• 1 For a comprehensive introduction to the subject, along with past references, see Fanelli, 2009, p.  (...)
• 2 Maffioli, 2003; Pagano, 2003.
• 3 Fanelli, 1988.
• 4 Fanelli, 2009, p. 146.

1During the late 19^th century, as new tools for replicating reality emerged, photographers preferred capturing urban landscapes undergoing significant transformations in several European cities.1 In Italy, the charm of Florence, with its Renaissance palaces and monumental squares, was captured by many photographers and stimulated the birth and development of companies strictly devoted to photographic reproduction. Among them, the Alinari was undoubtedly the most famous one, responsible for the strong impulse given to architectural photography for documentary purposes.2 Between 1864 and 1871, when Florence was the capital of the new-formed Italian nation, various urban renewal projects were implemented as per the blueprint created by the architect Giuseppe Poggi3 (1811-1901). He hired Alinari to immortalise the ancient city walls, which were to be replaced by the new boulevards; later the Historical and Archaeological commission, set up by the municipality, commissioned various professionals to document the streets, buildings and monuments of the old town centre that were being demolished.4

• 5 Galliani, 2017.
• 6 Carapelli, Cozzi, 1993, 1998; Fanelli, Orefice (eds.) 2007.

2By the end of the 19^th century, in Italy and especially in Florence, as well as in other foreign countries, the use of photography in the field of architecture and urban planning was increasingly aimed at documentation purposes. Rather than capturing established architectural structures, but also in some cases the recently finished buildings, the practice of documenting the building site became quite common. This involved capturing single images that preserved the ongoing development of new constructions. For architects, construction companies, and public institutions, construction site photography became an essential means of documentation to present and glorify what was being built. These materials, photographic evidence of a building site at a precise moment in time, are today fundamental for historical reconstruction, artistic trends, and technological progress.5 During the latter decades of the 20^th century, scholars have conducted research on the use of photography in architecture, with investigations focusing on individual photographers or the documentary value of a particular building technique, or more generally on the construction of certain Florentine buildings.6 This article aims to contribute to new discoveries to the academic discussion, with the National Library of Florence as a case study.

• 7 Mannelli Goggioli, 2001, 2000; 1861/2011. L’Italia unita, 2011; L’edificio della Biblioteca naziona (...)
• 8 Serrai, 1980.
• 9 For a detailed study see Arcangeli, 2019, p. 52-57.
• 10 Report of the head of the Saporito Commission (May 9, 1900); Establishment of the Examination Board (...)
• 11 Provision (Dec. 31, 1902), Official Bulletin Ministry of Education.
• 12 Report to the Minister of Education on the result of the final round of the competition for the bui (...)
• 13 Letter from Bazzani to the Ministry (Feb. 21, 1907), ACS, Ministry of Education, Libraries and Gene (...)
• 14 Provision (May 16, 1907), Official Bulletin Ministry of Education.
• 15 La Nazione, 1935.

3The Library acquired the terms “National” and “Central” almost 25 years after the unification of Italy, in 1885. Before then, it was better known as the library preserving most of the Medici librarian collections.7 Under the direction of the librarian Desiderio Chiolvi (1835-1905), a slow and tortuous path started to transfer the Library to its new and final location, where it still stands today.8 After many years of discussions and wrangling between the Ministry and the City Council, a ministerial commission was set up in 1900 to decide where the new building should be located.9 In May of the same year, the commissioners chose the area in the Santa Croce District, occupied by the Cavalry Barracks and the Professional School of Arts.10 On the 31 December 1902, the “Competition Programme for building the National Central Library in Florence” was announced. Of the 43 projects submitted, 12 were selected for the second stage of the competition.11 It was only on 24 April 1906, with four out of five votes, that the commission designated Cesare Bazzani’s (1873-1939) project as the winning application and worthy of execution.12 Cesare Bazzani travelled to Florence to visit the area destined to house his building, and in January 1907 he began working with Florence’s Office of Civil Engineers (Ufficio del Genio Civile) on the plans.13 In the meantime, the Ministry set up the Superintendence Commission for the Opera, which was chaired by the director of the Library and the head of the Civil Engineers, and was entrusted with various tasks: examining all the individual plans for the building from both a technical and artistic point of view, supervising the progress of the work, taking part in the various inspections and drawing up the report on the state of the work to be sent to the Ministry.14 Unfortunately, the works suffered various setbacks, mainly due to the First World War, and carried on for many years, so much so that the inauguration did not occur until 1935.15 The long history of this building site reveals substantial investments made by the Italian Kingdom, not only from the economic point of view. The construction of the new headquarters of the nation’s representative library was deemed a paramount objective towards fostering the cultural advancement of the country.

