In the picturesque streets of Lezzeno, a quiet village on Lake Como, lives a one-of-a-kind photographer: Rosario Patanè. Armed with an early twentieth century camera, this itinerant artist captures the soul of the people in the streets of Milan, his main source of inspiration. Using an ancient silver development technique, Rosario creates unique and unrepeatable images directly in the field, without the aid of a negative. It is a magical process that transforms fleeting moments into tangible memories, delivered to viewers in the form of precious photographs. However, not everything is rosy for this light artist. Despite having a regular VAT number and an indisputable talent, Rosario encountered an unexpected obstacle in his artistic career: the Municipality of Bellagio. Dismayed and disappointed, Rosario received a flat refusal from the Bellagio administration when he requested permission to practice his art in the picturesque alleys of the city. The reason? He does not fall into the category of street artists, but rather into that of artisans.
Where photography and the postcard were born
What makes this situation even more paradoxical is the meaningful history that links Bellagio to photography. It is here, in 1833, that William Henry Fox Talbot had the epiphany that would change the course of the history of photography. Then he used the so-called camera Lucida which projected a luminous image onto a support which the artist and scientist traced and painted, transforming that image, generally a panorama, into a forerunner of modern postcards. During a visit to Civenna (a hamlet of Bellagio), Fox Talbot was inspired to create the first working technique in the history of photography, which used silver nitrate.
The Bellagio paradox
Right in the heart of Bellagio, where one day the idea that would lead to the birth of modern photography was born, Rosario Patanè now finds himself fighting to practice his art without obstacles. It is an irony of fate that highlights the complexity and contradictions of modern life. Despite the challenges and disappointments, Rosario continues to pursue his passion, carrying out his work with dedication and pride, but only in some cities is he welcomed. “In Milan, Pavia and Bergamo, for example – the artist and photographer explains to QuiComo – I can work properly, while in Bellagio, where everything was born, they don’t authorize me. It’s absurd, also because this is how you create a distinction compared to painters. But I am also an artist and not a banal photographer. My photos, in fact, are unique and unrepeatable as they are negative. Unfortunately they don’t seem to want me either in Varenna or in Como It’s a shame, because the lake is truly an inexhaustible source of inspiration and I know that tourists would appreciate my service very much.”
An image that defies the centuries
The technique used by Patanè, practically the same developed by Fox Talbot, ensures that the photograph created is not only unique and unrepeatable, but almost eternal. “It is thought that they can last up to five hundred years – explains Patanè – even if so far the oldest ones we have are only, so to speak, about two centuries old. This longevity is given precisely by the silver technique”.
