Publications

Daguerre and Talbot, Le Gray and Ruskin, Atget and Abbott, Cartier-Bresson and Taro, Monti and Mulas, Basilico and Koudelka, and finally Gursky and Höfer: through these and many other protagonists, the volume explores the central role of photography in the long struggle for the recognition of civil rights and their consolidation throughout European urban history. It follows a path marked by the creation of places whose photographic representations have acquired such powerful significance as to become symbols of the rights achieved themselves.

At a time when images move instantly and virally through smartphones, photographed places and the backgrounds of so-called selfies are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the cultural ecosystem of individuals and their communities. In most cases, these are places of culture, historic cities and urban settings that have come to symbolise socio-political progress. From this perspective, tracing the historical relationship between photographic images, landscape and rights fosters a greater awareness of the contemporary condition.

The book presents a perspective on the visual journey that has made the acceptance of new horizons and visions possible, through an extremely selective choice of photographers, iconic photographs, and books exploring the iconography of architecture and the city.