Federico Garolla
(Naples, 1925 - Milan, 2012)
Federico Garolla is a twenty-year-old
journalist working for Mattino and Domani d'Italia - two of the
main newspapers in Naples, his native town - when Arrigo Benedetti
calls him to Milan. His stay in the Lombard main town marks his
turning to photojournalism. He carries out hundreds of reportages
for prestigious Italian magazines - L'Europeo, Tempo Illustrato,
L'Illustrazione Italiana, Oggi - and for foreign ones - Paris
Match, National Geographic, Colliers, Die Stern.
 His adventure as special correspondent for Epoca starts in
1951, and afterwards together with Federico Patellani, Giancolombo,
Paolo Costa and Franco Fedeli he works for Le Ore (the photo at
the side shows them together). In 1956 he founds Foto Italia of
Agenzia Italia and becomes its first director.
In 1953 he starts documenting the birth of Italian fashion with
his camera. He takes photos of the young stylists in their ateliers,
right when they were about to conquer the international scene.
He photographs models in the streets under the curious eyes of
people around. The services published on Eva, Annabella, Donna,
Bellezza, Arianna, Grazia and Amica belong to this period.
At the same time he portraits the Italian cultural life in a series
of "photo-tales" dedicated to painters, writers, musicians,
actors and actresses, but also to ordinary people living through
the after-war years. As a matter of fact, Garolla always keeps
an eye on social themes. In this way, between '48 and '75, he
puts together his archives of around 200.000 snaps, which can
offer a complete view of those years.
In 1976 Garolla starts collaborating with RAI for the news surveys
A come Agricoltura, La terza età, and a series of documentaries
on arts brings him around Italy with his camera. He carries out
reportages on artistical and archeological museums, places of
architectonic interests, beautiful rse through the ticklish thirty
years after the war is reflected in the expressive models the
whole Italian photography had to deal with. First of all the great
development of illustrated magazines, then the coming up of colour
photos and the spreading of specialized publishers.
landscapes, wine and food attractions. They will be published
by famous publishers, such as Mondadori, Rizzoli, Domus, De Agostini,
Rusconi, Curcio.
At the beginning of the Eighties, Federico Garolla, together with
Mario Monti, has the idea of publishing guides to Italian museums
and starts his own publishing house, with the huge supply of photographs
at disposal he has put aside during the years.
In the last fifteen years, together with his daughter Isabella, he works at the
digitalisation of the archives and he takes part to national and
international photographic exhibitions.
Pictures 1951 - 1971
Introduction by Cesare Colombo
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