SPAZIO E IMMAGINI

The exhibition Ever more CULTISSIMI- MITISSIMI- BELLISSIMI, sequel of the 2020 Spazio e Immagini exhibition CULTISSIMI - MITISSIMI - BELLISSIMI, presents a selection of 30 rare still photographs from Italian Pop Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, selected from a larger collection of original vintage prints in the gallery. The exhibition focuses on the quality of still photography by various authors, including Umberto Montiroli, Angelo Pennoni, and others, who worked in this field with exemplary films of genre cinema and Italian comedy of 60s and 70s.

Italian Pop Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s stands out for its extraordinary genre diversity and invention. Films range from science fiction (Sci-fi) to Erotica, including Boccaccian-esque, casually touching on historical fiction Peplum) and themes of protest against the bourgeois family and sexuality. This cinema faces, sometimes with a desire to shock, sometimes with a smile, themes that were traditionally excluded from the big screen.

From Earth, we immediately take off for interstellar routes with I Diafanoidi Vengono da Marte (1966), a space age sci-fi horror film by Antonio Margheriti, produced in Italy but released for the American film market. Here, Angelo Pennoni's color photography conveys the great creativity of the truka camerawork.

The Italian-style comedy of Sorbole che Romagnola (1976) or Un Vichingo Venuto dal Sud (1971) offers the opportunity to provide unforgettable images, reminding us that the joy of living, especially in its pleasurable expressions, often leads to unexpected laughter.

Looking into where society hides its dark sides, as well as the beauty of the female body, is the basis of some highly popular film genres of the 1970s, such as the prison genre (WIP) and the convent genre (Nunsploitation).

In Bruno Mattei's film La Vera Storia della Monaca di Monza, released in 1980 but fully in keeping the mood of the 1970s, the story of Manzoni's novel becomes the pretext for a film veiled in eroticism where brilliant color photography enlivens the closed and impenetrable world of the monastery. Color photography is once again the protagonist of Prigione di Donne (1974), highlighting the body/flesh of the inmates in the prison now deprived of the individual's freedom of choice and at the mercy of the whim of others.

The Peplum films Maciste and Il Ratto delle Sabine both from 1961, transpose Roman myth and history into a Pop culture lens. They portray heroes as bodybuilders and virgins as showgirls dressed in stratospheric skirts.

The dark side of the psyche, so dear to the 1970s, is the protagonist of Franco Brogi Taviani's film Masoch, released in 1980, which addresses the paraphilia of masochism. Here, Umberto Montiroli's photos, characterized by violent contrasts of black and white, convey the dramatic existence of Baron Leopold von Sacher - Masoch, who died in a mental hospital.

The 1970s thus successfully transcended the italian label of the Anni di Piombo, claiming their place in an era of extremely long legs and joyfully displayed breasts.The beautiful Nadia Cassini, in Quando gli Uomini Armarono la Clava e ... con le Donne Fecero Din Don (1971), Femi Benussi in the mystery thriller Omicidio pe Vocazione (1969), and Laura Gemser in Suor Emanuelle (1977), were immortalized on set by photographers, contributing to the myth of sexy icons with images that exalted their sensuality.

Lucio Fulci's films are represented by stills from Una Lucertola con la Pelle di Donna (1971) and Una sull'Altra (1969). These photos, playing with eroticism and seduction, transport us to the forbidden climate of the 1970s, where the body was exhibited but its images were often banned. These shots often fell victim to censorship, as is the case with the photo from Una sull'Altra.

These still photographs, captured by the photographer, capture the film, which by its very nature is dynamic, in selected frames, giving it a material body that is distinct from the film itself. Today, these vintage photographs, having survived the editing and censorship, allow us to engage with an object of absolute cultural and artistic value; they have survived the passage of time and exist only thanks to the work of the still photographer.

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​EXHIBITION: 17th June - 10th July 2025

TIME: Tuesday - Wednesday h. 4.00pm -7.00 pm Thursday - Friday - Saturday: h. 10.00am – 12.30pm/ 4.00pm – 7.00pm Or by appointment.

We recommend to check our account social for any schedule changes.