Palermo, controversy over Letizia Battaglia's photos of little girls with Lamborghini

There is controversy over photographs that world-renowned photojournalist Letizia Battaglia took for Lamborghini, the well-known luxury car manufacturer. Letizia Battaglia joined Lamborghini for the With Italy, For Italy 21 views for a new drive project, an initiative by the carmaker to celebrate the beauty of Italy by uniting it with its cars. Lamborghini therefore chose to commission twenty photographers to narrate the twenty regions of Italy, with Letizia Battaglia herself, the twenty-first photographer entrusted by the company to “portray” her city, Palermo, as a special guest. “Enhancing the corners of a wonderful city, a city that is like a child full of dreams and hopes,” the company commented to present the photos. “Letizia Battaglia has portrayed her Palermo together with our Aventador SVJ. And she did it in a wonderful way.”

The photographs, in color (thus an unusual choice for Letizia Battaglia, who always uses black and white), depict some little girls posing near the Lamborghini car on the streets of Sicily’s capital city. “We strongly wanted Letizia Battaglia in the team of 21 Italian photographers because we share her values and sense of responsibility that she has always expressed in her works,” Lamborghini explained in a note. “When we decided to involve her we were aware of the strength and power of her images, she who, in her long career as a photographer, has dealt with topical and always very sensitive issues. But, for those who know her, it is well renowned that her art and subjects are strongly focused on portraits of young female figures, which for her represent a vision of dreams and hope. In the same way, and following the path of the photographic project, she decided to interpret her beloved Palermo together with a Lamborghini. Car that, in this campaign, becomes an accessory object and not the protagonist, an important but still supporting element, confirming the excellence and beauty of Italy, elements immortalized by the photographers involved. And this is exactly what Battaglia and her 20 colleagues did in their many shots: to include a car, a symbol of excellence of our country, as an Italian element in the scenario of extraordinary contexts.” Clear, then, the reasons for the choice of photographs.

However, the images have triggered a jumble of negative comments on social media. The reason? The juxtaposition of super-luxury cars with little girls was not liked. “Trivial photos,” “Zero emotions,” “Bad publicity.” Under the photos, posted on Lamborghini’s social page, users went wild. “They do not convey anything of the message reported in the post, but rather something darker and obscene,” wrote a user from Palermo. “Sorry that Letizia Battaglia lent herself to such low marketing.” “Terrible, in every way,” a user from Caltanissetta echoes her. “I don’t know what bothers me more between the burns at the top, the winking little girls with luxury cars, the 12 euro chair in the square, the subject merged with the car at the bottom.” “There are other ways to enhance beautiful Palermo,” another Facebook user cuts in. “Certainly not the juxtaposition of the girls and the luxury car, which I find distasteful.” Others, however, criticize the photographs for not conveying “beauty.” There are those who speak of “Lolitesque” sensuality of the girls and therefore of “instrumental use of female identity.” A user from Palermo even wonders if the company is “advertising the car or inviting child pornography.” And another user addresses harsh words towards Lezitia Battaglia, writing “with the money you have invested at least in a decent photographer.” The comments are in the hundreds.

However, there are also those who defend the work of Lamborghini and Letizia Battaglia, recognizing the intent of the operation, that of identifying, in the girls, the hopes of rebirth. Some rightly explain that Letizia Battaglia has always photographed little girls and young women, who are a distinctive element of her art, at the center of which is always the woman regardless of her age. Others point to the fact that the photos have nothing vulgar or winking about them. And then there are those who point out that they are nonetheless making people talk about the company. The goal of reaching the public, in short, has been achieved.

The company has already provided its rebuttal to the criticism: the initiative of With Italy, for Italy, Lamborghini explains in a note, “was born as an act of Lamborghini’s love for its country, to support its relaunch at a time of great challenges such as the current one.” Hence also the choice of Letizia Battaglia: “because we share her values and the sense of responsibility that she has always expressed in her works,” Lamborghini says. “When we decided to involve her we were aware of the strength and power of her images; she who, in her long career as a photographer, has dealt with topical and always very sensitive issues. But, for those who know her, it is well renowned that her art and subjects are strongly focused on portraits of young female figures, which for her represent a vision of dreams and hope. In the same way, and following the path of the photographic project, she decided to interpret her beloved Palermo together with a Lamborghini. Car that, in this campaign, becomes an accessory object and not the protagonist, an important but still supporting element, confirming the excellence and beauty of Italy, elements immortalized by the photographers involved. And this is precisely what Battaglia and her twenty colleagues did in their many shots: include a car, a symbol of excellence of our country, as an Italian element in the scenario of extraordinary contexts. This was also the case for Palermo: capturing, in a few snapshots, the beauty of a unique city. Palermo for Letizia Battaglia is seen like the little girls in her shots in the hope of rebirth and the advent of a new world.”

Below are some photos taken for the campaign and, in the last image, Letizia Battaglia on the Lamborghini.

Palermo, controversy over Letizia Battaglia's photos of little girls with Lamborghini

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