Photographer and engineer Michele De Angelis immortalized the beauty of Salerno before the urban transformation that took place after the Second World War.
The Educational Museum of Photography (MuDiF) will present the catalogue of the exhibition of De Angelis' photographs at the headquarters of the Province of Salerno on February 29th at 10 am.
The exhibition, entitled “Salerno 1900-1939 – Images of an urban transformation”, took place in April 2023 at Palazzo Ruggi d'Aragona and collected 90 shots that testify to the evolution of the city. The catalog retraces the different sections of the photographic exhibition and shows only a part of the 2.047 phototypes donated by De Angelis' heirs to MuDiF.
This historical testimony documents the urban planning interventions carried out by De Angelis between the end of the nineteenth century and 1939. The Exhibition and the Catalogue were conceived and organised by IL DIDRAMMO APS – Museo didattico della Fotografia with the contribution of the Campania Region and the patronage of various cultural institutions.
In addition to the photos, the catalog includes seven contributions that delve into the figure of Michele De Angelis as an engineer, urban planner, and photographer. The authors of the contributions are personalities from the artistic and cultural sector who have studied and appreciated the work done by De Angelis throughout his career.
"The Province of Salerno is proud to host the presentation of the catalog for the exhibition dedicated to Michele De Angelis's photographs, " explained Francesco Morra, Provincial Councilor for Culture. " The catalog is particularly important due to the historical significance of De Angelis's photographs, which testify to the urban and territorial transformation not only of the city of Salerno, but of the entire province."
" Michele De Angelis was a truly unique and multifaceted figure, who successfully combined his professional expertise and experience with his passions: the city and its history, urban and architectural renewal, and photography as a means of enjoyment and historical testimony, " explains Vincenzo Petrosino, president of the Il Didrammo Aps association. " The exhibition, described in the catalog, is a preliminary and essential selection of his vocations, narrated through his gaze immersed in the lens of one of his many cameras. In our narrative, we have allowed ourselves to be guided by his creativity, unleashed precisely by the relentless development of photographic technique, and we have drawn inspiration above all from his love and profound respect for the City of Salerno, which has immediately influenced our modest efforts to preserve its memory."
"I was delighted to accept the invitation to contribute to the catalog with a personal reflection on the Michele De Angelis Collection, already the subject of the recent photography exhibition, " emphasizes Gabriele Capone, Superintendent of Archives and Bibliography for Campania. " The Michele De Angelis Photographic Collection philologically retraces the transformation of the city and province of Salerno during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Numerous testimonies relate to interventions carried out on symbolic locations in the area; with a sensitivity unmatched by his time, De Angelis documented and photographed the works before, during, and after, anticipating obligations that would be mandated by law in subsequent decades. In short, he was a technician with a rare sensitivity. These are all reasons, therefore, that led the Superintendence of Archives and Bibliography for Campania to declare the Michele De Angelis Photographic Archive a property of cultural interest for the country, ensuring its protection and supervision. This is a well-deserved seal, which does justice to the generosity of the engineer's heirs, who donated the 2047 phototypes to the social promotion association in 2015." The Didrammo then developed specific project paths and professional skills for the protection, conservation and enhancement of the photographic collection".
