A wealth of images, consisting of 2700 shots, made between 1890 and 1940 and preserved in 43 albums, is added to the treasures of the castle of Racconigi returned to the community. The restoration of a significant part of the impressive collection of photographs that the House of Savoy preserves has recently been completed: over 18 thousand images.
The project “Stories of shots, memories of places. Connessioni fotografiche al Castello di Racconigi ” which won, in the “conservation” sector, the public notice “Strategia Fotografia 2020”, supported by the Directorate General contemporary creativity of the Ministry of Culture, will allow you to enjoy online an extraordinary historical, social and geographical documentation.
The photographs tell the diplomatic journeys of the last two kings of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III and above all Umberto II. Alongside the institutional shots, made in public moments, the albums collect photographs donated to the Crown Prince.
“They are testimonies of life, places, PEOPLE – confirms Alessandra Giovannini Luca, director of the Reggia di Racconigi, who was also responsible for the collections -. I think it was this aspect that made our project win. There are many types of photos: public moments, such as the arrival of the crown prince in South America, welcomed by the crowd; shots depicting him on the ship during the cruise while doing gymnastics; the image of an orphanage in North Africa. A beautiful album shows infrastructures, including bridges and railways, built by Italian companies in the South American continent, another small argentine factories that worked meat for Italian companies”.
The shots were subjected to a careful dry cleaning work, carried out with the Coordination of Roberta Bianchi, head of the restoration laboratory of the Regional Museum Directorate, then catalogued and digitized, with the intervention of two super experts: Tullia Garzena, art historian specializing in the history of photography, and Pierangelo Cavanna, for scientific supervision. A careful recovery has also been made for the album covers, some in leather, others in wood covered with silk and other materials.
“We think we can exhibit some of them in the permanent exhibition of the Armory that will be completed in 2023 – anticipates Alessandra Giovannini Luca -. They will remain closed because the photographic material is very delicate, but digitization allows a very easy use. The Originals will be available only for study purposes, on request. The call allowed us to recover the entire collection that concerns the European countries, but the overall project is broader: to open the photographic laboratories of Umberto’s mother, who was a great lover of photography. In this way another story of life at the castle would be completed”.
The 2700 “real” photographs can be admired on the link: https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/search?query=2021&refineQ=racconigi the general catalogue of Cultural Heritage.