Luigi Fiorillo (1847–1898) was an Italian photographer, active in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Life and career

Much is yet unknown about Luigi Fiorillo's private life, including his birth date and place. It is documented that he was active in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

starting from 1870, worked in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(where he opened a studio in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and then in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

. In 1871 he exhibited in Naples and in 1878 he participated in the third Paris World's Fair, where he obtained an honourable mention. He received further awards at international exhibitions in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(1879 and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

(1884). In 1877 he took part in an expedition of the

Italian Geographical Society Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. Starting from the 1880s he was given the title of "photographe de Son Altesse le Prince Mohammed Toussoun Pasha", "photographer to His Highness, Prince Mohammed Toussoun Pasha", son of Sa'id, the

Wāli ''Wāli'', ''Wā'lī'' or ''vali'' (from ''Wālī'') is an administrative title that was used in the Muslim world (including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and the Ottoman Empire) to designate governors of administrative divis ...

and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. In 1881 he made a report on the revolt of the Egyptian army led by

Ahmed ʻUrabi Ahmed Urabi (; Arabic: ; 31 March 1841 – 21 September 1911), also known as Ahmed Ourabi or Orabi Pasha, was an Egyptian military officer. He was the first political and military leader in Egypt to rise from the ''fellahin'' (peasantry). Urabi p ...

, while the following year he photographed the effects of the British naval

Bombardment of Alexandria The Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt by the British Mediterranean Fleet took place on 11–13 July 1882. Admiral Beauchamp Seymour was in command of a fleet of fifteen Royal Navy ironclad ships which had previously sailed to the harbor of Al ...

, which took place on 11 July during the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

of 1882. Between 1887 and 1888 he joined an expedition organised by

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

:it:Alessandro Asinari di San Marzano, town commander of

Massaua Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries. Massaw ...

, to regain Italian positions lost to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

in Eritrea following the 1887

Battle of Dogali The Battle of Dogali was fought on 26 January 1887 between Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946), Italy and Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia in Dogali near Massawa, in present-day Eritrea. History The Italians, after their unification in 1861, wanted to e ...

. In Eritrea he was in the retinue of the artillery captain Carlo Michelini. Also in the "firstborn colony", as Italian Eritrea was sometimes called, Fiorillo, :it:Edoardo Martinori and Francesco Nicotra together took 142 photographs documenting the Italian activity in the colony. In 1890 Fiorillo entered into partnership with A. Marques, changing the name of his studio to "Marques & Fiorillo photographers & editors,

Assuan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city has ...

The studio after his death

After Luigi Fiorillo's death in 1898, the studio continued its activity until the 1920s thanks to his sons and widow. His son Federico later moved to Rhodes, at the time held by Italy (1912–1943), where he first opened a photographic studio in Rhodes and then also one in

Leros Leros (), also called Lero (from the Italian language), is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by a nine-hour ferry ride or by a 45-min ...

. At the defeat of Italy in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rhodes became part of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and in 1947 Federico Fiorillo was forced to flee with his children to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

in Italy.

Legacy

In the winter of 2014, an exhibition dedicated to Luigi Fiorillo was housed by the

Palazzo Rosso The Palazzo Brignole Sale or Palazzo Rosso is a house museum located in Via Garibaldi, in the historical center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. The palace is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the P ...

museum in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

References

External links

Portraits of Luigi and Federico Fiorillo and a rich selection of photographs
at Adriano Silingardi's website, mainly

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

photographs (studio and street images) of Egyptian types.
40 Holy Land prints
in a small album, National Library of Israel, accessed 23 August 2021.
Seven photographs
by Luigi Fiorillo at Genoa Museums website.

by Luigi Fiorillo at the online catalogue of cultural heritage catalogue of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

.
Hand-made album of Alexandria after the bombardment of 1882
54 photographs of the city and the Egyptian commanders. American University in Cairo, accessed 11 November 2014.

At the "Antonio Gandolfi" documents and images collection of the Eritrea Colony, accessed 27 June 2021.
"Seller of oranges", 1870s photograph from Egypt
at the "Lusadaran" Armenian Photography Foundation, accessed 11 November 2014. 1847 births 1898 deaths 19th-century Italian photographers Photography in Egypt Photographers in Palestine (region) Pioneers of photography Artists from Naples {{Portal, biographies Pioneers of photography in Egypt