Protagonists of Siena 'Photo of the Year' to start a new life in Italy.

Italy has provided refuge to the Syrian amputee father and his limbless five-year-old son who featured in an award-winning photo that became famous around the world last year.

Munzir al-Nazzal, who lost his leg in the Syrian conflict, and his son Mustafa, born without limbs, starred in the celebrated Hardship of Life picture by Turkish photographer Mehmet Aslan.

The poignant image of the smiling father and son won the 'Photo of the Year' prize at the Siena International Photo Awards festival (SIPA) in 2021.

The pair will arrive in Rome's Ciampino airport on Friday evening, from Turkey, before travelling to Siena where they will begin a new life in Italy.

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The news was announced on Thursday by the SIPA festival which launched an online funding campaign to help father and son and other innocent victims of the conflict in Syria, raising more than €100,000.

"Munzir and Mustafa will go to live in a Caritas house in Siena made available by the archdiocese", said the festival's founder and artistic director Luca Venturi, adding that they will also be offered treatment at a prosthesis centre near Bologna.