The King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (DARAH) in Cooperation with the Italian Center for Research and Archiving of Photography (Craf) recently showcased rarely seen photos taken by Italian Photographer Ilo Battigelli on social and economic life in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia during his work as the head of photography department at Saudi Aramco from 1946 to 1954. The exhibition had been running from Dec. 12 and ended Tuesday at the National Museum, King Abdul Aziz Historical Center in Riyadh. Held under the patronage of Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, the exhibition was a third installment by DARAH and held with the aim to showcasing the Kingdom's artistic heritage and history to people. The photographs themselves are not just of a political nature but also depict artistic beauty in the expressions of those photographed on historical occasions. While the exhibition was on, it was attended by both individuals and groups and especially by school groups. The exhibition had been in the works since 2007 when a DARAH representative learned about the 2,500 photographs Ilo Battigelli possessed of King Abdul Aziz and King Saud. He had taken these photographs while working for Aramco during the 1940s and 1950s. After spending some time searching for Battigelli, DARAH was able to locate the city wherein the collection was kept: Spilimbergo Pordenone, in the north of Italy. DARAH visited Battigelli's home in August 2007 but he was not in a stable mental state and could not provide them with suitable information though, amazingly, he was constantly repeating Arabic phrases with Islamic connotations such as “Alhamdulillah.” The collection of photography was found in CRAF, the Centro Di Ricerca E Archiviazione Della Fotografia in Spilimbergo. The president of CRAF writes about the collection: “In my capacity as president of CRAF, I have accepted with enthusiasm the organization of the exhibition, and a catalogue dedicated to the Saudi Arabian period of activity of photographer Ilo Batigelli (from the book “Arabia Saudita 1946-1954 nelle fotografie di Ilo Battigelli”).” Franesconi adds: “The artist worked from 1946 to 1954 for Aramco in Ras Tanurah and had the opportunity to become familiar with the Arab people, appreciating their hospitality. Roaming that country, he documented its beauties and life during a very special period, that is the beginning of a socio-economic development prompted by King Abdul Aziz, a process that has ever since continued unrelentingly.” DARAH visited CRAF and saw the collection, evaluated its importance and proposed a collaboration to bring it back to the Kingdom. It chose 65 out of the 2,500 photographs and enlarged the photos making two copies so that both DARAH and CRAF could hold them in their respective collections. The first exhibition of these photographs took place in 2008 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia under the patronage of the town's regional council. The second exhibition took place in July 2009 in Rome, where both the mayor of Rome and Saudi Ambassador to Italy Mohammed Ibraheem Al-Jarallah attended the event. There is a plan to have the exhibition held in many other cities around Italy. In the Kingdom, the exhibition in Riyadh was the first of its kind and there are plans to move the exhibition to other cities and regions soon. Ilo Battigelli From the photographer's biography, provided by his daughter Danielle Battigelli, DARAH was able to find that Ilo Battigelli was born on July 27 1922 in San Daniele del Fruile, a small town in North eastern Italy, between the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea. He was the second of 13 children born to Maraziale Battigelli and Maria Endrigo. At the age of eight, Ilo left to live with his uncle, Ernesto Battigelli – a respected photographer - and his family. There, he learned the skills of photography; the studio with natural light controlled by drawing curtains across the glass roof and walls; the techniques and skills of the darkroom; the painstaking art of retouching negatives and prints. At the age of 12, he took command with his very first assignment consisting of a wedding. At 16, he retuned briefly to his hometown before joining his parents and siblings in Eritrea, where they and many other Italians had gone to escape the economic crisis in Italy. There he took many pictures for publicity and newspapers. In his biography he reminisces: “I used to do freelance work also for the newspaper with a bicycle and camera. You have to carry a tripod, two lights and a stand and 20 meters of wire and go to the party and hold the lights and takes the pictures. When I think of those days, you know, it's amazing how I did it. I had so much enthusiasm. Imagine, on a bicycle, the camera, a stand, two lights, the wire and a tripod!” In 1944, with World War Two disrupting shipping lines and oil supplies, and a growing demand for oil, Aramco (now Saudi Aramco), was urgently tasked by the Saudi government - with support from the US authorities - to build a 50,000 barrel-a-day oil refinery. King Abdul Aziz consented that Italian craftsmen and technicians be recruited from Eritrea and employed on a temporary basis, until they could be replaced by Saudi nationals. The first Italians arrived in 1944, to construct a tent camp for the others who followed from 1945. Ilo was taken on by Aramco as a photographer in their engineering department in 1946. Other than photos for Aramco, Ilo also took photographs of the Mayor of Ras Tanurah - Emir Turki Bin ‘Utaishan's - children. It was a means to practice his freedom outside the Italian camp which frustrated him with its restrictions. Of that he writes: “We took pictures of the building with the sky blank. When the rainy season came, I took photos of the clouds, different shapes marvelous combinations, like explosions. And so I started to put in my clouds, superimposing them on blank skies, everything done in the printing process….” In 2000, Ilo returned to San Daniele after realizing his ambition to travel the world. He wanted to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of his hometown, and to reflect on the adventures and dreams of his youth in Saudi Arabia, when he coined and adopted the motto which underpinned his career as a photographer and a man, “Photography is like poetry. But poets, we must also be.”
