The history of the photo archive

A Collection of Photographs From Near and Far

The Cineteca’s Photo Archive was established in the 1960s thanks to the foresight of the then-Councillor for Culture, Renato Zangheri (who later became Bologna’s mayor). He wanted to complement the growing collection of films and books associated with the region with photographs from Bologna and Emilia-Romagna. Among the first to help shape the budding photo library was Renzo Renzi, after whom the library is named. He encouraged a careful acquisitions policy that focused on thoroughly documenting 19th-century Bologna in photographs.

Growth and Movement of the Collection

Opened for consultation and study in 1962, over the years the collection had to change location on several occasions as the quantity of material grew. From the first site in Archiginnasio to Via de’ Foscherari, passing through Palazzo Aldrovandi-Montanari in Via Galliera, it is now housed in Via Azzo Gardino, within the Manifattura delle Arti area.

Continuing Acquisition

The frequent moves testify to the effective new acquisitions policy started in the 1980s, which managed to bring together material from historical Bolognese studios (Studio Camera, Nino Comaschi, Enrico Pasquali) and important private collections, plus photographs directly commissioned by the Bologna city administration from professional photographers (Paolo Monti collection). The photographs relating to films come from the collections of great connoisseurs (Mario Natale, Giuseppe Galliadi), stills photographers (Angelo Novi), famous directors (Alessandro Blasetti) and film experts. The result is a constantly growing collection, which currently includes over 800,000 images of the city, as well as around 350,000 photographs relating to the cinema.