The Technology of Alinari. Lenses and photographs

We are delighted to announce the publication of the volume The Alinari Technology (1852-1920). Lenses and Photographs, edited by Corrado D'Agostini and Anna Giatti, published by Cimorelli Editore for the Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia in two languages: Italian and English.

For over a century, the Alinari brothers photographed works of art, monuments, cities, and landscapes, creating images that helped shape Italy's collective memory and gave rise to one of the world's most important photographic heritages. Less well known is the story of the instruments that made that work possible.

The lenses, cameras, large-format negatives, and glass plates used to create those photographs are now the focus of this volume.

This is not simply a book for specialists in photographic optics. Rather, it tells the story of a particular approach to photography, of a constant pursuit of precision and quality that allowed the historic Florentine studio to establish itself as an international point of reference in the reproduction of artistic heritage. The lenses, cameras, and instruments described here reveal the Alinari working method, their ability to absorb the most advanced international innovations and turn them into images that would go on to set a standard.

Lenses, cameras, reproduction equipment, and sophisticated scientific instruments together paint the picture of a company that was also a laboratory of technological experimentation, constantly committed to improving the quality of its photographs.

The book, in bookstores from September 25th, 2026, also includes contributions from Francesca Bongioanni, Barbara Cattaneo, Eugenia Di Rocco, and Giulia Fraticelli, who explore respectively the Alinari catalogues, the technique behind exceptionally large-format negatives, and the work of analysis, documentation, and restoration of photographic plates.

The volume was funded as part of the project "Gli Alinari (1852-1920). Immagini e Obiettivi," supported by Strategia Fotografia 2025, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

The book will be presented at the Museo Galileo in Florence on Monday, September 28th, at 5:30 PM.

The Fondazione CR Firenze supported the research on the Fratelli Alinari photographic establishment and the restoration of the oversized glass plates from the Alinari Archives.

We would like to thank the Region of Tuscany for its ongoing support for the Foundation in its work to preserve and promote the Alinari heritage.