Figure 1.-- Carlo Naya took a lot of photographs in Giudecca, an island in the Venice lagoon. His work provides some of the earliest photograohic images of Venice, especially images showing everyday life. The photograph here was probably taken in the 1870s. Notice the caps and that the boys are all wearing long pants atv a time that many boys from fashionabke families were beginning to wear knee pants..

Carlo Naya was born in Tronzano Vercellese (1816). He studied to be a lawyer at the University of Pisa. He inherited sioe money which he used to pay for an extended trip to imprtant cities aroujnd the world, including Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. We are not sure how he got into photography. The forst report we notice was thatb he was was advertising as a portrait photographer in Istanbul (1845). The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East was slow to adopt new technology. Most of the early photographers in the region were Europdanms. He moved to Venice and opened a studio (1857). There he worked as a professional photographer. He sold collaborated with photographer and optician Carlo Ponti. We think that means the photographs he was taking of the city. Venice at the time was part of the Austrian Empire. He died in Venice (1882). He worked with Tomaso Filippi during his later years. Their photos give us a great image archive of Venice and its lagoon in 19th and early-20th centuries. Naya took a lot of photographs in Giudecca, an island in the Venice lagoon. His work provides some of the earliest photograohic images of Venice. We see th city and its outdoor works of art. He provides nany views of the city along the canals and streets. What we find especially imprtant is the depiction of street life. We see early images of the people going about their daily life, including the children. His work was published along with the work of others (1866). He visually documented the restoration of Giotto's magnificent frescoes at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.

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Created: 6:54 AM 4/7/2009
Last updated: 8:37 PM 5/1/2023