Italian post-war photographer Paolo Di Paolo dies at 98
On June 12, Paolo Di Paolo, the renowned Italian photographer known for capturing Italy's transformation after World War II, passed away at the age of 98 in San Timoteo hospital, Termoli. Di Paolo was born in 1925 in Larino, Molise, and relocated to Rome in 1939, where he pursued studies in history and philosophy. A largely self-taught artist, he contributed to Viaggi in Italia and worked alongside Mario Pannunzio at Il Mondo from 1954 to 1966, producing 573 reportage images. His significant works feature the 1962 inauguration of the Rome-Florence Autostrada del Sole and portraits of Carla Fracci. After becoming disillusioned with sensationalism, he retired in 1968. His archive was rediscovered in the 2000s, leading to renewed acclaim, including a 2019 retrospective at MAXXI.
Key facts
- Paolo Di Paolo died on June 12, 2023, at age 98 in Termoli's San Timoteo hospital.
- He was born in 1925 in Larino, Molise, and moved to Rome in 1939.
- He collaborated with Il Mondo from 1954 to 1966, publishing 573 reportage photos.
- He photographed the 1962 inauguration of the Autostrada del Sole's Rome-Florence stretch.
- In 1959, he traveled with Pier Paolo Pasolini from Ventimiglia to Trieste for La lunga strada di sabbia.
- His archive of over 250,000 negatives was rediscovered by his daughter Silvia in the early 2000s.
- The MAXXI held a retrospective titled Mondo Perduto in 2019.
- Bruce Weber directed a documentary about him, The Treasure of His Youth, presented at the 2021 Rome Film Fest.
Entities
Artists
- Paolo Di Paolo
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Carla Fracci
- Anna Magnani
- Marcello Mastroianni
- Sophia Loren
- Kim Novak
- Walter Chiari
- Brigitte Bardot
- Monica Vitti
- Michelangelo Antonioni
- Giorgio De Chirico
- Renato Guttuso
- Ezra Pound
- Giuseppe Ungaretti
- Oriana Fallaci
- Alberto Moravia
- Claudia Cardinale
- Luchino Visconti
- Mina
- Salvatore Quasimodo
- Anita Ekberg
- Federico Fellini
- Bruce Weber
- Pierpaolo Piccioli
- Mario Pannunzio
- Irene Brin
Institutions
- MAXXI
- Il Mondo
- Successo
- Tempo Illustrato
- La Settimana Incom Illustrata
- Viaggi in Italia
- La Scala
- Cinecittà
- 10 Corso Como
- Valentino Haute Couture
- Sapienza University
- Festa del Cinema di Roma
- Artribune
Locations
- Larino
- Molise
- Rome
- Italy
- Ventimiglia
- Trieste
- Milan
- Paris
- Termoli
- San Timoteo hospital
- Monte dei Cocci
- USSR
- Iran
- Japan
- United States
- Europe