Welcome & Introduction
DOMENICO SCRIGNA - BETWEEN FIRE AND HISTORY
Twenty years of rescue through the lens (1935-1955)
Twenty years of rescue through the lens (1935-1955)
General Introduction
The eye of the front: a history of men and memory
Welcome to this visual journey through over two decades of the history of emergency services in Turin. This exhibition is dedicated to Domenico Scrigna, a firefighter in Turin from 1925 to 1955: a man who combined the rigor of public service with uncommon artistic sensitivity.
On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth, the exhibition celebrates an author who made photography a mission of memory. The images and objects you are about to see were born from the eye and heart of someone who wore the uniform every day.
The narrative is rooted in the foresight of another great figure, Commander Luigi Spezia, who in the 19th century already understood the documentary value of photography. However, the focus is entirely on Scrigna, whose work deserves to be included in the great tradition of war and social reportage, alongside names like Robert Capa. Scrigna chronicled the "home front," where trenches were made of urban rubble and soldiers were firefighters armed only with courage and picks.
Scrigna's lens spans two decades: from the 1936 fire at the Teatro Regio to the tragedies of the Second World War bombings, and finally the days of the Liberation, when emergency aid became active resistance within the ranks of the SAP partisan squads. With the end of the conflict, his film documented the reconstruction: from industrial fires to missions in the Polesine region and the Netherlands.
We invite you to observe these photographs as fragments of lived experience, where every shot tells a story of self-sacrifice, courage, and profound civic conscience.
On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth, the exhibition celebrates an author who made photography a mission of memory. The images and objects you are about to see were born from the eye and heart of someone who wore the uniform every day.
The narrative is rooted in the foresight of another great figure, Commander Luigi Spezia, who in the 19th century already understood the documentary value of photography. However, the focus is entirely on Scrigna, whose work deserves to be included in the great tradition of war and social reportage, alongside names like Robert Capa. Scrigna chronicled the "home front," where trenches were made of urban rubble and soldiers were firefighters armed only with courage and picks.
Scrigna's lens spans two decades: from the 1936 fire at the Teatro Regio to the tragedies of the Second World War bombings, and finally the days of the Liberation, when emergency aid became active resistance within the ranks of the SAP partisan squads. With the end of the conflict, his film documented the reconstruction: from industrial fires to missions in the Polesine region and the Netherlands.
We invite you to observe these photographs as fragments of lived experience, where every shot tells a story of self-sacrifice, courage, and profound civic conscience.