• 16 Ufficio del genio civile, 1861-1972.
• 17 A few months ago, I was informed by archivists at the State Archives that the process of re-granula (...)
• 18 Cinelli, 1999; Salvagnini, 1999.

4Most of the documentation on this undertaking can be found today at the State Archives in Florence in the historical funds of the Office of Civil Engineers, peripheral bodies of the Ministry of Public Works entrusted with the execution of public works from new constructions to the maintenance of existing works, as well as drainage and roads.16 The pre-unification Italian states had already established bodies responsible for these functions from the early 19^th century, following the French model. After the Unification, the Royal Decree no. 148 of 25 July 1861, established the Royal Corps of Civil Engineering, with the goal of bringing together the bodies of water engineers, bridge engineers, and road engineers from the Tuscan, Neapolitan, and Sicilian provinces; the operation of the Corps was entrusted to the Ministry of Public Works. In 1882, a Civil Engineering Office was established in each region, with a redefinition of roles and competencies until a new structure was implemented in 1931. Each location was divided into eight sectors: general service, water diversions and power lines, hydraulic works, reclamation, road works, maritime works, building works, and special works and services related to public calamities. Despite their storage in the state archives, the many records produced by the varied departments within the Florentine Civil Engineers’ offices have yet to receive a comprehensive review or recognition of their unique contents. There is no inventory describing the contents of each folder.17 However, it was possible to limit the search to forty folders, consisting of loose papers, numbered at an unspecified date. The folders between nos. 213 and 253 comprise the section of the records dedicated to constructing the National Central Library in Florence. In the past, this section was partly examined in two studies conducted by the scholars Gigi Salvagnini and Carlo Cinelli, who, to some extent, reconstructed the genesis and subsequent implementation of the Library’s decorative and sculptural apparatus.18 The perusal started from some of their indications, which focused instead on the search for photographic materials or at least a trace of them, to be able to better define the role that this instrument assumed during the construction phases of a public building that was particularly important in the political and cultural vision of the Italian State. Since no studies on these records were available to date, it was necessary to inspect the entire section systematically. Compared to a large number of papers, the only substantial documents for the present study are reduced to four: a survey including a photomontage, a notebook titled “Register of photographs”, two invoices from the Barsotti Photographic Studio, a payment to the photographer Andrea Corsini.

• 19 Bartolini, Federico (May 20, 1915). Survey on the influence of the height of the New Library Buildi (...)
• 20 Ibid., p. 223-254.
• 21 Ibid., p. 225 r.
• 22 Register of Photographs (1913-1915), p. 25. ASFi, Office of Civil Engineers, Part I, b. 252, MiC, F (...)
• 23 Bartolini, Federico (May 20, 1915, view no. 1, p. 232)
• 24 Bartolini, Federico (May 20, 1915, p. 246 r).

