Italian photojournalist who documented the arrival of the ship “Vlora” in Bari dies

Italian photojournalist Luca Turi has died at the age of 82. He was known for documenting through photographs some of the most important events in the history of the city of Bari and Puglia over five decades of his career.

Among the most powerful images he produced are the photographs of August 8, 1991, when the ship Vlora arrived at the port of Bari with around 20,000 Albanian citizens on board, in one of the most dramatic episodes of the Albanian exodus to Italy.

Turi’s photographs bear witness to the extraordinary scale of that historic moment, capturing thousands of Albanians gathered at the port and on the ship Vlora — images that became among the most recognizable of the 1991 exodus.

Luca Turi also worked as a photojournalist for ANSA, documenting for decades the developments and life of Bari.

The news of his death was announced by ANSA, which described him as a great photographer and an authentic witness to the recent history of Bari and Puglia.

The mayor of Bari, Vito Leccese, praised Turi as an important figure for the community, emphasizing that with his passing the city loses a great photographer and an authentic witness to its recent history.

The photographs of Vlora and the thousands of Albanians who arrived in Bari on August 8, 1991 remain a visual testimony of one of the most important moments in the history of Albanian emigration.