La documentazione a colori del patrimonio culturale: il progetto didattico per i fotografi dell’amministrazione delle Belle Arti (1955-1956)

Abstract

In the aftermath of World War II, Italy’s reconstruction was extensively documented by the photographic sections of cultural heritage institutions. Published in books and exhibited in public displays, these photographs formed a new visual archive that played a crucial role in the broader strategy (supported by the European Recovery or Marshall Plan) to reframe the image of the country. As part of this program, museums and the Soprintendenze received new photographic equipment and materials from the United States; concurrently, the model of the American “didactic museum” was actively promoted. Following these developments, in 1955-1956 the Direzione Generale Antichità e Belle Arti in Rome envisaged a new course on color photography for the documentation of the cultural heritage: a pioneering, but short-lived attempt to foster the knowledge of the new technique and to meet the new demands of international scholars, publishers, and prospective travellers.

DOI: 10.4424/rsf2023-4