Pictures of the week: Spaghetti Western, by Emanuela Colombo

Cowboy hats and boots, denim, the American flag and line dancing to the strains of country music: this could be any southern town in the US.→ Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

But it’s Italy, a country usually associated with more high-brow cultural pursuits. In Lombardy, northern Italy, you can bypass the great lakes of Maggiore and Como, forego a visit to Milan’s magnificent La Scala opera house, or give Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper at the Santa Maria della Grazie convent a miss, and head due south for Voghera, home of Cowboyland.→ Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

This theme park, a cathedral to everything “old west”, hosts the Voghera Country Festival in June, where thousands of country and western fans gather to take part in line dancing workshops and dance-offs, enjoy live music, and eat burgers and beer instead of pizza and wine.→
Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

Country and western culture first took root in Italy in American military bases, and its popularity has continued to grow.→ Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

It’s not just Cowboyland: in Novi Ligure, north of Genoa, a farm breeds rodeo bulls and horses and offers lassoing and bullriding courses.→
Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

But the biggest get-together of the year is the Country Christmas festival, held next weekend in Pordenone, north-east Italy.→ Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

There are dance contests, horse races and stalls selling everything from saddles and knives to handicrafts.→
Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

'Since the financial crisis in Italy, a lot of people feel lost,' says photographer Emanuela Colombo.→
Photograph: Emanuela Colombo

'Being involved in the country scene makes them feel part of a family, and that’s comforting. For many, they attend a line dancing class, buy a hat and boots, and they’re hooked. It’s their idea of American life – even though most of them haven’t been anywhere near the States.'
Photograph: Emanuela Colombo