5Folder 215 contains an interesting survey on the influence of the height of the New Library Building on the Church of Santa Croce and the perspective effects from the Viale dei Colli.19 The documentation dated 20 May 1915 and signed by engineer Federico Bartolini, head of the works, consists of several attachments: a report, photographic views, plans, and demonstrative sections related to the photographic views. The intention was to verify that the height of the new building did not exceed the one of the Basilica of Santa Croce.20 The Special Office for the Library produced a series of photographic views that accompanied a detailed report. The possibility of increasing the height of the building from 49,50 meters, as it was in the initial project, to 50,30 meters guaranteed both that Cesare Bazzani would be able to make some improvements to the decoration of the façade and that “the level of the public service would be absolutely safe from the maximum possible flooding of the Arno”.21 Aware of the opposition that could arise from this decision, the photographic campaign began as early as May 1914. In particular, seven shots were taken along Viale dei Colli, beyond the Arno, in the hilly area near Piazzale Michelangelo. Each photograph affixed on top of a semi-rigid brown cardboard, bears the stamp of the Office of Civil Engineers and the signature of Bartolini and was taken from a different location on the avenue, as accurately reported in the attached topographical map. This photographic campaign was accompanied by another one aimed at reproducing the plaster model of the Library designed by Cesare Bazzani to create an authentic photomontage (Fig. 1, second photograph). The only positives traced so far testifying to the filming of the model are collected today in the Ministry of Education Library’s album, which will shortly be described, and were taken between 10 and 12 May 1914.22 The resulting photomontage is reproduced as an appendix to the report both individually23 and compared with the view as it appeared without the library (Fig. 1, first photograph).24 These attached photographs visually demonstrated the non-invasive height of the building. Bartolini’s May 1915 report stated that:

• 26 Letter from the Libraries Office to the Directorate General of Antiquities and Fine Arts (Jun. 4, 1 (...)
• 27 Vote of the meeting of the Superior Council for Antiquities and Fine Arts (Jun. 9, 1911), ACS, Mini (...)
• 28 See for example the very first photomontage Two Ways of Life, by Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813-1875) (...)
• 29 For more on the first photomontages made in Italy, see Cozzi, 1998.
• 30 The photographic shooting process is described later in a Civil Engineering document.

6The same exact file, now in the records of the Office of Civil Engineers in Florence was also forwarded to the General Directorate for Antiquities and Fine Arts, a central body that had decision-making power for everything concerning monuments. In this particular case, it had to monitor and preserve the Basilica of Santa Croce and, above all, Brunelleschi’s cloister, as can be seen in some documents kept in the Central Archive in Rome.26 The matter was concluded on 9 June 1914 with the Superior Council for Antiquities and Fine Arts meeting and expressing a positive opinion on this change.27 The technique of photomontage, used since the 1860s to create dreamlike, metaphysical visions by superimposing two or more negative plates, quickly found a new application in architectural design.28 The very first example of this was Andrea Scala’s (1820-1892) competition for the façade of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore.29 Over several decades, this technique was being refined, as demonstrated by the tests of the Office of Civil Engineers for the Library, showing a certain mastery. The use of a model, instead of a simple drawing, to project the building in the established space and from a specific viewpoint, played a crucial role in the practical application of photomontage in architectural design.30

• 31 Register of Photographs (1913-1915), p. 22-39. Original text: “CORPO REALE DEL GENIO CIVILE, UFFICI (...)

