Introduction
by Roberto Palmas (son of Giuseppe Palmas)
Questa pagina in Italiano

The dark room. It is one of my first childhood memories. It was my father, Giuseppe Palmas, who wanted me there while he worked for hours in that dark, acrid smelling place. Frenetically he passed the sheets from the enlarger to the trays filled with solutions that made miracles possible. At least it seemed like a miracle to me when an image appeared on that white sheet of paper, the same image that he had had before his eyes just hours ago during the working day.

This is the way I remember my father, passionately immersed in his work. And even though 20 years have passed since his death, I often find myself looking over his photographs, his works of art. I still marvel at his capacity to pick the right moment, maybe capturing an unusual grimace of the diva of the day.

And the famous personalities he photographed were not only objects of his work, but often became his friends, fascinated by this one hundred percent Romagnolo's quick wit. And thus Fred Buscaglione, Claudio Villa, Walter Chiari, Giovanni Guareschi, Teddy Reno, Arnoldo Foa and Vittorio Bonicelli were easily immortalized on many occasions, almost as if they desired a daily photographic album.

But his camera was also attentive to the man on the street, always respectful of his dignity. In my eyes, but also in the eyes of those who have seen his archive, his shots took into account so many small details while achieving a high level of quality and workmanship.

Thus today I feel that I have accomplished a mission, perhaps presumptuously, of giving Giuseppe Palmas an aura of immortality, the immortality of artists who continue to live in their works.

Roberto Palmas