Mario De Biasi e Milano. Edizione Straordinaria [ENG]

If visiting the Galleria is as natural as drinking a glass of water for the Milanese, for tourists it’s an essential stop on the city tour. Among all those eyes turned to the precious mosaic floor as to the mighty bulk of the dome, we could have seen Mario De Biasi’s eyes there so many times, too. In this 1954 photograph he portrays, as always from above, the central octagon of Milan’s salotto buo...

A mysterious figure projects its shadow along a pavement flooded by the sun. Behind her, some spilled tar reflects the light, creating the impression of a chaotic texture. The left side of the photo is delimited by the deep shadow of a building, whose architecture reflects geometric lines on the ground. In the background we can imagine the presence of people and cars. The atmosphere of the image i...

A mysterious woman, alone, walks safely before us without looking back. Imagine the sound of her heels on the pavement as it resonates all around, attracting the attention of passers-by. Maria Vittoria Baravelli reveals the background of a photograph so iconic it has become a real manifesto of Italian art over the years. “Not everyone knows that this photograph is just one moment of a wider servic...

Did you know that De Biasi was affectionately nicknamed the "crazy Italian"? Why? Because sent around the world by the magazine Epoca, our photojournalist often worked in difficult and dangerous situations, literally throwing himself into the adventure. At a time when travelling was a luxury reserved for few, De Biasi’s photographs allowed thousands of readers of at least two generations to see th...

Mario De Biasi was not a great football fan. Rather than support his favourite team, he certainly preferred to blend in the crowd, taking repeated photographs of parked cars, people, architectural structures, letting himself be guided by his infallible instincts. From time to time, however, his eye also shifted to the field. This photograph, dated 1955, immortalises the beginning of a match punctu...

What attracts us to other people’s lives? Today social networks have made us accustomed to a constant display of the exceptional, alienating us from the intimacy of everyday life. In an era like the fifties when social networks were still science fiction, Mario De Biasi sought a new normality after the devastating years of the war, finding it in the daily life of a typical Milanese girl next door....

Between the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, if you had wanted to leave Milan to reach outlying places such as Vaprio, Saronno, Lodi or Monza, you would surely have taken a steam locomotive shrouded in the pungent smell of smoke. These trains were affectionately called “Gamba de Legn,” meaning “wooden legs”, probably because of their slow, limping pace. Of the many in operation,...

The best way to take in Milan at a glance is to see it from above. Even Mario De Biasi who had made the city his home, was convinced of this. Stop for a moment to observe the photograph. Do you recognize the scene of this image? It's the terraces of the Duomo: After all, who if not the Madonna enjoys the most impressive view of the city! In the enchanting context of the spires, backs to the camera...

Have you ever rediscovered, after years, an old photograph pasted on the cardboard page of an album? A simple image can suddenly bring back unexpected memories, almost as if it wanted to talk to us. Here De Biasi chooses himself as the subject; the well-fastened raincoat, his hair a bit ruffled, but above all... a camera in his hands. That instrument, as Bruno Munari said, would become a natural e...

“Welcome, I’m Nadia Righi, director of the Carlo Maria Martini Diocesan Museum, where we are today. In recent years the museum has given greater attention to the language of photography and, continuing in this vein, we commemorate the centenary of the birth of Mario De Biasi with this exhibition. Through his great talent, his extraordinary technical competence, his insatiable curiosity as man and...