An event dedicated to the great photographer, based on two books that trace his personal and professional life.
The photographic archive of Paolo Di Paolo, the subject of a major exhibition at MAXXI in 2019, remained hidden for over fifty years, and its recent, chance discovery has helped to rewrite the history of 20th-century Italian photography.
The story is told by his daughter Silvia in the biographical and autobiographical novel Qualcosa dovrà succedere: Paolo Di Paolo lived through an era, from the post-war period to the economic boom, chronicling the changing face of Italy and the world and portraying the greatest artists, actors and intellectuals of all time, whilst collaborating with the most important publications of the period. In the late 1960s, Di Paolo decided to withdraw from the limelight, putting his career as a photographer on hold and vanishing without a trace; he changed his life and profession, choosing silence even within his own family.
Between family memory and collective history, the novel recounts the discovery of a father and the rebirth of a man and his artistic legacy.
The event also offers an opportunity to discover the catalogue Paolo Di Paolo. Fotografie ritrovate, edited by Giovanna Calvenzi and Silvia Di Paolo, which accompanies the retrospective of the same name on display at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa from 23 October 2025 to 6 April 2026, marking the centenary of the artist’s birth.
speakers
Giovanna Calvenzi curator and photography historian
Luca De Michelis Marsilio Editori CEO
Silvia Di Paolo Archivio Fotografico Paolo Di Paolo archivist and curator
moderator
Malcom Pagani journalist and writer
In collaborazione con Marsilio e Marsilio Arte.
individual seats reserved for myMAXXI cardholders by writing to mymaxxi@fondazionemaxxi.it, by the day before the event
An event dedicated to the great photographer, based on two books that trace his personal and professional life.
The photographic archive of Paolo Di Paolo, the subject of a major exhibition at MAXXI in 2019, remained hidden for over fifty years, and its recent, chance discovery has helped to rewrite the history of 20th-century Italian photography.
The story is told by his daughter Silvia in the biographical and autobiographical novel Qualcosa dovrà succedere: Paolo Di Paolo lived through an era, from the post-war period to the economic boom, chronicling the changing face of Italy and the world and portraying the greatest artists, actors and intellectuals of all time, whilst collaborating with the most important publications of the period. In the late 1960s, Di Paolo decided to withdraw from the limelight, putting his career as a photographer on hold and vanishing without a trace; he changed his life and profession, choosing silence even within his own family.
Between family memory and collective history, the novel recounts the discovery of a father and the rebirth of a man and his artistic legacy.
The event also offers an opportunity to discover the catalogue Paolo Di Paolo. Fotografie ritrovate, edited by Giovanna Calvenzi and Silvia Di Paolo, which accompanies the retrospective of the same name on display at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa from 23 October 2025 to 6 April 2026, marking the centenary of the artist’s birth.
speakers
Giovanna Calvenzi curator and photography historian
Luca De Michelis Marsilio Editori CEO
Silvia Di Paolo Archivio Fotografico Paolo Di Paolo archivist and curator
moderator
Malcom Pagani journalist and writer
In collaborazione con Marsilio e Marsilio Arte.
individual seats reserved for myMAXXI cardholders by writing to mymaxxi@fondazionemaxxi.it, by the day before the event