On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Gabriele Basilico’s birth, Palazzo Altemps in Rome presents an exhibition that goes beyond celebrating one of Italy’s most significant photographers. It offers a profound meditation on the stratified nature of urban spaces and the relationship between historical memory and contemporary experience. Curated by Matteo Balduzzi and Giovanna Calvenzi, “Gabriele Basilico. Rome” immerses visitors in more than fifty works, showcasing the almost symbiotic bond between the photographer and the Eternal City.

“Gabriele Basilico. Roma”, installation view at Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps © Eleonora Cerri Pecorella, courtesy Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps

Basilico’s black-and-white photographs, taken between 1985 and 2000, reveal a Rome that is less a unified entity and more a palimpsest – a complex text bearing the marks of diverse epochs. Through his lens, Basilico captures the tension between monumentality and everyday life, between the permanence of the past and the transience of the present. The Milanese photographer doesn’t merely document the city; he interrogates it, deconstructing its structures and making visible the interwoven memories that compose the urban fabric. One of the most compelling sections of the exhibition features sixty original sheets of contact prints and handwritten notes. These materials not only demonstrate Basilico’s methodological rigor but evoke a creative process akin to archaeology: every image is the result of meticulous research and careful selection, aiming to extract the site’s profound essence. Like an archaeologist, the photographer excavates the urban fabric, seeking traces that unveil its most authentic character.

“Gabriele Basilico. Roma”, installation view at Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps © Eleonora Cerri Pecorella, courtesy Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps

At the heart of Basilico’s work lies a profound interest in the evolution of cities and the complexity of urban landscapes. His research is characterized by a methodical, almost scientific approach that combines aesthetic sensitivity with documentary rigor. Basilico doesn’t merely photograph buildings or streets; he seeks to capture the interaction between constructed spaces and their inhabitants, between architecture and the passage of time. This pursuit has led him to develop a visual language that is both poetic and analytical, capable of conveying the depth of the city as a living organism. A central aspect of his research is his focus on margins and peripheries, spaces often overlooked in official narratives but essential for understanding a city’s structure and identity. Through his images, Basilico tells the story of a Rome that is not only monumental but also ordinary – a city of contrasts and layers where past and present coexist in dynamic equilibrium. He is also very interested in industrial and port cities, contexts that he explores with the same rigor and poetry reserved for historical centers.

“Gabriele Basilico. Roma”, installation view at Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps © Eleonora Cerri Pecorella, courtesy Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps

His investigation extends beyond photography, embracing a study process that includes readings, interviews and long explorations of the places to represent. This method allows him to grasp the complexity of the city not only as a physical space, but as a social and cultural fabric, where every element is interconnected. Basilico manages to convey the hidden beauty of marginal spaces, transforming them into protagonists of a visual narrative that enhances their historical and symbolic importance. His work is therefore an invitation to observe more carefully, to rediscover the places that often escape our daily attention, revealing their richness and meaning. The large-format prints displayed in dialogue with the spaces of Palazzo Altemps and its archaeological artifacts create a unique interaction. The monumental quality of Basilico’s photographs finds a counterpart in the ancient marbles and fragments of a distant past. This dialogue underscores one of the photographer’s deepest insights: the idea that a city is not just a physical space but a repository of memory, where past and present coexist in a constant tension.

“Gabriele Basilico. Roma”, installation view at Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps © Eleonora Cerri Pecorella, courtesy Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps

Basilico always regarded the city as a living organism, constantly evolving. His photographs are never mere landscapes but reflections on the relationship between humans and their environment, between built spaces and the passage of time. The exhibition also highlights Basilico’s focus on modern and contemporary Rome, captured in the essential lines of rationalist architecture and the experiments of architects such as Richard Meier and Renzo Piano. In this sense, Rome is the ideal subject for his poetics: a city that, like few others, embodies the coexistence of contrasts, the dialectic between permanence and change.

Gabriele Basilico, “Roma”, 1988 © Gabriele Basilico, courtesy Archivio Gabriele Basilico

Gabriele Basilico. Rome” is not just a celebration of a master photographer’s work but an invitation to rethink how we view cities. The exhibition, designed specifically for the spaces of Palazzo Altemps, unfolds in two main sections connected by a symbolic central space. The first room presents a close dialogue between Basilico’s works and the museum’s permanent collection, with images spanning from rationalist architecture to the coexistence of civil and monumental structures from Roman times. At the heart of the exhibition, a focus on the photographer’s archive showcases sixty original contact sheets, annotated and marked with selections, documenting seven major projects totaling over 250 images. The final rooms feature contemporary and monumental works, culminating in a rare color piece that follows the course of the Tiber River, bringing the exhibition to a close.

Gabriele Basilico, “Roma”, 2007 © Gabriele Basilico, courtesy Archivio Gabriele Basilico

In an era when urban spaces are often reduced to mere functions and infrastructures, Basilico reminds us that cities are, above all, places of meaning – repositories of memory and catalysts for vision. This exhibition offers a precious opportunity to rediscover Rome through the eyes of an artist who captured the complexity of its face and the depth of its soul.

Micol Di Veroli

Info:

Gabriele Basilico. Roma
curated by Matteo Balduzzi and Giovanna Calvenzi
12/12/2024 – 23/02/2025
Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps
Piazza di S. Apollinare, 46 – Roma
www.museonazionaleromano.beniculturali.it/palazzo-altemps

Micol Di Veroli

Micol Di Veroli (Rome, 1976) is an art historian, critic and independent curator. She is a member of AICA – International Association of Art Critics. Since 2010 she has been curator of Glocal Project Consulting and collaborates with several international museums creating projects aimed at promoting and supporting Italian art abroad.