Gaetano Fornelli was born in Bitonto, near Bari (Italy) in 1978 and remained there until the end of high school before moving to Milan for study and life choices. He lived in Milan from 1997 to 2009 and became passionate about photography, travel and Latin American literature during those years. Three elements inextricably led him over time to travel many kilometres with his Leica and black and white films.
In Milan, he met the great photographer Ernesto Fantozzi at the Circolo Fotografico Milanese and, thanks to him, discovered the value of reportage photography as historical and social testimony, free from commercial interest. Since then, his photographic investigation has mainly focused on portraying human beings in the urban context, the lives of those on the margins of society, ethnic minorities and immigrants, and political passion in its various forms. He photographed mainly in South America, Europe and the United States.
Since 2009, Gaetano Fornelli has been living and working in Lugano, Switzerland. For him, reportage photography remains a passion unrelated to his professional life. Perhaps for this reason still intact.