Chiara
Samugheo.

Origins and beginnings in Milan

Chiara Samugheo, the professional name of Chiara Paparella, was born in Bari. In 1953 she moved to Milan, entering a lively cultural environment. Her encounter with graphic designer and publisher Pasquale Prunas, and her work for the magazine Le Ore, launched her career in photojournalism. Photography became both her profession and a space for independence.

Reportage and social engagement

Her early reportage explored post-war Italy and life in the South. She documented tarantism in Galatina, childhood in the poorer neighbourhoods of Naples, and women in prison. She contributed to Cinema Nuovo, edited by Guido Aristarco, combining photographic storytelling with texts by writers including Emilio Tadini and Domenico Rea.

Cinema and international magazines

In 1956 her portrait of Maria Schell, taken in Venice, was selected for a Cinema Nuovo cover. It marked a decisive step towards the world of cinema. Samugheo photographed Sophia Loren, Monica Vitti, Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida, Liz Taylor and many other international figures. Her work reached magazines including Epoca, Stern, Vogue, Paris Match and Life. Her relationship with the sitter, use of colour and composition conveyed personality and intimacy in the faces of entertainment.

Travels, places and Sardinia

Her work also explored places and communities: farm estates in Puglia, homeless people in New York and the Brazilian Carnival. Sardinia held a special place in her practice, with photographs of landscapes, people and traditional dress. This connection led to books including Costumi di Sardegna and Natura magica della Sardegna, as well as exhibitions devoted to the island.

Nice, books and recognition

After her years in Milan and Rome, she lived and worked in Nice. Her photographs appeared in books and exhibitions, with titles including Carnaval, Cinecittà for ever: nous nous sommes tant aimés and Fuori dal set. In 2003 she received the title of Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana. In 2012 Turin’s Museo Nazionale del Cinema dedicated the exhibition Fuori dal set to her work.

An enduring legacy

In 1996 she donated her archive to CSAC at the University of Parma: prints, slides, negatives and editorial material document a career that began in the 1950s. Chiara Samugheo died in Bari in 2022. The collection keeps her work available for study and reinterpretation. Reportage, portraits and experimentation reveal a central figure in Italian photography, whose independent vision spanned twentieth-century culture and society.

Books to explore her work

• Carnaval 1980 · The Brazilian Carnival.
• Costumi di Sardegna Dress, people and traditions of the island.
• Natura magica della Sardegna 1996 · An exploration of landscape.
• Cinecittà for ever: nous nous sommes tant aimés 2007 · Memories of cinema.
• Fuori dal set 2012 · The leading figures of cinema.

Sources: Treccani · CSAC collection record · FIAF