Photo exhibition documenting siege of Sarajevo opens at History Museum

The display features roughly 50 black-and-white images Boccia captured for the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto while the city was under siege.
Speaking at the opening, Boccia explained that he chose to leave soldiers out of his pictures, focusing instead on everyday life and the resilience of civilians. He added that photos often take on a life of their own, carrying meaning beyond what the photographer originally intended.
"We are here to remember the past so we can keep it from happening again. We cannot let the past drag down the present, or stand in the way of the future," Boccia said.
Sarajevo Mayor Samir Avdic noted that the event honors the city's wartime hardships while looking ahead to the future of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanking Boccia for coming back with his children, Avdic described him as a true Sarajevan.
Elma Hasimbegovic, director of the museum, highlighted a special moment from the opening: several people featured in Boccia's wartime photos were actually in the room, having survived the war.

The exhibition comes to Sarajevo after previous stops in Rovereto, Belgrade, and Zagreb. Organized by the Italian War History Museum in Rovereto (MITAG) alongside Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), Sarajevo 1992–1996 – The Longest Siege runs through the end of November.