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Antonio Beato. Return to Venice: A Journey Through Travel, Architecture, and Landscape
At Museo Fortuny in Venice, the exhibition Antonio Beato. Return to Venice is open until January 12, 2026. This showcase is dedicated to the Venetian photographer and pioneer of travel photography across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Egypt during the second half of the 19th century. The initiative offers a structured journey through landscape, architecture, and visual cultures, providing the public with a reflection on the evolution of documentary photography through historical images and comparisons with other authors.
The exhibition, curated by João Rocha, Marco Ferrari, and Cristina Da Roit, is organized in collaboration with the IUAV University of Venice and the University of Évora. It unfolds through sections dedicated to early travels in the Mediterranean, war reportage, Antonio Beato’s Egyptian years, and the languages of contemporary photography.
The exhibition layout also features a contribution from the Touring Club Italiano Historical Archive, which has provided a significant historical print by Antonio Beato: “Cairo: View from the Citadel” (1878). This piece bears witness to the author’s ability to interpret and capture urban and architectural landscapes in distant and fascinating contexts with great precision. This image enriches the dialogue between Italian visual memory and the history of international photography, highlighting the connections between archives and historical collections in the promotion of photographic heritage.
Beato’s photography on display—with its elevated perspective over the heart of the Egyptian city—fits perfectly within the theme of the exhibition, making visible the intersection of travel and the documentary gaze that characterizes the photographer’s work. Thanks to the collaboration between museums and historical archives, the public can appreciate not only the artistic value of the images but also their function as visual records of places and cultures.
Antonio Beato. Return to Venice is open from October 15, 2025, to January 12, 2026, at Museo Fortuny (Campo San Beneto, Venice).
This exhibition demonstrates how historical photography—by integrating archives, collections, and research—continues to offer new interpretations of the world, highlighting paths of visual and cultural exploration that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries.
Italy in Motion: Motorways and the Future—an exhibition dedicated to the centenary of the first Italian motorway—hosted at MAXXI in Rome and also presented at the 46th edition of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples in Rimini, offers the public a broad reflection on how major infrastructures have shaped the landscape, mobility, and travel culture in Italy.
Until December 31, 2025, the Sestini Museum of Photography—located within the Convent of San Francesco in Bergamo—hosted the exhibition Across Italy: Photographs by Pepi Merisio, a visual journey through the country’s transformations from the economic boom to the 1980s.
