Paolo Ferrari, photographer of Bologna massacre, dies at 86

Paolo Ferrari, the photojournalist who documented the 1980 Bologna railway station bombing, has died at 86 after a long illness. Born in Bologna in 1934, Ferrari studied at Columbia University before beginning his career with a Rolleicord camera purchased on installment. In the early 1970s, he co-founded the FN agency with Luigi Nasalvi, sharing a passion for jazz. Through the music scene, he met director Pupi Avati and worked on films including Balsamus, l'uomo di Satana and Thomas e gli indemoniati; he also introduced actress Mariangela Melato to Avati. Ferrari covered all major events in Bologna, most notably the August 2, 1980 bombing—he was at the station for a vacation assignment when the explosion occurred, capturing the aftermath and later the wounded and deceased in hospitals. He contributed to Qui Bologna, Carlino Sera, Il Resto del Carlino, and served as a correspondent for Associated Press. In 2015, Ferrari donated his archive of over two million images to Genus Bononiae. Musei nella Città di Bologna, stipulating that the archive remain in his lifelong studio on Via Marsala. The donation was motivated by his friendship with Genus Bononiae President Fabio Roversi Monaco. Marco Baldassari, head of the Ferrari Archive, noted that Ferrari's spirit endures through his photographs, which are currently featured in the exhibition Criminis Imago at Santa Maria della Vita.