A journey through images that combines art and science, retracing the history of the first half of the twentieth century and the legacy of a protagonist of Italian volcanology through a precious photographic collection.
On December 6th at 09:30 am, the exhibition “Gaetano Ponte (1876-1955) Sicilian scientist and photographer” will be inaugurated at the Town Hall in Palagonia (CT).
Professor Gaetano Ponte (1876-1955), volcanologist and one of the most illustrious sons of Palagonia (Catania), will be commemorated in his hometown, seventy years after his death.
The initiative is by the Volcanoes Department of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the Ministry of Civil Protection, in collaboration with the Municipality of Palagonia.
For the occasion, a photographic exhibition featuring around fifty subjects created by Ponte himself will be inaugurated in the same municipal premises.
Speakers at the commemoration will include, among others, the Minister of Civil Protection Nello Musumeci, the President of the INGV Fabio Florindo, and the Director of the INGV Volcanoes Department, Stefano Branca.
Gaetano Ponte was an eclectic scientist and distinguished volcanologist at the University of Catania. "The exhibition showcases the value of his scientific and human perspective," emphasize the organizers of the INGV Volcanoes Department, who recall how, throughout his long scientific career, Ponte, as an expert amateur photographer, documented not only eruptions and volcanoes, but also the people and places of his time.
The selected photographs reconstruct a fascinating journey through the historical events of the first half of the twentieth century, a period marked by profound contrasts, two world wars and rapid scientific, technological and cultural development.
"It's a visual story in which art and science blend naturally," the curators explain.
The images on display come from the Gaetano Ponte Collection, preserved at the Tuscan Photographic Archive in Prato (AFT).
The collection comprises over two thousand items: glass and film negatives, slides, prints, vintage postcards, and miscellaneous materials, including aristotypes, autochromes, and large-format plates (30x40 cm). Through a collaboration begun in 2008 between the INGV and the AFT, the material has undergone three conservation, digitization, and cataloging projects, resulting in an online catalog created in accordance with ministerial regulations (ICCD).
The catalogue represents a highly valuable database and a unique heritage for the historical documentation of active Italian volcanoes.
A significant section is dedicated to Etna, with images that document in detail lateral eruptions, explosive activity, and morphological changes to the summit craters in the first half of the 20th century.
Added to these are numerous personal photographs that testify to the author's multiple cultural interests and his photographic talent.
Useful links
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
Ministry for the Civil protection
Tuscan Photographic Archive (AFT)
