Francesco Battistini

Francesco Battistini was selected for the 2020 European Press Prize shortlist with ‘100 Days in Europe.’

Francesco Battistini started in Italy as a reporter, reporting on politics, crime news, white and judicial reports. He has worked for Corriere della Sera since 1994. Previously, he worked at “Il Giornale” and “La Voce,” alongside with the prominent and authoritative editor Indro Montanelli.  In 1997, he was the first Italian journalist to cross the Mediterranean by boat with a group of migrants; for that, he received the oldest Italian journalism award, Il Premiolino. He has had a long career as a war and terrorism correspondent in Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, the West Bank & Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Syria, and Libya. He worked as temporary bureau chief in New York, London, and Berlin, and has covered international events such as G8 summits, US and European elections, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the tsunami in Indonesia. As a Middle East and North Africa correspondent, he was based for many years in Jerusalem and Tunis. Battistini received a special acknowledgment as a result of his imprisonment in Baghdad during the 2003 Gulf War. He was recognized by the Italian President of the Republic for his reportages in Cuba. He is the coauthor of an essay about ISIS. He currently lives in Milan.