Annabella Rossi. Acrobats, Fakirs and Funfairs. Rome 1957–1960

The exhibition hosted within the Spazio Messina PT brings a collection of previously unpublished images to the public’s attention for the first time. This valuable collection of photographs, taken by Annabella Rossi During his in-depth field research, he shines a spotlight on the capital’s popular and marginalised cultures. Important anthropologist and a photographer on the Italian scene of the Post-war period, the artist has devoted his entire life to restoring dignity and a voice to social contexts that are often overlooked or forgotten. Through his lens, he has explored the the outskirts of Rome sensitively documenting the daily lives of circus performers, fakirs and street artists, capturing a moment of profound and irreversible social and urban transformation.

The exhibition is structured as a true collective narrative, comprising large-format photographs printed on striking textile backgrounds, archive material, oral accounts and valuable audiovisual content. Among the most fascinating stories is that of Savitry, the famous fakir who inspired the character of Zampanò in the cinematic masterpiece The Road by Federico Fellini. Equally moving is the story of the brothers Nevio and Patrizia Paggiola, former circus performers who recognised themselves in the scholar’s photographs and who now bear witness to that world in the documentary Once upon a time, there was a circus by Marco Marcotulli. The exhibition is complemented by a video installation Contrapuntal Notes from the Suburbs by Francesco De Melis and from historical footage of the’Luce Archive and the Experimental Centre of Cinematography. The project is the result of a long-running digitisation effort of the Rossi Pedretti Collection, launched by the’ICPI – Central Institute for Intangible Heritage of Ministry of Culturein collaboration with the Museum of Civilisation. Scientific supervision is entrusted to Stefania Baldinotti, Dominique Lora and De Melis himself.