Where Europe Ends

Camilla de Maffei travelled the length of the Danube considering the question: where does Europe end? Her photographs reveal just how fluid and elusive the idea of ‘Europe’ is. . .

Sulina, Delta of Danube, Romania: ‘Along the Danube I saw how the landscape slightly changes and with it, faces, languages and traditions.’ (All photographs by Camilla De Maffei)

In 2012, before any stirrings of Brexit could be imagined by most, Camilla de Maffei followed the course of the Danube river through Europe. From its beginnings in Hungary, through Serbia, Bulgaria and finishing in the Romanian-Ukranian delta, the Italian photographer documented its path and raised the question: Where does Europe end? Which are its political and culture boundaries? What is the core of European identity?

Mahmudia, Delta of Danube, Romania (Camilla De Maffei)

"There is a very strong link between people and the land they inhabit," she says. "Beneath political boundaries, there lies states beyond any such official divisions. I found that along the river, the idea of 'Europe' became fluid and elusive, fragmented in the everyday life of people and places."

Near Vidin, a small city along the Danube, Bulgaria (Camilla De Maffei)

Retracing the steps of Italian scholar Claudio Magris, De Maffei travelled alone along the Danube with an open mind ready to meet and capture whatever and whomever she came across. "I had no difficulty in taking pictures of people, I was welcomed with warmth everywhere," she says.

Jurivlovca, Delta of Danube - Romania (Camilla de Maffe)

One image of a wedding party stumbled across in Romania offers a poignant reflection of the transient nature of modern European life - a generation of young people who travel back and forth across borders for work. "A lot of Romanian people left the country in search of work and live permanently abroad. Many come back home in summer for holidays or to get married in their own village, among realtives and friends. I was just walking around Sarchioi village and saw this crowd from afar - it was one of several weddings I saw and ended up participating in."

Sulina, Delta of Danube - Romania (Camilla De Maffei)

"I have many 'homes'," says the photographer. "Home for me is the place I was born, the little town of my father in Italy. Home is also Sardinia, the land of my mother and Barcelona, the city where I am based. Being European has nothing to do with political or economical borders, to be in or out of Schengen Area," she says. "I think our identity as European is made by the rich and various cultural heritage we share - an enormous patrimony that is enhanced thanks to the difference."

Lake Babadag, Delta of Danube - Romania (Camilla De Maffei)

"Along the river the idea of 'Europe' becomes fluid and elusive, fragmented in the everyday life of people and places."

"During my journeys along the Danube I saw how landscape slightly changes and with it, faces, languages and traditions. There are no rigid dividing lines."

Jurilovca, Delta of Danube - Romania (Camilla De Maffei)

Camilla De Maffei - www.camillademaffei.com