7Within the records of the Office of Civil Engineers, only nine photographs remain and constitute the only existing photographic material from the construction site. However, another document proves that numerous other photographs were taken during this period. It is a fascinating booklet kept in the last folder of the collection. The notebook has ruled pages and was only used for the first few pages, with a printed cover with the following heading: “Royal Civil Engineering corps, special office for work on the new Central National Library in Florence, Register of photographs.”31 In the notebook, an anonymous compiler classified the materials through a table structured in columns: order number, box, date, subject, and notes. Therefore, this register shows that the Office of Civil Engineers systematically documented the works through photographs, which were then classified and placed in boxes. The classified shots cover a relatively short span of the years taken to complete the works, the first document being dated 23 November 1913 and the last 27 March 1915. The current location of the boxes is still being determined. The only traces of these photographs are preserved today in an album in the Luigi De Gregori Library in Rome, the in-house library of the Ministry of Education. The album contains 138 positives that almost allow us to witness the most salient phases of the library construction site. However, looking at the object, it is evident that this is not an official album but rather a relatively common object. The front cover contains a cartouche or photograph, perhaps introducing the album’s contents. The photographs seem to be arranged in chronological order: the laying of the foundation stone on 8 May 1911, Cesare Bazzani’s plans and the scale model, the construction of the ground floor, the Dante celebrations on 31 December 1921, and the metal shelving by Lips Vago (a company specialised in library shelving and furnishings). However, neither the chronological nor the thematic coherence are perfect, and the photographs are mostly arranged on the different pages according to their size. In some pages, several pictures are combined to create a sort of wide angle. The narrative ends abruptly, and the last photos collected most likely date back to 1927. Based on these factors, it is reasonable to assume that the album’s compiler collected this set of pictures with a specific intent: to bear witness to the library’s construction by showing the work carried out up to 1927.

• 33 Ibid., p. 24. Original text: “Gruppo del Personale dell'Ufficio Speciale, nel Chiostro del Brunelle (...)
• 34 Perhaps these reports were destroyed at the time the photos were selected for inclusion in the albu (...)

9So, this is the shot taken to obtain an image of the model of the Library from the same perspective and light conditions as the panorama photo was taken (Fig. 2). Indeed, it is a very ingenious and sophisticated system that highlights the professionalism and operational capabilities of the Special Office of Civil Engineers. This correspondence and the information from the same register, pointing out that the Genio also produced photographic albums (“Special Office Staff Group, in the Brunelleschi Cloisters”, “New Library Grounds after a Snowfall”), led to identifying the Genio itself as the producer of the Rome album as well.33 In addition, the use of many technicalities in the register would suggest the contribution of an expert or at least a Special Office member skilled at using photographic instruments. It is apparent that the individuals in question possessed a high level of professionalism, as evidenced by the meticulous composition of their shots. They frequently position themselves at an elevated vantage point in relation to the construction site, affording them a broader perspective and the ability to capture cross-cut imagery. On the other hand, when one wants to focus on architectural elements or the people who visit the construction site, a frontal view is preferred. Therefore, it could be assumed that the Office of Civil Engineers had professional figures in charge of photographic documentation and that they were responsible for keeping this documentation in order, also by creating albums. To date, the only known exemplar is the Roman one, which is undeniably the most valuable source, as it contains not only a large number of images but also a great deal of information that can be deduced from them. In fact, it is possible to note the presence of legible inscriptions on many photos, which suggests that these positives are old attachments to official reports drawn up by the Office of Civil Engineers, such as the one seen earlier for the 1915 “Survey on the Influence of Height” (see for example the photographs of the installation of the second floor of the Dante Tribune, Fig. 3). Therefore, it is almost certain that the photos in the album were reused by the compiler of the album which must have had access to the current archives of the Office of Civil Engineers, where presumably the reports with attached photos must have been located.34 It remains to be clarified why the album is now in the library of the Ministry. It appears that the Office of Civil Engineers probably had to send the album to the General Directorate for Antiquities and Fine Arts, which at the time was located in the Ministry’s headquarters in Viale Trastevere, to demonstrate all the work completed until 1927.

• 35 Payment receipts from Ferdinando Barsotti photography studio (August 8-9, 1933), p. 566-567, ASFi, (...)
• 36 Some research has been done to try to access the Lips Vago archive, but without success.
• 37 Ibid.

