Photographic Collection of the Department of Art History

Now housed at the History of Art, Music and Performing Arts Library, the archive has grown through various photographic collections documenting Italian artistic and cultural heritage.

Over time, it has undergone multiple reorganisations. Unfortunately, the original collection was almost entirely destroyed during the Second World War: on 14 February 1943, bombing raids hit the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. After the war, the collection was supplemented by several donations, including the Alfonso Casati donation in 1947, which comprised thousands of art photographs, primarily by Alinari and Anderson, and later contributions from D’Ancona and Brizio. By 1957, archival records show that the collection had reached approximately 14,000 photographic items.
For further details, see the presentation published in: Schiaffini, Ilaria, et al. Fototeche e archivi fotografici nelle università italiane. Forum, 2022.2. 

The archive currently holds 1,968 folders containing a total of 27,829 photographs and 1,238 documents, organised within 182 storage boxes. 

• The inventory is available for consultation on the LaStataleArchivi portal, where a PDF version can also be downloaded.
• The collection is accessible by appointment