►The PROJECT

In August 1973, on behalf of the municipal administration, Paolo Monti, one of the most importantti photographers Italians of the 20th century, he realised a photographic campaign on the historical centre of Modena. The result is a collection of over 2000 images, including black and white prints and colour slides. This extraordinary visual heritage offers a profound understanding of the city's transformations over time and is now housed in the Luigi Poletti Civic Library of Art and Architecture.

►THE EXHIBITION

Palazzo Santa Margherita from 1 December 2023 to 1 April 2024

To find out about the project, from Friday 1 December 2023, you can visit the exhibition in the Cloisters of Palazzo Santa Margherita (Corso Canalgrande 103).

The opening will be at 6 p.m., admission free.

►THE DIGITAL PLATFORM
https://monti.comune.modena.it

A searchable and interactive online digital map compares Paolo Monti's photos and the urban landscape of the present.

The platform allows you to browse through 1692 black and white photographs (blue pointer) and the 504 colour slides (green pointer).

Images are searchable and selectable in several modes, by street name to for example, with the possibility of constructing thematic itineraries or verifying the transformations of the city.

For 120 selected shots, the digital platform gives the opportunity to see, side by side, photographs from 1973 and contemporary images (red pointer), the result of a recent update campaign conducted by the Modenese artist and photographer Francesco Fantoni.

In addition, you can access much more information: discover the figure of Paolo Monti and his work in Emilia-Romagna, explore the potential of public photography as a means of documenting the evolution of the territory. A dedicated section, enriched by the historical photographs of the Botti Pincelli Fund, delves into the demographic, economic and social transformations that have characterised the historic centre over the past fifty years.

PAOLO MONTI AND MODENA / 1973-2023 is a project of the Municipality of Modena - Department of Culture within the framework of Modena UNESCO Creative City for Media Arts, realised in collaboration with the BEIC Foundation - Paolo Monti Fund and with the patronage of the Emilia-Romagna Region. The Poletti Library, the Delfini Library and the Modena Visual Arts Foundation collaborated on the project.