“In the 1990s, I lived in Rome and worked as a magazine reporter and editor. I kept hearing about a group of Italian cowboys who raised their own special breeds of horse and cattle in Tuscany. The moment I heard about these cowboys, I dreamed of riding with them. But I didn’t know how to find them. It wasn’t until nearly twenty years later that a serendipitous encounter led me to the Butteri. 

The Butteri are legendary cattle breeders and horsemen of the Maremma, a rugged coastal region that stretches from the plains of northern Lazio to the beaches and inland areas of southern Tuscany. Their pastoral way of life is believed to date back to the spread of agriculture during Etruscan times. 

Due to the physicality of the job, the low pay, and economic recessions in Italy over the last decade, the number of working butteri has dropped dramatically. It is estimated that there are only around thirty left in the Maremma at this time. 

I took these photographs between 2013 and 2023. My hope is to document the historic traditions of the authentic, working butteri – who are deeply connected to their land and livestock – and the ‘appassionati,” the men and women throughout the region who have fallen in love with buttero culture. These enthusiasts don traditional Italian cowboy clothing, and embrace buttero heritage in the hopes of preserving their history for future generations.”