"In Italy the right to worship, without discrimination, is enshrined within the constitution. There are 1.35 million Muslims in Italy and yet, officially, only eight mosques in the whole country. Islam, despite being the second largest religion after Catholicism, is not yet formally recognized.
This shortage of places to worship is particularly acute in north east Italy home to many anti-Islamic campaigns headed by the right wing party Lega Nord, which has always conducted its campaign on an anti-Islamic program. One consequence is that the Muslim population have accumulated a huge number of makeshift and temporary places of worship. These are housed in a variety of buildings including lock ups, garages, shops, warehouses and old factories. In the last five years, Nicolò Degiorgis explored and photographed this unique feature of the region.
Degiorgis provides a fascinating glimpse of hidden world and leaves the conclusions about this project entirely in our own hands."
