Vittorio Besso

Secondary railways of Sardinia: Arbatax station. Photograph by Vittorio Besso, ca. 1888

Vittorio Besso (1828–1895), from Biella, learned the first rudiments of photography from his friend Giuseppe Venanzio Sella. In 1859 he became a professional photographer and opened his own studio. He took part in the Crimean War, where he had the opportunity to observe Roger Fenton, one of the first war reporters, at work. Thanks to his personal commitment to the Unification of Italy, he earned the favour of King Vittorio Emanuele II and, in 1880, obtained authorisation to bear the title Photographer of His Majesty the King of Italy. Some of the best-known figures of the time posed for him: members of the royal family, the pope and Mazzini. In 1880 he first came to Sardinia to portray Garibaldi in Caprera. From that date he returned to the island several times to document the impressive development of the mining plants in the Iglesiente area and the construction of the new network of the Secondary Railways of Sardinia. The images produced in the Monteponi mining area in Iglesias number around 45; they were printed in large format, mounted on cards typographically impressed with the photographer’s details and collected in two large red leather folders entitled Collection of Internal and External Views of the Monteponi Mine in Sardinia. This is one of the first examples of industrial reportage, in which attention is focused essentially on documenting the technical innovation introduced into coal extraction and processing. The images relating to the construction of the Royal Railways of Sardinia number around 35; similar in appearance, they are contained in a large album preserved in the Royal Library of Turin, a gift from the contracting company to the king. At the centre of the work, in this case too, is the engineering daring required to overcome natural obstacles, through viaducts and tunnels, as part of the construction of the new railway network.

Bibliography

Vittorio Besso (1828-1895): obiettivo Sardegna, a cura di B. Saiu Pinna. Biella, Circolo Culturale Sardo Su Nuraghe, stampa 1999.

Update

8/9/2026 - 14:25