755
ing. The advantages of this new technique that brought
together the positive aspects of the daguerreotype and
calotype processes made it possible for the fi rst time
for photography to become a viable alternative to other
techniques of reproduction. Engraving, of course, was
the medium that paid most dearly when photography
became more widely diffused. Photography was already
in great demand by tourists and travellers because it
cost less and was easier to transport, as is evident from
the numerous documents issued by the Calcografi a
Camerale, the Roman institute which was in charge of
the production and sale of engravings when the papal
state still existed.
Photography studios in different Italian cities devel-
oped different specialities, and were especially oriented
towards the three genres of portraiture, views and art
reproductions. Among the most important professio-
nal photographers were: in Rome, the D’Alessandri
brothers, Antonio (1818–1893) and Paolo Francesco,
Gioacchino Altobelli (active from 1847 to 1878 ca.),
Pompeo Molins (1827–1893 ca.), Tommaso Cuccioni
(active from 1830 ca. to 1864), James (1813–1877) and
Domenico (1854–1938) Anderson, Robert Mac Pherson
(1811–1872), Romualdo Moscioni; in Florence, the
Alinaris (active from 1854 to the present day), Giacomo
Brogi (1822–1881), Pietro Semplicini; in Turin, Miche-
le Schemboche (active from 1860 to 1906 ca.), Luigi
Montabone (active from 1860 to 1877), Henri Le Lieure
(1831–1914); in Milan, Pompeo Pozzi (1817–1880),
Giulio Rossi (1824–1884), Alessandro Duroni, Giovan
Battista Ganzini (1838–1878); in Bologna, Pietro Poppi
(1833–1914); in Trento and in Trieste, Giovan Batti-
sta Unterverger (1834–1912); in Venice, Carlo Naya
(1816–1882), Carlo Ponti (1822 ca.–1869), Domenico
Bresolin (1813–1899), Antonio Perini (1830–1879); in
Naples, Giorgio Sommer (1834–1914), Robert Rive; in
Genoa, Alfred Noack (1833–1896); in Palermo, Euge-
nio Interguglielmi (active from 1860 to 1900 ca.) and
Giuseppe Incorpora (active from 1860 to 1898 ca.); in
Verona, Moritz Lotze (1809–1890).
Among the activities of the most renowned fi rms
cited above, there was ample space for the reproduction
of works of art and monuments most representative of
the art historical tradition and natural beauty of Italy.
Nature was not only seen as such, but as an integral part
of the landscape, and essential element of a whole in
which nature and history, culture and nature harmoni-
ously balanced and completed each other. The wide
range of production in this fi eld was conditioned by
the requests of the patrons, most of whom were upper
middle class and aristocratic tourists from the differ-
ent parts of Europe. Views of archaeological sites like
Pompeii, Paestum and Herculaneum, of the classical
ruins of Magna Grecia and ancient Rome, of medieval
and Renaissance cities or of the palazzi and calli ofVenice—to cite only a few places—were included in
the catalogues of the major photography studios of the
period. These images contributed to the creation of true
visual topoi as well as to the diffusion of a certain im-
age of Italy throughout the world, an Italy that could be
identifi ed by its treasures and incontestable art historical
supremacy. The language through which photography
more or less consciously expressed itself shows multiple
infl uences from previous artistic traditions. This is es-
pecially evident in the adoption of the same perspective
and compositional schemes from the historic-stylistic
legacy of engraving. The main Italian museums (the
Uffi zi in Florence, the “Pinacoteca di Brera” in Milan,
the “Galleria dell’Accademia” in Venice, to cite a few)
began to be interested in extensive campaigns to pho-
tograph the works they owned. Thus, the collections at
the base of future museum photo archives were created;
series of different artistic objects came out in special rare
editions. In the view genre, the large format prevailed.
In editorial production for the public at large, the small
stereoscopic format, especially for views, architecture
and statuary was popular. Since this format was created
to be viewed in three-dimensions, the stereoscopic pho-
tograph preferred the subjects that best suited it, thus
enhancing its spectacular effect.
Florence witnessed the rise of what would become
the main Italian photography fi rm specializing in the
reproduction of works of art, Alinari, founded in 1854
by the brothers Leopoldo, Giuseppe and Romualdo.
Leopoldo Alinari, (1832–1865) who had had his earli-
est experience in the fi eld of engraving, defi ned the
cultural and economical strategies of the agency, which
soon carried out systematic photographic campaigns
throughout the national territory. In the course of their
long career, the Alinaris published numerous catalogues
of views divided by region and place, thus showing how
they wanted to produce a true visual “catalogue” of the
whole of Italy. Among their fi rst images were those
published by Eugène Piot in the work L’Italie monu-
mentale (1851), a milestone in publishing in France
and the entire world, as well as one of the fi rst cases in
which the illustrated part is made up of photographs and
not of engravings. The Alinaris were called to all the
most important exhibits of the age. They got prestigious
commissions, among which are the works they did to
reproduce the drawings of Raphael in Florence, Venice
and Vienna, his frescoes in the Vatican Apartments
and the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican. The
Alinari views were shot using the central, symmetrical
layout typical of Renaissance perspective, thus offering
a view in which the monument was generally isolated,
as a unique, exclusive testimonial to artistic creation.
The Alinari images played a fundamental role in the
perception and knowledge of the Italian work of art.
This became especially clear at the end of the nineteenthITALY
Hannavy_RT72353_C009.indd 755 7/5/2007 11:33:42 AM