Farewell to Riccardo Siano, the photojournalist who chronicled Naples with insight and humanity.

Died Richard Siano, historic photojournalist of Republic of Naples and one of the most recognizable photographic signatures of Neapolitan journalism. He had and had been ill for some time. For over forty years, he covered news stories, urban transformations, public events, and stories about the city, bringing to the newsroom not just images, but a gaze capable of combining precision, sensitivity, and on-the-ground presence.

The funeral will be held Sunday 10 May at 18pm of Church of San Ferdinandoin Trieste and Trento Square in NaplesThe news deeply affected colleagues, photographers, journalists and institutions, because Siano was not only an esteemed professional, but a daily presence in the local news, linked to Repubblica since 1990 and a family tradition built around photojournalism.

Who was Riccardo Siano and why does Naples remember him today?

Riccardo Siano was one of the most important photojournalists of the Neapolitan scene, known for his long-standing work with Repubblica Napoli and for a career that began very early, within a family already linked to journalistic photography. Born on August 3, 1964, he was 61 years old and died after a long illness, assisted by his closest relatives, including his wife Rosita, son Mariano and his brother Sergio.

He is remembered for his decades of reporting on local news, his camera always at the ready, covering events, emergencies, social tensions, institutional venues, and everyday scenes. His work was not limited to documenting a fact: he tried to convey the human temperature of the city., without losing the rigor required by journalism.

One element often recurs in his colleagues' stories: Siano arrived at the news locations with ease, without hiding his role or making a spectacle of his presence. He was recognizable, direct, and respectful. It was precisely this way of being part of the news that made him a familiar figure to those who, in Naples, worked for years in newspapers, agencies, press conferences, streets, courts, demonstrations, and emergency situations.

What was your path into photojournalism?

Riccardo Siano started at Foto Sud at a very young age, the news agency founded by his father Mario Siano, working alongside his brother Sergio and continuing a family tradition already rooted in photographic storytelling of the city. From there he moved on to the news agency Rotopress, collaborated with The Naples Newspaper and from 1990, became the official photographer of Republic of Naples.

His biographical information reveals a lot about his approach to the profession: Siano didn't begin his career in a period dominated by occasional snapshots or the rapid-fire photography of social media, but within a vision of photojournalism based on anticipation, physical presence, knowledge of the area, and the ability to arrive on site while the news was still breaking.

His career is linked to over forty years of Neapolitan news reporting, a period in which the city was at the center of events that transcended local boundaries and made national and international headlines. Throughout this journey, the photographer was not simply a journalist's companion, but a visual artist capable of creating reportages and features with recognizable images.

Why his colleagues considered him a master

Colleagues remember Riccardo Siano as a master because he combined talent, experience and dedication, qualities that in photojournalism never coincide with mere technical ability. Photographer Ciro Fusco described him as part of the "second family" of Neapolitan photojournalists, eyewitnesses to the city's good and bad, called upon to recount what happens without filters.

A key trait emerges from his memory: Siano often arrived before the others, camera already slung around his neck, even in the most unlikely places, without hiding or forcing the scene. His images were described as never banal, never predictable, often warmer because they were born from a timely presence and a trained instinct.

Being a master, in his case, meant showing the younger ones how much work there is behind a successful shot: not only beauty of the image, but effort, risk, patience, competence and the ability to understand when a fact is about to reveal itself.It's a concrete, almost artisanal teaching, which comes less from solemn phrases and more from the way one handles the news.

Where did the nickname “Mister Gadget” come from?

The nickname "Mister Gadget" tells of Riccardo Siano's technical curiosity, always attentive to tools, solutions and new technologies useful for photographic work. In the memories of colleagues he is described as the first to test, compare and experiment, up to the use of the drone, which would have added another perspective to a hand already recognized as safe.

