{"id":1815,"date":"2025-04-23T20:57:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T20:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/?p=1815"},"modified":"2025-07-07T13:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T13:14:08","slug":"the-story-of-francesco-on-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/stories\/the-story-of-francesco-on-going\/","title":{"rendered":"The story of Francesco (on going)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The story of Francesco (on going)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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by Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Part of One of a kind (on going)<\/b> <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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Italy - 2019<\/a><\/h3>

The story of Elly (on going)<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Rome, Italy - 2019<\/a><\/h3>

The story of Francesco (on going)<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Valbrona, Italy - 2015\/201lex_story<\/a><\/h3>

The story of Alex<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Giovanni and Roberta live in Rome, are husband and wife and are both police officers. Their 8-year-old son,\u00a0Francesco<\/strong>, suffers from a\u00a0rare genetic disorder called Sotos<\/strong>\u00a0syndrome that causes physical overgrowth and delayed development of mental and movement abilities. The child goes to school like all children, attends a music course and loves to go to the swimming pool. His life is slowed down by the the anti-epileptic drugs that have also conditioned his growth. Francesco is aware of his difficulties, but remains a sociable, self-sufficient and dynamic child. Over time, he has also learned how to relate to his peers, and has a small group of friends, but the effects of\u00a0 his unusual gigantism are clear and it is hard to understand for people who meet him for the first time.<\/p>

