The “Glass Giants” project will be presented during the 2025 edition of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas. Haltadefinizione, Art Defender, Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia, Gruppo Panini Cultura, and Jumbo System are all collaborating on this project, whose purpose is the digitization, restoration and conservation of the large-format photographic plates that belong to the Alinari Archives. This extraordinary collection of photographs consists of 170 collodion negatives and dry gelatin negatives on glass plates, in very large formats, many of which are longer than one meter on one side.
The Alinari brothers created these negatives, known as the “Glass Giants,” in the second half of the nineteenth century. They are still not widely known, due to their great fragility and the absence of any previous digitization. This collection of photographic plates is unique in the world. They contain images of masterpieces of Italian art, historic architecture and panoramic landscapes. They are remarkable not only for their large size but also for their excellent photographic technique, their rarity and for the great number of them in the collection.
The plates were held for more than a century in the Stabilimento Fotografico Fratelli Alinari in Florence. Then, in 2019, the government of the Region of Tuscany acquired the entire Alinari inventory of 5 million photographic objects for the public heritage and moved it to the Art Defender secure warehouse in Calenzano. The Alinari Foundation for Photography was founded in 2020 to manage the Alinari Archives. Soon after, it began its work of digitization, restoration and conservation. This remarkable and important project will make its debut at the MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas.
The digital acquisition of a selection of plates, done with Haltadefinizione’s ultra-high definition Gigapixel technology, stands out as the first attempt in Italy upon materials of this size. During the MIA Photo Fair, the exhibition will feature both high quality photographic prints and full-size reproductions of the glass plates, made possible with the most advanced digital tools. This will provide a first look at some spectacular pieces: Donatello’s Saint George in Orsanmichele, the courtyard of the Bargello in Florence, Michelangelo’s Moses in Rome’s Basilica of Saint Peter in Vincoli as well as a captivating panorama of the city of Venice.
The Glass Giants are removed from their original protective sleeves for digital acquisition, after which they will be reconditioned and placed in new protective sleeves, custom made by Jumbo System.
