It is titled “Aprire lo sguardo” (“Opening the Eyes”) and is a book published by Garzanti in which Alessandra Mauro brings together 15 memorable photographs that, through their arrangement in the "visual mosaic" of Italy, demonstrate "how we have depicted it and how we have represented ourselves" throughout the years. It is a voyage that began over two centuries ago, in 1847, when Giacomo Caneva captured one of the first views of Rome. In a compelling and evocative exhibition, faces, locations, and moments are showcased: from the arrest of a young Benito Mussolini, immortalized by Adolfo Porry-Pastorel in 1915, to the pioneering portraits of Wanda Wulz, to the documentation of mental institutions by Gianni Berengo Gardin in 1968, and to the fashion photography of Ferdinando Scianna alongside the urban studies conducted by Gabriele Basilico. From self-portraiture to war reportage, from initial endeavors in photojournalism to the visual documentation of a transforming society, Mauro integrates the evolution of photographic research and the history of her country through the works of some of the most significant Italian photographers of all time. In this book, photography exposes itself as an unmatched witness to our past, a form of expression, an artistic activity, and a tool for denunciation.