Luca Turi, the photojournalist who photographed the arrival of the “Vlora” in Bari, dies aged 82

Italian photojournalist Luca Turi has died at the age of 82. Over a five-decade career, he documented with his camera important events in the history of Bari and Puglia.

Among Turi’s best-known photographs are those taken on August 8, 1991. That day, the “Vlora” entered 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.

His photographs captured thousands of Albanians aboard the ship and at the port, showing the extraordinary scale of the event. These images became some of the most recognizable pictures of the 1991 exodus and remain a visual record of an important moment in the history of Albanian migration.

Turi also worked as a photojournalist for ANSA and, for decades, covered developments and daily life in Bari. ANSA announced his death, describing him as a great photographer and an authentic witness to the recent history of Bari and Puglia.

Bari Mayor Vito Leccese also paid tribute to Turi’s importance to the community. He said that with the photojournalist’s death, the city had lost a great photographer and an authentic witness to its recent history.