On the centenary of Paolo Di Paolo ’s birth (1925-2023), Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, in collaboration with Marsilio Arte, hosts Paolo Di Paolo. Rediscovered Photographs, a major retrospective dedicated to one of the protagonists of 20th-century Italian photography. Curated by Giovanna Calvenzi and Silvia Di Paolo, the exhibition will be on view from October 23, 2025 to April 6, 2026, and aims to bring to the public’s attention the forgotten work of an artist who succeeded in representing post-World War II reconstruction Italy.
With more than 300 images, many of which have never been exhibited before, including some in color, flanked by original documents, period magazines and archival materials, the exhibition traverses Paolo Di Paolo’s entire career, from his beginnings in 1953 to his years of collaboration with the leading newspapers of the time. A never-before-seen in-depth look will be devoted to Genoa and Liguria, places that the photographer portrayed with his elegant and poetic gaze. In 1969, following a personal and professional crisis, Di Paolo decided to suddenly retire from the photographic scene.
A favorite photographer of Mario Pannunzio, the historic editor of the weekly Il Mondo, for which he produced no less than 573 images in fourteen years, Di Paolo was also a regular contributor to the weekly Tempo. Through his reports he chronicled Italy and the world, documenting social transformations and capturing ordinary people and famous faces, from Pasolini to Anna Magnani, Lucio Fontana to de Chirico, Sophia Loren to Mastroianni.
His style is distinguished by an empathetic gaze, never invasive, capable of restoring the essence of a country at a time of profound change. After his retirement, his immense archive, which includes more than 200,000 negatives, remained in the shadows for five decades until his daughter Silvia rediscovered it and brought it back to light.
Accompanying the exhibition will be a catalog published by Marsilio Arte with contributions by Giovanna Calvenzi, Silvia Di Paolo, Isabella Rossellini, Alessandro Sarlo, Michele Smargiassi, Roberta Valtorta and Bruce Weber.
In parallel with the exhibition, Marsilio Editori will also present the novel Solo per te, written by Silvia Di Paolo with Antonio Leotti: an intense and personal work inspired by the rediscovery of the photographic archive, which interweaves family memories, artistic reflections and recollections, giving voice for the first time to Paolo Di Paolo’s human and creative story.
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| Palazzo Ducale in Genoa dedicates a major retrospective to Paolo Di Paolo on the centenary of his birth |
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