

The match went well for Venezia after the 1-0 lead. Behind me the fan curve was bubbling with chants, the incessant drums directed the palpitating hearts of the fans, President Duncan Niederauer with his wife amid the fans with bated breath.

The minutes ticked by and the defense managed to hold back the result. With five minutes to go, I look around me and in the eyes of the fans, I see the light of those who have made it. They are clamouring to get on the pitch as soon as the final whistle sounded, which was to come shortly thereafter.

In a moment, the game is over and an entire city turns like water in a canal onto the green pitch. In front of me stands a vision: people from all directions dart before my eyes, happy, confused, and free; in chaos, I see friends, managers, acquaintances, families, and players mingling, cheering, hugging, crying, and celebrating together in the middle of the field.

The roles in this marvellous play fall away, men, women, and children of all ages, with such different and seemingly unapproachable stories, come together through their love for this team and this city, together they meet, understand, respect, and rejoice, rejoice together. The union, whose name the team bears, is fulfilled in its final act.

The celebration then continues outside the stadium; the meeting point is Piazza San Marco. Here, the famous acqua alta wets portions of the square, the festive procession arrives and in front of St. Mark’s Basilica, reflected in the huge puddles on the ground, one can see the jubilant Venezia fans, singing, shouting their happiness together.

The following day, it is time for the water parade organised by the club. Surrounded by gondolas, water taxis, and boats of all kinds, the team crosses the Grand Canal on board a boat showing the city the cup, parading and cheering on the world’s most unique water parade.

In front of the beauty of Venice, on the waves of the canals, there is still the strength and joy of continuing to celebrate the dream of promotion, a dream cradled in the waves of the lagoon.

THE RICHNESS CONTAINED IN EACH OF THEM IS UNEQUIVOCAL

I am particularly fond of the Venezia FC women’s team project, which I have been following constantly for three years.

The club has invested a lot in this team, women’s football follows an unstoppable growth trend and photographically it is always a galaxy in itself in terms of subjects and inspiration. Not only the game but within the 90 minutes are condensed stories of personal prominence, social revenge, acceptance, difficulties and precariousness, ambitions, and gigantic dreams.

On a human level, they are by far my favourite subjects to immortalise and the ones I think deserve the most attention. The richness contained in each of them is unequivocal.

The growth of the women’s movement is helped through the media exposure it manages to get. Being able to make my own small contribution to this makes me proud, and I hope to do more and more in the future.

The potential of women’s football is enormous and still too little considered. The right path, however, has fortunately been marked out.

Finally, the Primavera; the league where I can most let loose in photography, always looking for new aesthetic solutions and new points of view.

In front of me are young hopefuls, fighting to try to emerge. The selection is tough, but the enthusiasm and vital force of the youngest is unequalled.

In them, I find the transformation and consolidation of personality, the first embarrassments and the first great disappointments, and a strong sense of sincere friendship.

This year, after following him throughout the previous season in Primavera, I had the honour of immortalising my fellow countryman Saad El-Haddad’s debut in Serie A.

One of the reasons why I love this job is being able to see him take off in the professional world by chronicling his sporting achievements with my photos.