The photographer\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/strong>\u00a0will tell Francesco\u2019s story through images in the project \u2018One of a kind\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0, with the aim of defeating the isolation of patients and their families, encouraging the detection of these similar rare cases around the world, so as to allow others with same characteristics to emerge from invisibility, to share common experiences and create a network with each other.\u00a0(Text by Sebastiano Caputo).<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco goes to school like all children, attends a music course and loves to go to the swimming pool. His life is slowed down by the the anti-epileptic drugs that have also conditioned his growth.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco being assisted by his instructor during the swimming lesson. Francesco has private lessons twice a week to improve his muscle development and his coordination.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco playing like all kids with the dividing element for lanes in the swimming pool.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco being assisted by his instructor during the swimming lesson. Francesco has private lessons twice a week so to improve his muscle development and his coordination.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco at the end of his swimming lesson, as he is about to go towards the changing rooms.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco,\u00a07 years old,\u00a0with his mother\u00a0Roberta, after having finished his swimming class.\u00a0 Francesco\u00a0suffers\u00a0from a rare\u00a0genetic\u00a0disorder\u00a0called\u00a0Sotos\u00a0syndrome which causes physical overgrowth and\u00a0delayed\u00a0mental and fine motor skills\u00a0development.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco watching cartoons, his favourite are those where there animals as protagonists. His curiosity and desire to learn is always clearly evident.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Every evening Francesco listens to a bedtime story read to him by his mother Roberta from her phone.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Giulia Vittoria helps her brother Francesco tie his shoe laces. Francesco has trouble in coordinating \u00a0his fingers, this causes difficulty when writing too.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. A moment of tenderness at home between Francesco and his mother Roberta.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Inside of the family home<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco has a snack at home, after school.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Francesco_rare13\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"Palo
Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco as he goes in the water. His relationship with water is very positive and useful for the development of his muscle tone and motor coordination.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Palo
Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. An affectionate family moment during a sunny day by the seaside.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Palo
Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco is thrilled by the presence of a dog on the beach, he is a little afraid yet at the same time very curios and drawn towards pets.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Palo
Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco and his sister Giulia Vittoria as they start to play with the sand on the shore.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Francesco
Francesco has a special connection with water, he spends entire days on the shore playing with the waves. Palo Laziale, <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco during a neuro-motor rehabilitation session, used to assess his psychological, learning and motor skills development. Francesco is aware of his difficulties, but remains a sociable, self-sufficient and dynamic child. Over time, he has also learned how to relate to his peers, and has a small group of friends, but the effects of his unusual gigantism are clear and it is hard to understand for people who meet him for the first time.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Rome,
Rome, Italy. Francesco loves trains and spends part of his day looking at them from the Trastevere Train Station in Rome, not far from where he lives.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Francesco_rare21\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"Palo
Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco as he enthusiastically goes towards the beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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The story of Francesco (on going) by Luca Catalano Gonzaga Part of One of a kind (on going) Italy – 2019 The story of Elly (on going) Rome, Italy – 2019 The story of Francesco (on going) Valbrona, Italy – 2015\/201lex_story The story of Alex Italy – 2019 The story of Elly (on going) Rome, Italy – 2019 The story of Francesco (on going) Valbrona, Italy – 2015\/201lex_story The story of Alex Giovanni and Roberta live in Rome, are husband and wife and are both police officers. Their 8-year-old son,\u00a0Francesco, suffers from a\u00a0rare genetic disorder called Sotos\u00a0syndrome that causes physical overgrowth and delayed development of mental and movement abilities. The child goes to school like all children, attends a music course and loves to go to the swimming pool. His life is slowed down by the the anti-epileptic drugs that have also conditioned his growth. Francesco is aware of his difficulties, but remains a sociable, self-sufficient and dynamic child. Over time, he has also learned how to relate to his peers, and has a small group of friends, but the effects of\u00a0 his unusual gigantism are clear and it is hard to understand for people who meet him for the first time. The photographer\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga\u00a0will tell Francesco\u2019s story through images in the project \u2018One of a kind\u2019\u00a0, with the aim of defeating the isolation of patients and their families, encouraging the detection of these similar rare cases around the world, so as to allow others with same characteristics to emerge from invisibility, to share common experiences and create a network with each other.\u00a0(Text by Sebastiano Caputo). Rome, Italy. Francesco goes to school like all children, attends a music course and loves to go to the swimming pool. His life is slowed down by the the anti-epileptic drugs that have also conditioned his growth. Rome, Italy. Francesco being assisted by his instructor during the swimming lesson. Francesco has private lessons twice a week to improve his muscle development and his coordination.\u00a0 Rome, Italy. Francesco playing like all kids with the dividing element for lanes in the swimming pool. Rome, Italy. Francesco being assisted by his instructor during the swimming lesson. Francesco has private lessons twice a week so to improve his muscle development and his coordination.\u00a0 Rome, Italy. Francesco at the end of his swimming lesson, as he is about to go towards the changing rooms. Rome, Italy. Francesco,\u00a07 years old,\u00a0with his mother\u00a0Roberta, after having finished his swimming class.\u00a0 Francesco\u00a0suffers\u00a0from a rare\u00a0genetic\u00a0disorder\u00a0called\u00a0Sotos\u00a0syndrome which causes physical overgrowth and\u00a0delayed\u00a0mental and fine motor skills\u00a0development. Rome, Italy. Francesco watching cartoons, his favourite are those where there animals as protagonists. His curiosity and desire to learn is always clearly evident. Rome, Italy. Every evening Francesco listens to a bedtime story read to him by his mother Roberta from her phone. Rome, Italy. Giulia Vittoria helps her brother Francesco tie his shoe laces. Francesco has trouble in coordinating \u00a0his fingers, this causes difficulty when writing too. Rome, Italy. A moment of tenderness at home between Francesco and his mother Roberta. Rome, Italy. Inside of the family home Rome, Italy. Francesco has a snack at home, after school. Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco as he goes in the water. His relationship with water is very positive and useful for the development of his muscle tone and motor coordination. Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. An affectionate family moment during a sunny day by the seaside. Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco is thrilled by the presence of a dog on the beach, he is a little afraid yet at the same time very curios and drawn towards pets. Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco and his sister Giulia Vittoria as they start to play with the sand on the shore. Francesco has a special connection with water, he spends entire days on the shore playing with the waves. Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco during a neuro-motor rehabilitation session, used to assess his psychological, learning and motor skills development. Francesco is aware of his difficulties, but remains a sociable, self-sufficient and dynamic child. Over time, he has also learned how to relate to his peers, and has a small group of friends, but the effects of his unusual gigantism are clear and it is hard to understand for people who meet him for the first time. Rome, Italy. Francesco loves trains and spends part of his day looking at them from the Trastevere Train Station in Rome, not far from where he lives. Palo Laziale, Rome, Italy. Francesco as he enthusiastically goes towards the beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1815"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8468,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815\/revisions\/8468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}