If on a winter's day in the gelid Po valley, you wish to witness an ancient rite that is both dreadful and at the same time exciting and purifying, you should go and see the slaughtering of the pig at one of the farms in Emilia. The instruments used, the blood that flows and the physical breaking up of the great animal’s body all take on a religious-archaic symbolism. The slaughter takes place according to a precise ritual punctuated by different stages and actions; the slaughterer follows an ancient ritual established centuries ago. Ferrari’s pictures bring back the atmosphere of that rite, accompanying us right through the event. These are concrete images, photos that sink all our five senses into the vapours and smells of a farmhouse where this antique sacrifice happens.