10Upon perusing the album, it appears that 16 photographs possess distinctive qualities such as diverse dimensions and styles in contrast to the remaining ones. The stamping in the bottom right-hand corner: “Barsotti-Via della Scala 4 Firenze”, removes any doubt as to their authorship and, even without it, it would not have been difficult to recognise the Barsotti family as the authors of these shots. Their family business had specialised in architectural photography from the outset, becoming one of the most active in Tuscany. Traces of this documentation remain in the archives of the Office of Civil Engineers. Folder 228 preserves two copies of invoices from the Ferdinando Barsotti Photographic Studio.35 The two statements date from 8 and 19 August 1933. The header at the top, “Esteemed Lips Vago Company for esteemed Civil Engineer of Florence”, suggests that the 36 smaller reprints, paid 2.90 lire per piece, and the two negatives with “vedute esterne Biblioteca Nazionale”, at 30 lire per piece, were paid for by Lips Vago but destined for the Office of Civil Engineers. So, these shots were most likely commissioned by the Milanese firm to document the work carried out inside the book warehouses of the new National Library (Fig. 4). Moreover, these are not the original invoices, which were probably sent to Lips Vago, but copies.36 Among the few valuable pieces of information which can be deduced from the very concise text, the note that these were “negatives that had already been executed some time ago” of “external views from the National Library” is crucial.37 Starting from these assumptions, two considerations arise: in 1933 there were already photographs of the library building site taken by Gino Barsotti (1900-1985; to whom the payment was made), which can be therefore associated with those conserved in the album, dating around 1927; the Office of Civil Engineers which already possessed this documentation commissioned a reprint and even two negatives, probably recognising the high value of the images. The reason why Lips Vago paid is unknown; one could speculate that through this expenditure, they could perhaps settle some outstanding accounts with the Office of Civil Engineers for whom the company had been working for many years. The shots taken by the noteworthy Florentine studio thus became part of the documentary repertoire of the Office of Civil Engineers, which continued their collaboration even after the work was completed.

• 38 The album, which is not part of the National Library Historical Archives, has not been studied in d (...)
• 39 Pazzi, 1936.
• 40 Seventeen positives are preserved in the Photographic Archive of the Florentine Civic Museums, the (...)
• 41 See for example the photographs in the Montecatini Terme Archives or those commissioned by Gino and (...)

11In addition to the documentation of the building site, a photographic campaign showing the library at the end of the work, probably before the inauguration in October 1935, was also produced. These photos are preserved in the album now kept at the National Library’s Director’s Office, which contains numerous Barsotti shots, recognisable by the usual stamping.38 These are the same shots that appeared in several publications, such as the magazine Firenze rassegna del Comune,39 which, however, until now had yet to be traced back to the work of this photographic studio.40 Compared to the construction album, this artefact of the National Library certainly has a more official character, as it is possible to understand from the cover on which the inscription “R. National Central Library of Florence” stands out: the thirty-seven positives occupy the entire page and the narrative proceeds in order from the plan to the exterior, passing through the consultation and storage areas, and concluding with Brunelleschi’s Cloister in which the lateral perspective views render images of great composure and solemnity.41 In terms of artistic style, the second photo campaign undertaken in collaboration with the National Library adheres to the very same composition techniques employed in the prior campaign, which were originally established by the photographer’s father. The compositional choice of the side view results in a collection of photographs that are both aesthetically pleasing and visually impactful.

• 42 Raffaello Fagnoni, 1988.
• 43 Carapelli, Cozzi, 2016, p. 42-43.

12Further confirmation of the relationship between the Barsotti studio and the Civil Engineers is a set of photographs of the School of Application for the Royal Air Force in Florence, built in the Cascine Park between 1937 and 1938, to plans by architect Raffaello Fagnoni (1901-1966), assisted by engineer Enrico Bianchini (1903-1971).42 In the archives of these two personalities, now held at the Florence State Archives (ASFi), the majority of the documentation regarding the buildings designated for the Air Warfare School can be found. In addition, a collection of approximately 300 positive photographs is preserved, depicting the progress of the construction projects. These photographs are divided between the Civil Engineers’ records and those of the two designers. Many of these images, bearing Barsotti’s signature, were subsequently used in publications edited by Fagnoni himself.43 Therefore, between the late 1920s and the 1930s, Gino Barsotti was involved in various public commissions and collaborated closely with the Office of Civil Engineers of Florence on at least two occasions.

