The King, also known as Rino Barillari, the king of paparazzi, invites us to take a walk in his world with the exhibition “From La Dolce Vita to the Present Day”. It is a journey through his photographs, set up at the Museum of the Present in Rende, province of Cosenza, and curated by his friend and colleague Marcello Romanelli.
Interview with Rino Barillari
Rino, you are returning to your Calabria for the inauguration of the exhibition dedicated to you, after leaving it at the age of 14 to pursue the dream of becoming what you have become.
“My life has been a series of coincidences. My beginnings are also combined with a particular moment in our country. It was the post-war 1900s, the most famous characters were in our Italy, and 300 films were being produced every year at Cinecittà.”
With these characters, the photographic scoop was born in the post-war period.
“Even when the character didn’t agree, you would still take the photo. It was called ‘provocation’, and that way you had a photo that went around the world. Today, with cell phones, photos are constantly being taken, everyone has become a paparazzo, but they create their own news, and that is not news.”
Let’s talk about these protagonists.
“Where do I start? They are all a beautiful story of Italy. I want to mention Gabriella Ferri, she is the epitome of Rome. Seeing her around the city was exciting. A singer and a profound woman: her intensity made history. Just like Anna Magnani. She was the first character who gave me importance, who recognized my role. I wasn’t good at photographing her, she was extraordinary in allowing me to take the photos for which I received many compliments. She helped me.”
Alongside so much beauty and talent, there are characters you photographed in moments of great sadness.
“One of them is Enzo Tortora. The morning of his arrest, I asked myself, and I asked him, why he wanted to be photographed. Enzo wanted there to be evidence of the moment when he, an innocent man, was taken away in handcuffs. For future generations.”
From Pope Wojtyla to Ratzinger
It took him years to prove his innocence. Falling ill. You also photographed Pope Wojtyla in a moment of particular familiarity.
“For me, he is the Pope par excellence. He was close to elderly people playing bocce and he started playing with them. When I saw that photo, I cried, because it captured everything that connects a Pope to the people.”
You also portrayed another pope: Benedict XVI…
“The story of the photos of Joseph Ratzinger, before he became Pope, is linked to a funny story. I had to do a photo shoot for a newspaper, and I didn’t know how to capture him, so I took pictures of him with his arms raised or kneeling. When he saw them, the not-yet-pontiff said to me, ‘Are you trying to make me become Pope?’ And so it happened.”
Do you have the intuition to identify the important characters before others?
“Sandro Pertini used to go out early in the morning to buy tobacco. I would follow him and take photos, I liked his mannerisms, his spontaneity. And then he was elected President. I bring luck, because when I follow someone, it’s because I feel they will be successful.”
First episode – to be continued…
by Elena D’Ambrogio
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