Abandoned buildings and neglected landscapes form the visual core of Abandoned Lives of the Italian South, conveying a deep sense of decay and desolation across southern Italy. The photographs use a straightforward documentary style to capture scenes that suggest histories left behind and communities transformed by economic and social changes.

Steven Seidenberg’s imagery reveals a quiet melancholy reflected in empty homes, deteriorating infrastructure, and rural settings where human presence seems absent yet profoundly implied. The 160 pages of the 2023 edition combine these elements to map out the impacts of abandonment on the fabric of this region’s cultural and physical environment.