The discovery of photos by Cesare Torelli in Roccacasale
Near the end of 2013, during the repair works of Casa Torelli, in the back area it has been found a walled door totally hidden by household furniture. Breached has been discovered the existence of a large room with vaulted ceiling and plastered, which developed many meters perpendicular to the rock face. The interior was occupied for almost 2 meters high from old furniture, furnishings, scraps of craftsmanship and various sundries. After a laborious removal and disposal of all the material, approximately one meter in height relative to the floor it has been discovered the existence of two narrow openings, obstructed by various materials accumulated over time. Freed the steps, it has been sawn a totally dark room more that then at the light of torches, turned out to be of enormous dimensions, parallel to the first and cluttered alike with piles of materials of all kinds. The walls were rough with exposed stones, at the end of the room an arch and a large niche with inside the remains of a building on two levels; the floor was beaten earth. Emptied also this room, it has been found a few small boxes partially buried in the ground and attacked by soil moisture, which contained several metal casings in poor condition. These containers had inside a large number of photographic films, often also wrapped around each other.
The rollers were the negatives of photos taken by Cesare Torelli along many years of his life, especially in Roccacasale and surroundings, to testify places, people, and events in the local environment during much of the 1900s.
The rollers were the negatives of photos taken by Cesare Torelli along many years of his life, especially in Roccacasale and surroundings, to testify places, people, and events in the local environment during much of the 1900s.
Rescue and recovery
With the valuable contribution of "AbruzzoBorghi.it" and "Roccacasale.net", in the months following the discovery of the photographic negatives started, and not yet completed, the complex operation of separation of the emulsion strips often glued each other and therefore the transfer of each single frame in new digital format. Most images have been recovered and are in good condition, a part was also saved, but has visible moisture damages, or due to the rescue operations and the chemical degradation processes that have occurred over time.
Room 1
Room 2
The themes of the photos
The pictures are mostly of people and events that characterized the life of the town. People are generally portrayed in official poses at home, outdoors on natural backgrounds or characteristic corners of the town; stand out the photos of the children with their usual naturalness. The events are those that marked the existence of the community: the annual festivals, the official ceremonies, births, weddings, funerals, etc. A few visits to neighboring towns or a few trips in the major italian cities are alike opportunity to fix events in documentary images. Scrolling through pictures you can draw the idea of an active community, serene, cohesive and strongly tied to the traditions and to the basic values of coexistence.
Technical issues
The photos reflect the knowledge, techniques and photographic instruments of '900; sometimes have imperfections of centering, exposure, focus and the subjects are often "stuck" portrayed in static images but in compliance with the canons of the period. Many photos have been damaged because of the bad preservation of the negative and the rescue operations; show flaws that however can be partially removed with accurate touch-ups.
The photos are shown in random order, not chronologically, by simply in accordance to the sequence of the negatives in each roller.
The photos are shown in random order, not chronologically, by simply in accordance to the sequence of the negatives in each roller.
* sponsored by House Around Abruzzo