Gabriele Basilico (Milano, 1944-2013)

After graduating in architecture (1973), Gabriele Basilico dedicated himself consistently to photography. The form and identity of cities and the ongoing changes in the urban landscape have, from the very beginning, been his primary fields of research. “Milan. Portraits of Factories” (1978–80) was his first work focused on the industrial outskirts and marked his first museum exhibition (1983, Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Milan).

In 1984, he was invited to take part in the Mission Photographique de la DATAR, commissioned by the French government, and he documented the northern coastlines of France. In 1991, he participated in another international photographic mission in Beirut, at the end of the war that had lasted over 15 years. He would return to Beirut three more times: in 2003, 2008, and 2011.

In 1996, together with Stefano Boeri, he carried out an in-depth investigation of changes in the landscape titled Sections of the Italian Landscape, which was presented at the 6th Venice Architecture Biennale.

Over the years, he produced numerous documentation projects of cities both in Italy and abroad. Among his later works are major photographic projects on San Francisco (2007, commissioned by the SF Museum of Modern Art), Moscow (2008), Istanbul (2010), Shanghai (2010), and Rio de Janeiro (2011). In 2012, he took part in the 13th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice with the project Common Pavilions.

Recognized as an undisputed master of contemporary photography, he exhibited in many countries and received numerous awards and honors. He also combined his tireless interest in urban landscape transformations with seminars, lectures, conferences, and written reflections. His works are part of major international public and private collections.

In 2023–2024, the city of Milan dedicated two major exhibitions to him, at the Triennale and at the Palazzo Reale, under the shared title My Cities. In December 2024, to mark what would have been his 80th birthday, the Italian Ministry of Culture / Contemporary Creativity (MIC) dedicated the exhibition Rome to him at the National Roman Museum – Palazzo Altemps. The exhibition later became a traveling show, presented so far in Paris, Prague, and Brno.

Archivio Gabriele Basilico, 2025