Detail is important because it helps avoid a nostalgic and fixed image of the photojournalist. Siano belonged to a generation trained in a physical profession, made up of streets, scooters, agencies, and editorial offices, but that didn't mean he was closed to change. On the contrary, he sought new tools to continue to better tell his stories.

His relationship with technology was not fashion, but journalistic function: every means made sense if it allowed one to see more, reach better, tell a portion of reality more effectively.In an industry transformed by digital imaging, smartphones, and the speed of platforms, this attitude demonstrates a professional capable of evolving without losing the core of his craft.

What did Riccardo Siano tell through his photos?

Riccardo Siano has told the story of Naples through its news stories, its dramas, its faces and its transformations., covering the city's main events for decades. Sources remember him as a photojournalist capable of combining news and humanity, a phrase that, in his case, doesn't sound like a generic tribute, because it describes a precise way of using the camera.

Telling the story of Naples through images means navigating contradictions, beauty, conflicts, public grief, institutional life, neighborhoods, suburbs, the city center, work, emergencies, and collective moments. A photojournalist doesn't always choose what he sees, but how he looks at it, and this choice determines the difference between a merely correct photo and a photo that endures.

In the memories of his colleagues, Siano's images had an unexpected quality: they managed to be inside the fact without becoming invasive, seeking the decisive moment but also the human meaning of what was documented.For this reason, his death concerns not only an editorial office, but a piece of the city's visual memory.

When and where will the funeral be held?

Riccardo Siano's funeral will be held on Sunday 10 May at 18pm in the church of San Ferdinando.in Trieste and Trento Square in NaplesThe information was released alongside the news of his death and is the main point of reference for colleagues, friends, family, and anyone wishing to pay their last respects to the photojournalist.

The choice to specify the precise location and time is helpful because, in such cases, many readers are primarily looking for practical information: when the ceremony takes place, where the church is located, and what time to arrive. The church of San Ferdinando is located in one of the city's central locations, just steps from symbolic sites of Neapolitan public life.

For those who want to participate, the fact to remember is simple: the last farewell to Riccardo Siano is scheduled for Sunday 10 May at 18 pm, in the church of San Ferdinando in Piazza Trieste e TrentoAny other information should be referred to the communications from the family and the editorial staff.

What reactions came after his death?

The death of Riccardo Siano has sparked mourning in the world of journalism, among fellow photographers, editorial staff, unions and institutional representatives.The Campania Journalists' Union remembered him as an extraordinary photojournalist and a colleague of great human and professional value, emphasizing his long-standing narrative of the city through drama, transformation, and humanity.

Alongside his institutional words, the strongest memories come from colleagues who shared his work in the field. Ciro Fusco, Stefano Renna, Gigi Di Fiore, and other professionals have shared different fragments: the ever-present colleague, the friend of few words, the photographer capable of arriving at the right moment, the master to be studied through his shots.

The mourning surrounding Siano demonstrates that photojournalism is not just about producing images, but about building trust between those who tell the story, those who write, those who photograph and those who experience the events of the city.When a photographer so deeply connected to news coverage dies, a part of the collective vision with which a community has learned to recognize itself is also lost.

Why does his passing weigh heavily on Neapolitan journalism?

The passing of Riccardo Siano weighs heavily on Neapolitan photojournalism because it loses a professional who has lived his profession before and after the digital revolution., maintaining a rare continuity between artisanal training, agency work, daily editorial work, and technological experimentation. In an age where everyone produces images, figures like his remind us that photographing a news story is something else entirely.

A photojournalist must know where to go, how to move, when to shoot, what not to show, what distance to keep, and what responsibility to assume when faced with people, pain, conflict, or public events. Siano has lived this responsibility for decades, in a city that offers no shortcuts to those who report on it without knowing it.

The void left by Riccardo Siano does not only concern a signature, but a method: presence, respect, readiness, vision and ability to convey Naples without reducing it to a stereotypeFor those who come after him, the most serious way to remember him will be to look at his photographs not as images of the past, but as lessons in the trade.