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The Republic of Moldova is the poorest and the least known country in Europe. This former Soviet Republic, populated by diverse peoples over the centuries, gained independence in 1990. However, one third of its population now lives abroad and remittances are the core of the Moldovan economy.

Some districts in Istanbul are like a lung, they fill up every day and every night exhale a sudden, mysterious calm. A winter day in Istanbul. Pictures by Giulia Mirandola.

Thousands of people came from all over Kosovo to attend the funeral of Ibrahim Rugova, pay tribute to him, and mourn the loss of one of their most important leaders. Pictures by Alem - alememail@gmail.com.

The city of Shushi holds a symbolic place in the recent history of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is from this city that the Red Army and the Azeri Army bombed Stepanakaert, capital of Nagorno-Karabakh and stronghold of Armenian separatists for five years. The Armenians conquered it the night of the 9th and 10^th of May, 1993. Photographs by Nicola Lott.

Color photographs of Azerbaijan, taken during the OSCE observation of the parliamentary elections held there in November, 2005, reveal the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and its valleys on the border of Armenia. Black and white photographs bring out the chiaroscuro of modern Baku and its outskirts, scarred by the black gold rush of the early Twentieth Century and the Soviet regime. Pictures by Fabio Della Piazza.

Hundreds of Armenian and Azeri refugee families live in crumbling buildings in the former Soviet “factory city” of Rustavi, Georgia, located 30 kilometres from the capital, Tbilisi. These photographs were taken in April, 2005. Photographs by Alessandro Franzetti

Slobodan Milosevic's funerals revealed Serbia's persisting social and political divisions. The crowd of Milosevic worshippers, who attended the ceremony in Belgrade, met with a counter-protest organized by critics of the former Serbian leader. Pictures by Francesco Martino.

In spring, an enchanting city surrounded by borders seems to leave its problems - refugees, the poor, the crumbling infrastructure - behind. A photo reportage by Maurizio Gjivovich, in cooperation with the Italian Ngo “Alisei”.

On a special day in Serbia, Orthodox families commemorate their saint protector in a tradition that varies from family to family. Cities celebrate their protector saint too. In Belgrade, according to the Orthodox calendar, the day for propitiatory rites corresponds with "Spasovdan", the Ascension of Jesus. Pictures by Mario Salzano.

21 May 2006: Montenegro bids farewell to Yugoslavia after a referendum in which Montenegrins voted for independence. In Podgorica, the celebration of the "Da", “yes”, vote for independence is marked with two fingers held high in the sky. Pictures by Luka Zanoni.

Ukraine is a country wavering between powerful neighbouring Russia and possible future integration with NATO and the EU. A glimpse at Ukraine and the cities of Sevastopol and Odessa in search of the political, economic, and social face of the country's transition. Photographs by Fabio Piana.

A religious ceremony in Goraždevac, a Serb enclave in Kosovo a few kilometres from Pec/Peja. Photographs by Fabrizio Bettini from 2003.

In 2006 in Beslan, in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, the city still held chilling reminders of the massacre that took place there in a school in 2004 that left 334 civilians dead. Photographs by Sara Di Pede, who spent ten days in the city.

The vivid colours of Bosnia. These pictures were taken by Roberto Giudici in cooperation with the "Valle di Smeraldo" project. For more information: robyreisen@libero.it.

Faces of rural Bosnia. These photographs were taken by Roberto Giudici in cooperation with the "Valle di Smeraldo" project. For more information: robyreisen@libero.it.

Some glimpses of Turkish Kurdistan by Giacomo Scattolini. Scattolini began to working as a photographer in the early 1990s and made his first photo reports during the war in the former Yugoslavia. He then began to focus on the entire South-east European region and its social issues. For more information: giacomoscattolini@libero.it.

These photos were taken during a journey travelling with the music group “Maxmaber Orkestar” across Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006. Pictures by Max Jurčev.

Belgrade, Beli Grad, the “white city”. Pictures by Christian Melis.

“When I was a child, I liked watching films. There was something magic in them. I liked turning the handle in the dark and watching images crawling upwards. I always dreamed of shooting my own films...” A photo portrait of Grozny by Kulia Vishnevets.

Croatia's annual commemoration for Jasenovac concentration camp victims is held on the 22nd of April. Some photographs of the “big flower” memorial sculpture in homage to its designer, architect Bogdan Bogdanović. Pictures by Luka Zanoni.

Kurds and many Middle Eastern populations consider Newroz to be a new year holiday. In Turkish Kurdistan, Newroz is the only time when Kurds can wear traditional clothes and display Kurdish flags. Photos by Giacomo Scattolini. For more information: giacomoscattolini@libero.it, www.immaginifuorifuoco.it.

During spring 2007, Mauro Pigozzo travelled to Mostar to attend some events sponsored by the Italian trade union organization “Caaf Nordest Cgil”. Pictures by Mauro Pigozzo - info@mauropigozzo.it.

Pristina: children in the streets, industrial archaeology and, of course, blackbirds forever flying in the Kosovan sky. Pictures by Rocco Del Nero.

They don't want to stay under the jurisdiction of Republika Srpska any longer. In protest, they left Srebrenica and moved to Sarajevo with their tents. A photo reportage by Paolo Cagnacci.

These photographs were taken between 1998 and 2000 in Argirocastro when the author was teaching the Italian language at the city university of Argirocastro, in southern Albania. Photographs by Paolo Benegiamo. e-mail: paolo.benegiamo@istruzione.it.

Andrea Mella is a geopolitics researcher specializing in the region of the Former Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. He travelled to Turkey to experience Istanbul: a city between two (or more) worlds. Pictures by Andrea Mella.

Glimpses of Bosnia from the summer of 2005. The author, Maria Ilaria Mingione, travelled to Sarajevo to attend a peacekeeping course.

The Guča trumpet festival, held in southern Serbia every August, is famous not only in Serbia but also abroad. Many trumpeters from across the region of the former Yugoslavia, as well as from other Eastern European countries, gather to play and compete. Pictures by Laura Portinaro.

Kotor, a pearl on the coast of Montenegro. Pictures by Luka Zanoni.

Anger, disappointed expectations, clashes with the police, two dead and dozens injured. Some images from the Vetevendosje protests in downtown Pristina on 10 February 2007. Pictures by Francesco Martino.