Home & Away: the photographic journey of Glauco Canalis

This spring during a leisure trip to Morocco I discovered the country and its culture. A place I had only seen through other people's eyes and experiences so far. 
In driving through the country, city to city, from the inner territories towards the coast, and from south to north, the landscape changed radically and organically as we drove through. From the dry, arid desert landscapes, to a seemingly Mediterranean panorama.

Driving through modern cities and villages the different architectural approaches are echoing the rich layered history of Morocco's past and present. Rampant modernity and timeless traditions are living together in a polarised balance constantly stimulating the eyes and mind to question when and how certain architectures have survived time, or whether the futuristic skyscrapers will replace the traditional urban settlements. In this shifting experience one thing permanently remains from North to South, from the countryside to the cities. Football.

From the remotest villages in the countryside, to the most modern cities of Rabat and Tangier, no Moroccan kid or adult would spare to show-off its football team's jersey, nor you'd miss an improvised football pitch stormed with kids and adults playing football.  The conversations with locals were always starting from what football team I'd support, how many Moroccan football players I'd know or who would be their favourite players and teams in Italy.  Italy and Morocco share a lot of culture and heritage, more so if you come from the Mediterranean and Sicily, like I do.  In a country full of different cultures, languages, heritages and faiths, Football seems to be Morocco's main unifying entity. The Universal language.

I am no football player. My approach to football doesn't start from a fanatic passion for it. I have increasingly detached myself from football during my teenage years, and I am not particularly attached to any football team with the exceptions of Napoli and Catania clubs, for life circumstances mainly.

Football for me is a mean to explore culture across countries. The Mediterranean in particular offers a peculiar approach to football. More than a mere passion for your city's club. Football is a way of life, a way to save your ass from the streets, and a way to connect people beyond a language or cultural barrier. It's tied to an instinct every human has, you see a ball, you kick it. That's it. 

These are my passing through visions of Morocco's football culture. 
A starting point perhaps, for something bigger.