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    Italy’s water Crisis

    Gabriele Galimberti is a National Geographic photographer from Florence, Italy. On assignment for Finish and National Geographic, Gabriele created this series on water with photographs from the severe drought of 2017 and the summer of 2019 that saw one of the hottest heatwaves on record. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent, his images are a stark reminder of our fragile relationship with water and the urgent need to better manage this precious and finite resource.
    Words by Jon Heggie
    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    Five roads meet in the Tuscan hills

    Parched fields stretch into the distance near Pienza, Tuscany, at the end of the long hot summer of 2017. This was Italy’s driest for sixty years with rainfall an alarming 80 percent below the historic average.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    Sun bleached fields in Crete Sensei

    Summer 2017 saw agriculture suffer as fields dried up. Satellite data showed that although Tuscany regularly experiences drier than normal conditions, the situation in 2017 was particularly intense and persistent.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    Water pools between the folds of the Tuscan hills

    Northern Italy receives twice as much rain as the south with central Italy, including Tuscany, receiving around 22 percent of Italy’s total precipitation—around 31.5 inches (800mm) per year.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    A water fountain stands idle

    Most Italian cities have public drinking fountains that have provided free drinking water for hundreds of years. Today, in the center of Florence, some of these fountains are being switched off.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    A girl drinks from a water fountain

    Public drinking fountains often run continuously whether people are drinking from them or not. Usually the unused water is wasted, pouring into storm drains to be carried away rather than recycled.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    Art and utility combined

    This beautifully crafted water fountain stands dull and dry in a side street of the small walled city of Castiglion Fiorentino. Such fountains were once symbolic of public service and plentiful water.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    The Chiana Canal stretches into the distance

    The Chiana Canal was dug to drain swampland. Thirty years ago, this river was in full flow and had an abundance of fish but now it often dries up completely during the summer months.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    A leaky tap at a country house

    A typical tap delivers around 3.5 gallons (16 liters) of water every minute, while it’s estimated that a leaky tap can waste around 4,000 gallons (20,000 liters) of water a year.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    A child washes dishes in a sink

    Pre-rinsing dishes under a running tap remains a widespread practice despite being largely unnecessary thanks to dishwashers. It’s an act that wastes up to eight gallons (38 liters) of water each time we do it.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti
    Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

    Loading a dishwasher after a family meal

    Dishwashers filter and recycle water, using on average 2.6 gallons (12 liters per load) compared to nearly 27 gallons (122 liters) for handwashing in the sink.

    Photograph by Gabriele Galimberti

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