"Viaggio in Italia" - Luigi Ghirri

In occasion of the 20th anniversary of the death of photographer Luigi Ghirri, the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Milan pays its respects with an exhibit of a photographic selection entitled "Viaggio in Italia" (Travels in Italy). Ghirri curated the project in 1984, when it became the manifesto of the “Italian landscaping school.” Ghirri was one of the greatest masters of Italian and international contemporary photography; at the end of the 1970s he conceived a visionary project of “Refoundation” of Italian landscape photography. When it was realized in 1984, it went on show at the Provincial Pinacotaca of Bari; it also became a book published under the editors Quadrante di Alessandria, with texts written by Arturo Carlo Quintavalle and Gianni Celati. The photographs are snapshots from “on the road” – simple, silent and reflective, they immortalize many places of both the city and the surrounding countryside, serving more as an invitation to observe normal, quotidian life that exists everywhere, rather than just a mere reportage.   "Viaggio In Italia" consists of 100 snapshots accompanied by a series of frame-stills by Giovanna Calvenzi that document the original exhibit and conference held at the Pinacotaca in 1984; and a film by Maurizio Magri (screenplay by Vittore Fossati). The film, "Viaggio in Italia. I fotografi vent’anni dopo" (The Photographs Twenty Years Later) was produced in 2004, went out of stock but was reprinted for this occasion. A moving reflection on the identity of the Bel Paese, “Viaggio in Italia” beautifully places perceptions from thirty years ago in juxtaposition to perceptions of today. From / ITALIA website