Michele Spatari

A public showers’ user rest at the entrance of the Public Baths of Via Bianzé in Turin, Italy; December 2018.
The city of Turin still runs 4 communal baths - part of a much bigger series of 15 buildings erected between 1900 and 1960 - offering a bas

Rok Ibe (30) in the showers� entrance inside the Public Baths of Via Bianz� in Turin, Italy; December 2018.
Mr. Ibe lives with his parents on the outskirt of Torino; given that they can�t afford to pay housing bills, they are forced to live without

Council estate, with shared toilets on the balconies, in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
With the economic crisis of the 2000s the city’s welfare cracked. Old apartments without toilets resurfacing on

Tiziana Sfreddo (59) portrayed in the district of San Salvario in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Ms. Sfreddo lived 4 years in an occupied abandoned factory; at the beginning of her life on the streets, she stayed 3 months without a proper shower, befo

A woman pass by an abandoned FIAT factory in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Turin is the country�s third largest economic centre after Rome and Milan, once known as �Italy�s Detroit� for being Fiat �

A showers' user that goes with the nickname of "Gino" portrayed at the Public Baths of Via Agli� in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Mr. Gino, his wife and their two children live in an old social hous

A tiger statue inside the former council estate building of Jacob Bamba (30), with shared toilets on the balconies, in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.

Jacob Bamba (30) portrayed in the rooftop of the Public Baths of Via Agliè in the working-class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Mr. Bamba - who arrived in Turin when he was 18 - has lived for 2 years in a small apartme

Gurpreet Dhindsa (38) portrayed inside his former house in the working class district of San Salvario in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Mr. Dhindsa lived for 2 years in a small overcrowded apartment – from time to time, even 10 people in a single room

Gurpreet Dhindsa (38) looks out the window from the Red Cross dormitory in Piazza Massaua in Turin, Italy; December 2018.
After being kicked out, Mr. Dhindsa passed the following nights on the waiting room of a near hospital and he is now forced to

A shower at the Public Baths of Via Agliè in the working-class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; July 2017.
Turin has the highest rate of evictions/population in Italy: 2799 forced evictions were executed in 2017 only, on a total of 32

Amadou Diallo (57) portrayed inside the Public Baths of Via Agli� in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; December 2018.
Mr.Diallo has spent his last 8 years homeless, between the street and municipal dormitories; he�s n

Containers set by the Municipality to be used as emergency shelters for homeless people during winter season in Piazza dell'Armi in Turin, Italy; December 2018.
In the same area are also parked around 50 old RVs where at least 100 people live all y

Marcello Fonti (43) look out of the window of the RV he lives in, parked outside the Public Baths of Via Agli� in the working-class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Mr. Fonti has not a home since 2003, moving around Tor

The sleeping room of an apartment inhabited by a family of four, with a shared toilet on the balcony, in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin; July 2017.

Andrea Rosso (45) portrayed inside the Public Baths of Via Agli� in the working-class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
Mr. Rosso separated from his ex-wife in July; since he couldn�t afford a space for himself, he is no

A showers' user bends down to grab a soap inside the Public Baths of Via Agliè in the working class district of Barriera di Milano in Turin, Italy; July 2017.

A towel abandoned by a user at the entrance of the Public Baths of Via Bianzé in Turin, Italy; November 2018.
The 4 public lavatories are part of a much bigger series of 15 buildings erected between 1900 and 1960 with different and entangling archit

A man sleeps inside the Public Baths of via Bianzé in Turin, Italy; December 2018.
In the winter season, public shower's users - especially whose homeless - take advantage of the warm environment to rest for a couple of hours, even if it is theoreti

A view of the city of Turin at night from its surrounding hills, Italy; November 2018.
Since the beginning of the XX century, Public Baths in Turin played a key role in mitigating the systemic housing crisis, worsened in the past years due to the ci

Rising Water

Shared toilets on buildings’ balconies, overcrowded apartments, occupied factories, broken down RVs, social housing attendance lists, bailiffs and forced evictions. The most used word in Italy’s last public showers is as simple as, apparently, unattainable: home. House expenses account for 36% of the annual expenditure of Italian families. 32,069 evictions were executed in 2017, 2799 in Turin only: the highest rate among Italian cities, an average of 7 every day. To cope with its systemic housing crisis – exacerbated by the economic collapse of the 2000s – the city of Turin still runs 4 communal baths offering a basic service for those living in harsh housing conditions. It can be seen as an outdated memory of the past, but Public Baths hide stories of social cohesion and solidarity: since the beginning of the XX century, these public showers played a key role in mitigating the systemic housing crisis, worsened in the past years due to the Turin’s economic downfall. While being a needed service, the very existence of these public showers shows the breakdown of our society: the failure of the right to a decent accommodation.

Michele Spatari

Michele (b. 1991) is a news and documentary photographer based in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he mainly strings for AFP – Agence France-Presse. His photographic, journalistic and documentarian practice is focused on the study of bodies and space: how politics, religions and social rituals affect and shape contemporary cities and urban societies. In 2016 Michele graduated in Architecture and Urban Planning, developing a master thesis in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2017 he attended the ICP Masterclass Visual Storytelling and New Media; in 2018 completed a one-year program in Photojournalism at ISFCI in Rome, Italy; he has been selected for the Nikon-NOOR Academy Italy and for the Canon Student Program at Visa Pour l’Image, Perpignan. His project about public showers and housing crisis in Turin won the Canon Italy Young Photographer Award - Multimedia and has been exhibited at Cortona On The Move Festival. His work appeared on international media such as The New York Times, Time, Le Monde, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, El Pais, La Repubblica, Bloomberg, Vice, L'Espresso, Internazionale, and others.