Uno sguardo al passato: tracce archeologiche di Capri nella fotografia di Arturo Giuseppe Cerio (1868-1931)

As early as its invention in 1839, photography affected inter alia the archaeological field. The new medium could capture antique remains through the lens of modernity. In this specific regard, photography spread soon during the second half of the 19th century, also in a more marginal context such as the island of Capri was at that time. Among the figures related to photography of Capri, Arturo Giuseppe Cerio (1868-1931) is perhaps the most intriguing one, although not well studied. Member of one of the main families in the history of the Campanian island, he combined the profession of painter with the passion for photography, so that he might be included in the so-called Pictorialism movement. This paper aims precisely to investigate the relationship between photography and archaeology within the photographic corpus of Arturo Giuseppe Cerio. In particular, the analysis focuses on a group of his negatives selected from the unplished collection kept in the Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio at Capri, in order to clarify the documentary value of such a matter in the archaeological study.