Peggy Kleiber, the accidental photographer of rural Italy, gets posthumous exhibition

Peggy Kleiber (1940–2015), a Swiss-born amateur photographer, is being rediscovered through exhibitions and a book. Born in Moutier, she studied literature at the University of Geneva and later photography in Hamburg. From 1958, she traveled extensively across Europe, focusing on Italy—capturing deserted Roman piazzas, Umbrian and Tuscan villages, and rural Sicily. She ignored famous landmarks, instead documenting everyday life in places like Aci Trezza, Partinico, and Capo d'Orlando. Her work, described as a visual diary, includes 15,000 photographs taken over four decades, stored in two suitcases. After her death, her sister rediscovered the archive, which was curated by Arianna Catania and Lorenzo Pallini for the 2023 exhibition "Peggy Kleiber. Tutti i giorni della vita (fotografie 1959-1992)" at the Museo di Roma in Trastevere. A selection is now on view at Castello di Postignano as part of "Un castello all'orizzonte" until November 3, 2024. Kleiber also self-published a book, "Rue Neuve 44. Cronaca della vita familiare 1963-1983," given only to friends and family. Critics compare her to Vivian Maier, noting her natural talent for capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary.