For a year in 1964, photographer Hope Herman Wurmfeld walked around Italy with a camera, always "ready to shoot when I saw something beautiful." Nestled in the Italian Alps in northwestern Italy, the city of Aosta is known for its ancient structures, including a Roman theater, frescoed medieval chapels and a seminary. This photo is part of "Vintage: Italy 1964," an exhibition at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò in New York.
For a year in 1964, photographer Hope Herman Wurmfeld walked around Italy with a camera, always "ready to shoot when I saw something beautiful." Nestled in the Italian Alps in northwestern Italy, the city of Aosta is known for its ancient structures, including a Roman theater, frescoed medieval chapels and a seminary. This photo is part of "Vintage: Italy 1964," an exhibition at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò in New York.
Hope Wurmfeld
This cluster of nuns in a shopping arcade in Venice made her stop. Second Vatican Council reforms made that year caused many religious orders to shed their habits, marking a watershed year in Italy.
This cluster of nuns in a shopping arcade in Venice made her stop. Second Vatican Council reforms made that year caused many religious orders to shed their habits, marking a watershed year in Italy.
Hope Wurmfeld
Wurmfeld used a wide lens to capture this scene in a poor section of Palermo, where two women were taking in the street scene -- and perhaps their photographer -- while their household laundry hung to dry. "Women were inside a lot," Wurmfeld says. "They were taking care of children or cleaning."
Wurmfeld used a wide lens to capture this scene in a poor section of Palermo, where two women were taking in the street scene -- and perhaps their photographer -- while their household laundry hung to dry. "Women were inside a lot," Wurmfeld says. "They were taking care of children or cleaning."
Hope Wurmfeld
Men gathered in a piazza in Trastevere, the neighborhood in Rome where Wurmfeld lived, caught her eye. "They seem to be having an interesting discussion," she says, although they could also have been playing cards. The area is now a fashionable upscale neighborhood.
Men gathered in a piazza in Trastevere, the neighborhood in Rome where Wurmfeld lived, caught her eye. "They seem to be having an interesting discussion," she says, although they could also have been playing cards. The area is now a fashionable upscale neighborhood.
Hope Wurmfeld
People often layered posters on the streets of Rome, Wurmfeld says. She was intrigued by this juxtaposition of an advertisement for sparkling wine and a photograph of US President John F. Kennedy, who was shot in November 1963 and had been much loved by Italians.
People often layered posters on the streets of Rome, Wurmfeld says. She was intrigued by this juxtaposition of an advertisement for sparkling wine and a photograph of US President John F. Kennedy, who was shot in November 1963 and had been much loved by Italians.
Hope Wurmfeld
People stroll among the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco in Venice in a shot Wurmfeld says she probably took from her hotel room. She was later pleased to learn that the master photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson had used a similar vantage point. She didn't know it then because she was just starting her career in photography, a subject she later taught at the Hunter College art department for more than two decades.
People stroll among the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco in Venice in a shot Wurmfeld says she probably took from her hotel room. She was later pleased to learn that the master photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson had used a similar vantage point. She didn't know it then because she was just starting her career in photography, a subject she later taught at the Hunter College art department for more than two decades.
Hope Wurmfeld
Wurmfeld and her husband traveled on this ship, docked at the Port of Naples, and so did their car, which they watched being lifted on board. She loves the "formality" of the photo, with the men and portholes neatly lined up at different levels. She also thinks it could engage viewers by provoking questions for those who don't what it's about: "Who are these guys? What are they doing? Why is there a rope?"
Wurmfeld and her husband traveled on this ship, docked at the Port of Naples, and so did their car, which they watched being lifted on board. She loves the "formality" of the photo, with the men and portholes neatly lined up at different levels. She also thinks it could engage viewers by provoking questions for those who don't what it's about: "Who are these guys? What are they doing? Why is there a rope?"
Hope Wurmfeld
No, these men were not members of the Ku Klux Klan. They were marching around Easter time in Palermo and were probably members of a fraternity that did good deeds and, according to Stefano Albertini of Casa Italiana, covered their faces "not to hide, but to remain anonymous, because they perform acts of mercy for the glory of God." Once a Holy Week ritual, these parades have largely disappeared in Italy.
No, these men were not members of the Ku Klux Klan. They were marching around Easter time in Palermo and were probably members of a fraternity that did good deeds and, according to Stefano Albertini of Casa Italiana, covered their faces "not to hide, but to remain anonymous, because they perform acts of mercy for the glory of God." Once a Holy Week ritual, these parades have largely disappeared in Italy.
Hope Wurmfeld
The Porta Portese section of Rome is home to a giant flea market that was notorious, at least in 1964, Wurmfeld says, as the place where if you lost your wallet, you might find it for sale there. This scene shows two boys playing with a makeshift swing attached to a giant billboard in what looked like a wasteland.
The Porta Portese section of Rome is home to a giant flea market that was notorious, at least in 1964, Wurmfeld says, as the place where if you lost your wallet, you might find it for sale there. This scene shows two boys playing with a makeshift swing attached to a giant billboard in what looked like a wasteland.
Hope Wurmfeld
Two little girls take shelter under an umbrella in a working-class area of Palermo while a boy, whose legs are almost mirror images of those of one of the girls, walks behind them.
Two little girls take shelter under an umbrella in a working-class area of Palermo while a boy, whose legs are almost mirror images of those of one of the girls, walks behind them.
Hope Wurmfeld
Known as trulli, these buildings with conical roofs abound in the town of Alberobello, in the southern part of Italy. They were built as early as the mid-14th century, using a mortarless technique. There are more than 1,600 of the structures in Alberobello, and they have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. Women in the town probably dress differently now from the one in her photo, but the buildings won't change. "They are a national treasure," says Wurmfeld.
Known as trulli, these buildings with conical roofs abound in the town of Alberobello, in the southern part of Italy. They were built as early as the mid-14th century, using a mortarless technique. There are more than 1,600 of the structures in Alberobello, and they have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. Women in the town probably dress differently now from the one in her photo, but the buildings won't change. "They are a national treasure," says Wurmfeld.
Hope Wurmfeld