Close-Up

50 years after they were shot, Italian photographer Paolo Di Paolo’s documentary-style images are part of a retrospective supported by Gucci.

About 20 years ago, Silvia Di Paolo discovered a trunk containing 2,50,000 negatives, prints, and slides in her father’s cellar. Soon after, she discovered that her father, Paolo Di Paolo, had actually been a star photographer at Il Mondo, a popular Italian current affairs magazine in the ’50s and ’60s.

He worked there for 14 years and contributed over 573 photographs while reporting on Italy and the world. Di Paolo documented the country and the massive transformation it was witnessing, before putting his camera away and moving to philosophy. At that time, Italy was still reeling under the effects of a devastating war (World War II), but cities like Rome and Venice were flourishing as creative hubs for artists.