Photographer of the Year / 2020 / Portraiture /

• Prize
  Gold in Portraiture/Other, Gold in Press/General News, 1st Place winner in Portraiture
• Photographer
  Alberto Giuliani, Italy

These are the doctors and nurses of the Intensive Care Unit - San Salvatore Hospital in Pesaro, Italy, the city of my birth and where I once again reside, and which from day one has sadly been at the top of the COVID 19 contagion and death charts. I photographed them at the end of their shifts—twelve hours without a break during their fight in an unequal war. In the deep imprints left by their protective masks, I found a symbol of their sacrifice, but above all, I found evidence of the pain, fear and helplessness of standing before an unknown enemy.