Ludovico Quaroni's Photographic Portrait of Rome Published by Humboldt Books
Humboldt Books has released "Roma 1968," a volume featuring photographs of Rome taken by architect Ludovico Quaroni (1911-1987) and his nephew Livio Quaroni. Unlike typical architectural photography, the images document the city's social fabric, capturing people alongside buildings. The book includes a text by Quaroni's former student Francesco Pecoraro, who explains that for Quaroni, photographing Rome meant capturing its complexity, contradictions, and wounds. The photographs show a continuum of houses, things, people, trees, and the Tiber River, with cars symbolizing the economic boom. Quaroni's work offers a social investigation of Rome in the 1960s, contrasting with Milan's development, depicting housing projects next to fields and shantytowns. The book closes with a text by Quaroni accompanied by annotated contact sheets. Published in 2021, the 112-page book costs €20 and is available at humboldtbooks.com.
Key facts
- Ludovico Quaroni was a key figure in postwar reconstruction and a professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Rome.
- The book "Roma 1968" contains photographs by Ludovico and Livio Quaroni.
- The photographs document the city with people as protagonists, not just architecture.
- The book includes a text by Francesco Pecoraro, a former student of Quaroni.
- Quaroni's approach is described as a free reading of the city, with a precedent in his 1969 book "Immagine di Roma" published by Laterza.
- The photographs show a continuum of houses, things, people, trees, and the river.
- Cars are frequently present as symbols of conquest during the economic boom.
- The book closes with a text by Ludovico Quaroni and annotated contact sheets.
Entities
Artists
- Ludovico Quaroni
- Livio Quaroni
- Francesco Pecoraro
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
Institutions
- Humboldt Books
- Laterza
- Fondazione Adriano Olivetti
- Artribune
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Milan