Tony Vaccaro: Postcards from Italy. People and Places, Images of the Soul of Italy and Its Future

This essay explores the journey of Tony Vaccaro, an Italian-American photographer born in Pennsylvania in 1922 but raised in Molise, whose identity was forged between two continents. A protagonist of “reverse migration,” Vaccaro experienced what he termed “twin nostalgia” - a perpetual emotional back and forth between Italy and America. In particular, this paper analyzes his return to Italy in 1946, which he documented with his Rolleiflex 6x6, showing a wounded but resilient country. His visual poetics, which are characterized by extraordinary expressive lightness grasping the persistence of life beyond historical contingencies, can be summarized by the expression “Life goes on.” From his experience as a war photographer to his evolution into a master of portraiture, Vaccaro created a style that transcends mere documentation, making a significant contribution to the history of contemporary photography