Across Italy. Photographs by Pepi Merisio: The Story of the ‘Belpaese’ on Display in Bergamo

The Sestini Museum of Photography – located within the spaces of the Convent of San Francesco in Bergamo – hosted the exhibition Attraverso l’Italia. Fotografie di Pepi Merisio until December 31, 2025, a journey in images through the country’s transformations from the economic boom to the 1980s. The initiative is promoted by the Municipality of Bergamo and the Museo delle storie di Bergamo, with the support of the SIAD Fondazione Sestini and in collaboration with the Touring Club Italiano.

The exhibition presents over 140 black-and-white and color photographs that tell the story of Italy in its many nuances: natural and man-made landscapes, scenes of daily life, folk traditions, and urban settings. Each image captures the face of a country in evolution, offering an attentive and sensitive gaze at the territory and the social and cultural transformations of the 20th century.

The title of the exhibition is a tribute to the famous editorial series Attraverso l’Italia, on which Pepi Merisio collaborated extensively between 1956 and 1972 for the Touring Club Italiano, documenting the diverse faces of the “Belpaese” with his poetic and neorealist vision.

The showcase is accompanied by a catalogue published by Lyasis Edizioni, which collects all the exhibited images, enriched by critical essays and in-depth studies dedicated to the Merisio Archive, part of the Museum’s heritage.

Attraverso l’Italia. Fotografie di Pepi Merisio was held at the Convent of San Francesco and was open to the public until 12/31/2025.

The exhibition confirms the importance of initiatives that enhance Italian photographic heritage through collaboration between cultural institutions and historical archives, helping to introduce the general public to the visual documentation that narrated the landscapes, communities, and identity of our country throughout the 20th century.