The Best Family (L’Adunata Degli Alpini)

Piazza XX Settembre, Pordenone main square decorated with Italian flags. © Mattia Balsamini

An alpino, singing and playing an accordion outside a pizzeria restaurant. © Mattia Balsamini

Cristiano dal Pozzo, born in 1913, is the oldest member of the Alpini. Here he is accompanied by his son Gianni during the final parade. © Mattia Balsamini

A spectator of the final parade that held place on May 11th under a strong rain and hailstorm. © Mattia Balsamini

Men playing "Morra" a traditional game. The game consists in guessing the sum of the numbers that are shown with the fingers by the players. Simultaneously, the two players tend their arm indicating a number from 2 to 10 with their fingers. The player who guesses the sum wins the point. © Mattia Balsamini

The opening parade, usually held on a friday, officially decrees the beginning of the national gathering. © Mattia Balsamini

Members of the Bassano battalion during the parade. © Mattia Balsamini

A man wearing the distinctive hat, decorated with commemorative pins of different battalions, previous editions of the gathering and an eagle, this animal is used as a symbol to represent the strong connection between these soldiers and the natural mountain environment they fought in. © Mattia Balsamini

Members of Alpini National Musical Band during the final parade are waiting for the next group to pass by to play the fanfare. There are about 75.000 soldiers who take part to this commemorative walk which takes about 4 hours to be completed - generally musicians try to spare some breath in between groups. © Mattia Balsamini

A man taking a break from the setting up a portable kitchen still loaded on the truck behind him. © Mattia Balsamini

A few months ago, Mattia Balsamini went to Pordenone, in region of Friuli, Italy, to attend L’Adunata Degli Alpini. This annual, three-day event, takes place the second weekend of May in a different Italian city each year. Originally created in World War I to protect the northern borders of Italy, The Alpini are a military organization, specializing in mountain warfare, and are the oldest active mountain infantry in the world. Many current members are actual descendents of Alpini who fought during WWI and WWII. “The particular affection towards the Alpini corp is a consequence of their work,” Balsamini said via email to PDN. “They usually are the first military force to intervene on environmental disasters, serving more as a civil defense.”

Each year 300,000 – 400,000 people attend the event in cities where the average population is only 50,000. This event, Balsamini says in his artist statement, destabilizes the normal balance of the city and it’s inhabitants. “Central streets and outskirts of the city are filled with camping tents, chemical toilets, and improvised barbeques, radically transforming the appearance of the town.” To put it in numbers, the estimated amount of port-o-potties is 600 units, 200 showers, 240 sinks and 350 tons of waste. Balsamini says the “takeover” is a peaceful one, strongly supported by the host city.

He calls this series,”The Best Family,” which, in Italian, translates to “la meio fameia,” an expression some Alpini give themselves. These high contrast images were shot using a digital SLR and one or two portable flashes to get a real film “feel.”

Balsamini returned to his homeland of Italy after spending a few years in California attending the Brooks Institute of Photography and assisting a variety of photographers, including David LaChapelle. His client list includes WIRED, The Guardian, Mercedes Benz, PUMA, GQ, Vanity Fair and TBWA.