Paolo Costa · Archivio Paolo Costa

Paolo Costa was born in 1917 in Lugo di Ravenna, Italy. After studying Political Science and Philosophy at the universities of Bologna and Venice, he initially worked as a journalist before turning to photography in the early 1950s.

His career began as a photojournalist. His early reports from Sardinia attracted international attention and were published, among others, in the American LIFE Magazine. In 1953, his growing fascination with cinema brought him to Rome, at a time when the Italian film industry and Cinecittà were becoming one of Europe’s major cultural forces.

There, Costa met the young Sophia Loren and created early photographs of the future film icon. Over the following decades, numerous figures from international cinema and cultural life appeared before his camera, including Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollobrigida, Brigitte Bardot, Anna Magnani, Marcello Mastroianni, Federico Fellini, Henry Fonda and Luciano Pavarotti.

Costa became one of the most sought-after photographers of his time. Around 550 of his photographs appeared on the covers of international publications. Alongside his portraits and reportage photography, he also worked for major companies and brands such as BMW, Olivetti and Emilio Pucci.

His photographs document an extraordinary period in European cultural history – the years of Italy’s economic boom, international cinema and La Dolce Vita. Yet Costa’s interest extended beyond the fame of his subjects. His images repeatedly reveal the person behind the public figure, combining journalistic observation with a remarkable sense of personal proximity.

Today, his extensive photographic legacy, the Archivio Paolo Costa, is preserved and researched by his daughter, Alexandra Pfründer.

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