In the 1960s, Sicily experienced a period of sharp contrasts, suspended between modernization and tradition. The island remained largely tied to an agricultural economy and archaic way of life, especially in rural areas, while the cities began to experience the first signs of industrial development and urbanization. Emigration and depopulation deeply mark the decade: many Sicilians left the island in search of work in northern Italy or abroad. On a cultural level, Sicily remained a living hub of intellectuals and artists-from Leonardo Sciascia to Renato Guttuso-who powerfully recounted the social and political contradictions of the time. The weight of the Mafia, still often silenced or underestimated, coexists with the ferment of a society that, despite difficulties, was seeking new ways of emancipation and change.
Over the decades, Carlo Orsi has repeatedly turned his lens toward the Sicilian landscape. In addition to the reportage he realized in the early 1960s on the social reality of the small town of Partinico, not far from the Palermo, he has devoted his attention to Alberto Burri's Grande cretto, made between 1985 and 1989 on the ruins of Gibellina, razed to the ground in 1968 by the Belice earthquake, to Agrigento, dwelling on the contrasts between the new city and the Valley of the Temples, and to the natural features of the island of Panarea.
In the 1960s, Sicily experienced a period of sharp contrasts, suspended between modernization and tradition. The island remained largely tied to an agricultural economy and archaic way of life, especially in rural areas, while the cities began to experience the first signs of industrial development and urbanization. Emigration and depopulation deeply mark the decade: many Sicilians left the island in search of work in northern Italy or abroad. On a cultural level, Sicily remained a living hub of intellectuals and artists-from Leonardo Sciascia to Renato Guttuso-who powerfully recounted the social and political contradictions of the time. The weight of the Mafia, still often silenced or underestimated, coexists with the ferment of a society that, despite difficulties, was seeking new ways of emancipation and change.
Over the decades, Carlo Orsi has repeatedly turned his lens toward the Sicilian landscape. In addition to the reportage he realized in the early 1960s on the social reality of the small town of Partinico, not far from the Palermo, he has devoted his attention to Alberto Burri's Grande cretto, made between 1985 and 1989 on the ruins of Gibellina, razed to the ground in 1968 by the Belice earthquake, to Agrigento, dwelling on the contrasts between the new city and the Valley of the Temples, and to the natural features of the island of Panarea.
Social
Contatti
archivio@carloorsi.com