who we are | history of the archives

Fratelli Alinari, The three Alinari brothers: Giuseppe, Leopoldo and Romualdo, 1860, glass plate negative 21x27 cm, Alinari Archives, Florence.

   

The Origins | Fratelli Alinari

The history of the Alinari photographic heritage has its origins in Florence in 1852 when Leopoldo Alinari set up his first photographic laboratory in Florence and, together with his brothers Giuseppe and Romualdo, founded the company F.lli Alinari.

 

The historic headquarters

In 1863, the oldest photographic establishment in the world is built on Via Nazionale, then Largo Alinari, the palace that for over 150 years will be the headquarters of the company and where the rich photographic heritage was formed, one of the largest existing archives.  

 

Alinari and the Italian artistic heritage

In 1885, F.lli Alinari opened a publishing house and, at the beginning of the twentieth century, established collaborations with the Florentine company Brogi and the Roman Anderson.

Systematically photographs the historical, artistic, and architectural heritage, the collections of the museums, and the Italian landscape, spreading culture and art all over the world.  

 

Transfers of ownership and new archive acquisitions

Following the crisis of the Great War, in 1920 the company passed to a Tuscan group led by Baron Ricasoli and in 1957 became owned by Senator Vittorio Cini. Thanks to his foresight, archives such as Brogi, Anderson, Chauffourier, and Fiorentini were acquired, enriching the photographic heritage.  

Balocchi Vincenzo, Forte Belvedere in Florence, 1957, cellulose acetate film 6x9 cm, Alinari Archives-Balocchi Archive, Florence.

 

The historical value of the heritage

In the Seventies, ownership passed to the Milanese Zevi family. In 1977, a major exhibition was set up at Forte Belvedere in Florence which was successful, opening a phase of historical and documentary enhancement of the heritage.  

 

The digital heritage is born

In 1982, ownership passed to the De Polo family which inaugurated a new strategy: the digitization and sale of images at the end of the 1990s. They created a commercial network for the sale of digital images worldwide.  

"Me + cat": superimposition of the face of Wanda Wulz with the image of her own cat, 1932, Wanda Wulz, Alinari Archives, Florence.

 

The Tuscany Region acquires the heritage

In June 2018, the Superintendence of Archives and Bibliographic Heritage of Tuscany declared the Alinari heritage of notable historical interest. The Tuscany Region approved the regional law no. 65 of November 13, 2019, recognizing the exceptional cultural value of the Alinari heritage.

A fundamental operation that saved this unique archive from dispersion, ensuring its future accessibility.  

 

The Alinari Foundation for Photography is born

In February 2020, the Tuscany Region established a technical scientific committee to monitor the Alinari heritage and founded the FAF - Alinari Foundation for Photography in July 2020, marking a new beginning for the Alinari heritage (Statute).

A year later, in December 2020, the purchase of the digital heritage consisting of over 250,000 images, trademarks, and usage rights was finalized.