Guido Guidi, Cinque Viaggi 1990-98, 2021

Between 1990 and 1998, Guido Guidi made five trips to Milan and its surroundings. This volume brings together the photographs he took in those places, providing us with a survey of the city and its suburbs in the midst of economic and social transformation. As Guidi travels along the Naviglio from the suburbs towards the city centre, his language changes: from wide horizontal views to vertical cuts in the urban fabric, from shots of entire buildings to barely visible doorways. Along the way, we also find people: youngsters gathered in a Pasolinian scene, passers-by working or stopping for a smoke in the city streets. Disparate individuals whose undefined citizenship underlines the unstoppable urban development. While previous books – ‘Per Strada’ (2018) and ‘Among the Other’ (2020) – demonstrated the author’s fascination with the rural landscapes of his native region, in ‘Five Journeys’ the focus is on urban Italy, in an attempt to document socio-economic change. These 110 large-format images, many previously unpublished, reveal the layers of social and architectural history between which everyday life unfolds. Five Journeys’ offers a fascinating insight into Italy’s recent past and a subtle reflection on its future.

Includes essays by Corrado Benigni, Antonello Frongia and Roberta Valtorta.