“In the early ’70s, I was in Rome during a cold, rainy winter; I had a wide-angle lens! I couldn’t take any decent photos, apart from a couple of shots of Pompei, silent and empty in the wonderful rain…
Later, in 1979, I finally understood the discreet power of the 50mm. At the time, I was living in the highlands of New Mexico and had come to Rome to see Claude Nori. It was a visual shock: was it living in the desert that made this city so fascinating to me?

It’s often said that my images of the American West are more horizontal, while those of the streets of Rome are more vertical! I’m also strongly influenced by the work of Corot, whom I often think of… Corot’s sobriety made a definite impression on me.
In Rome, I also spoke with Paola and Luigi Ghirri, at Mies and Mario’s Rondadini gallery, and with Monterosso (we’re not getting any younger)!

In 1980, I returned to Rome with Françoise, my lifelong love, Andalusian and Italian!
A torrential downpour was beating down on the city, which we could see from the window of our hostel near Piazza del Pantheon. We had come to visit Villa Giulia, the Etruscan museum where I photographed a vase, like Morandi…
Years passed before I returned to Europe, and all the artists were under the influence of the pictorial movement of the “Roman school” (Mafai, Scipione, Pirandello, Antonietta Raphael, Afro): the marvels they produced inspired me enormously.

Rome still fascinates me, we go there almost every year and I photograph in a random, haphazard way, nothing systematic or organized! From neighborhood to neighborhood, listening only to my instinct and above all my passion: I’m in love with this city, but also with all the little Italian islands where I try to go as often as possible!
In Rome, I also regularly see Laetitia and Patrick Talbot, who live there; in 2000, Patrick managed to take me on a tour of the entire Palazzo Farnese! The same year, I visited the most metaphysical place in existence: the Montermatini power station, an old power plant transformed into a sculpture museum. Then I visited Jean-Christophe Bailly for the “Col Treno” exhibition on Italy as seen from a train… And Corot was always on my mind. I’m possessed by Rome, a city that, in my opinion, is metaphysical.”

The launch of this beautiful book is Thursday, October 10 at Artazart! To mark the occasion, Bernard Plossu will be on hand to chat with you and sign a few books…