# Franco Pinna

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**Franco Pinna** (1925–1978) was an Italian photographer of the second half of the 20th century and one of the main representatives of [neorealism](/source/Neorealism_(art)). He developed his work in black and white.

## Brief history

He was born in [La Maddalena](/source/La_Maddalena), on July 29, 1925. In 1952 he moved to Rome and, after a brief experience as a cinedocumentary operator, constituted the cooperative Fotografi Associati together with [Plinio De Martiis](/source/Plinio_De_Martiis), [Caio Mario Garrubba](/source/Caio_Mario_Garrubba), Nicola Sansone, Pablo Volta, which was dissolved in 1954 due to economic difficulties.[1] He followed the anthropologist [Ernesto De Martino](/source/Ernesto_De_Martino) during several research expeditions in southern Italy ([Lucania](/source/Lucania), 1952, 1956, 1959, [Salento](/source/Salento) 1959), obtaining documents of great artistic and cultural value. In 1959 he published his first book, entitled *La Sila*, which was followed by *Sardegna una civiltà di pietra* (*Sardinia, a stone civilization)* (1961). Meanwhile, his photos appear in the magazines [Life](/source/Life_(magazine)), [Stern](/source/Stern_(magazine)), [Sunday Times](/source/Sunday_Times), [Vogue](/source/Vogue_(magazine)), [Paris Match](/source/Paris_Match), [Epoca](/source/Epoca_(magazine)), [L'espresso](/source/L'espresso), Panorama. From 1965 Pinna became the trusted photographer of [Federico Fellini](/source/Federico_Fellini) and made scene photos of his films [Giulietta degli spiriti](/source/Giulietta_degli_spiriti), 1965, up to [Fellini's Casanova](/source/Fellini's_Casanova) in 1976;[2] he also publishes some photo books (*I Clowns*, *Fellini's Film*) inspired by his films. He died suddenly in Rome on April 2, 1978.

## In popular culture

In 2025, the [20th Rome Film Festival](/source/20th_Rome_Film_Festival) will celebrate Pinna's birth centenary, by presenting his work in three parallel exhibitions titled "Franco Pinna Photographer. Tribute to a Century." Curated by Paolo Pisanelli and organized by Archivio Franco Pinna and OfficinaVisioni, the exhibitions will be showcased in key festival venues, in collaboration with Cinema del reale, Erratacorrige, and Big Sur. The official poster of the festival is also a shot taken by him on the set of [Federico Fellini](/source/Federico_Fellini)'s 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film, *[Juliet of the Spirits](/source/Juliet_of_the_Spirits)*.[3]

## References

1. ["in *Il cinema documentario in Sardegna*. Dal secondo dopoguerra a Banditi a Orgosolo, Degree Thesis by F. Corona, \[\[University of Bologna\]\], A.A. 2005–2006, p.40"](https://web.archive.org/web/20141213184852/http://www.comune.terralba.or.it/dati/ContentManager/files/Progetto%20Tesi%20di%20Laurea/Arte/Il%20Cinema%20Documentario%20in%20Sardegna.%20Dal%20Secondo%20Dopoguerra%20a%20Banditi%20a%20Orgosolo%20-%20Corona%20Francesco.pdf). Archived from [the original](http://www.comune.terralba.or.it/dati/ContentManager/files/Progetto%20Tesi%20di%20Laurea/Arte/Il%20Cinema%20Documentario%20in%20Sardegna.%20Dal%20Secondo%20Dopoguerra%20a%20Banditi%20a%20Orgosolo%20-%20Corona%20Francesco.pdf) on December 13, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

1. ["Jessica Vaillat, *The Red List*, Pinna, Franco (1925–1978)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180413043129/https://theredlist.com/wiki-2-16-601-795-view-war-reporting-photojournalism-profile-pinna-franco.html). Archived from [the original](https://theredlist.com/wiki-2-16-601-795-view-war-reporting-photojournalism-profile-pinna-franco.html) on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

1. ["Festa di Roma, l'immagine ufficiale è un omaggio a Franco Pinna"](https://www.ansa.it/lazio/notizie/2025/09/09/festa-di-roma-limmagine-ufficiale-e-un-omaggio-a-franco-pinna_e6c82d44-40d1-4316-9242-057956a5f663.html) [Rome Festival: The official image pays tribute to Franco Pinna.] (in Italian). *[ANSA](/source/Agenzia_Nazionale_Stampa_Associata)*. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.

## External links

- [*Fotoleggendo*, mostra su Pinna](http://www.fotoleggendo.it/ita/mostra12.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230407195127/https://www.fotoleggendo.it/ita/mostra12.htm) April 7, 2023 at the Wayback Machine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Franco Pinna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Pinna) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Pinna?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.