Giorgia Fiorio . Ritus

What power drives flocks of pilgrims to scale the highest mountains or to cross vast deserts? Why do people subject their bodies to ritual mutilation through stabs and strikes? Do ecstasy, trance, pain, and meditation lead to a deeper understanding of life and death, or to a higher form of physical reality? What defines the relationship between the individual and his belief?

In search of the perception of the sacred renowned Italian photographer Giorgia Fiorio (born in 1967 in Turin) spent nine years travelling in 38 countries—along the banks of the Ganges river to cloisters in Poland, from ancient Cambodian temple complexes to meditation centers in Myanmar and waterfalls in Japan.