Archivio Fotografico Storico Italiano UCicconi

Seven million original images, from glass plates to myriad different negative formats, showcase Italy’s history between 1890 and the year 2000 in an archive that offers new insights into the fashion, entertainment, politics, lifestyle, and society, along with previously unseen perspectives and stolen moments from the lives of the people who forged Italy’s history in the twentieth century. The Archive gathers together five complete collections from former twentieth-century archives and agencies and most of the images are unpublished. Assembled in the 1990s by Umberto Cicconi, these collections have the seal of approval of Italy’s Ministry for Cultural Heritage. To mark the 150th anniversary of Italian Unity in 2011, the Fondazione Allori began returning this material to the public domain after it had been inaccessible for close to two decades. Archive composition: Adolfo Porry Pastorel’s former VEDO agency, Tazio Secchiaroli’s Roma Press Photo, Spartaco Appetiti, Alberto Cartoni and Umberto Cicconi’s photojournalism agency. Seven million images, the Italian Novecento.