• 44 Chiarelli, 2000, p. 24-31. The same article was later reissued (2004). Carapelli, Cozzi (http://www (...)
• 45 Chiarelli, 2000, p. 25.

13In recent years, several scholars have contributed in a determined manner to the rediscovery of the Barsotti firm, reaffirming its fundamental role in the development of architectural photography in Tuscany, also thanks to renewed interest in this field of research.44 The 16 photographs in the Roman album have only recently gained recognition due to a series of events. In 1966, the Arno River experienced devastating flooding that caused significant damage. A few years later, the photographic studio’s warehouse was flooded again and ultimately, the business closed in 1982.45 The commission has confirmed that the Barsotti family played a crucial role in documenting essential construction sites through their photography. These findings serve as additional evidence of their professionalism, especially considering that the library’s construction was the most contentious project in the modernisation of the Florentine urban landscape. Moreover, being part of Gino Barsotti’s production, these shots allow us to better frame his stylistic signature, faithful to the compositional canons of his father, Ferdinando Barsotti. A closer look at the views of both interiors and exteriors shows that the diagonal shot is exploited to better show off the architectural elements.

• 46 Arcangeli, 2022.
• 47 Luppis, Carlo (May 14, 1922). 9^th Survey Report Models and decorative elements [Report]. ASFi, Offi (...)
• 48 Luppis, Carlo (s. d.). Payment receipt to Andrea Corsini [Receipt]. ASFi, Office of the Civil Engin (...)
• 49 ICCD, Photo Library, MPI Archives, Hardcovers, Florence, National Central Library nos. MPI 315821 - (...)
• 50 Most of these materials are related to the documents that were also transferred to the Central Stat (...)
• 51 Fotografare le Belle Arti, 2013; Berardi, 2014, p. 179-206; Cestelli Guidi, Turco, 2016, p. 47-56.

14As demonstrated so far, another recently discovered document confirms the documentation method used by the Office of Civil Engineers.46 In survey number 9 for “Models and decorative elements” the payment to Andrea Corsini for “photographs of models” is also accounted for.47 This is followed by a receipt dated May 1922 specifying the amount of 140 lire for “photographs and enlargements made of some models of decorative parts of the façade - Reading Room - Dante’s Tribune – Magnifications.”48 These photographs are probably to be identified with those kept today at the Central institute for cataloguing and documentation (ICCD) photo library in Rome.49 Part of the institute’s photographic funds come in fact from the former General Directorate of Antiquities and Fine Arts and was transferred to the then National Photographic Cabinet in 1973.50 The fund is now called the Ministry of Public Education (MPI) Photographic Archive, topographically organised by cities. It is a significant collection because it documents the protection activities carried out by the Directorate on Italian territory.51

• 52 Arcangeli, 2022, p. 137-140.

15For this specific campaign, photographs were taken of plaster models depicting the decorative features of the buildings situated on either side of the façade. These models were eventually crafted into marble or cast into bronze. The shots, therefore, depict portraits of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), which stylistically appear very similar to each other. This could support the hypothesis that Antonio Guidotti (1881-1958), Pistoia’s sculptor, created six models of the eight most illustrious men of Italian culture.52 There are also two other photographs of the portraits of Michelangelo Buonarroti and Dante Alighieri (1265-1321; Fig. 5), complete with the two geniuses on the sides, and a final photograph capturing the bust of Galileo Galilei. The sculptural apparatus was designed by Cesare Bazzani and realised by several Tuscan sculptors, first and foremost Paolo Guidotti (c. 1560-1629), who often appears in the photographs in the album. This set of eight other photographic documents makes us realise how important every aspect of the building site was to the builders. Unfortunately, it has yet to be known precisely who Andrea Corsini was. Still, he, the Barsotti, and the other photographers of the Office of Civil Engineers contributed with their vision to give us back the continuous evolution of this outstanding building.