Carlo Bavagnoli

Costantino Nivola at the party on the occasion of the exhibition in Orani. Photograph by Carlo Bavagnoli, March 1958

Carlo Bavagnoli was born in Piacenza in 1932. After completing his classical studies, in 1951 he attended the Faculty of Law in Milan. In Brera he had the opportunity to exchange views with several young photographers: Alfa Castaldi, Mario Dondero and Ugo Mulas. In 1955, after settling permanently in Milan, he began working with the magazines Illustrazione Italiana, Tempo illustrato and Cinema Nuovo. Hired as a photographer by Epoca, in 1956 he was transferred to the magazine's Rome editorial office. In the capital he began a long documentary project on the working-class district of Trastevere, through which he made his first contacts with the American magazine Life, which published some of his photographs.
In March 1958 he arrived in Sardinia for the first time, in Orani, where for the same magazine he photographed Costantino Nivola during the decoration of the façade of the church of Madonna d'Itria and the sculpture exhibition set up along the streets of the village.
The following year he spent a month in New York, where Life again asked him, for training purposes, to produce a reportage on life in the metropolis; two years later he was offered a contract as correspondent from Italy. In the following years he worked as a freelance photographer for several newspapers.
Between 1960 and 1961 he returned to Sardinia, to Loculi and Irgoli, sent by L'Espresso for a feature on poverty in Italy, which was not published because it was considered not dramatic enough.
In the following years his journeys between Italy and the United States became more frequent. For Life he documented the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the death of John XXIII and the election of Paul VI. Meanwhile, he continued his collaboration with Epoca. The year 1964 was memorable for his career: he was hired by the American editorial office of Life, a unique case for an Italian photographer; after a year spent in New York, he was transferred to the Paris office. From 1972, the year in which the American magazine ceased publication, he increased his returns to Italy, published numerous photography books, made several television documentaries and devoted himself to classical music.