Departures of note

Umberto Pizzi was an Italian photographer and photojournalist. Born in Zagarolo near Rome in 1937, he began his career as a war photojournalist, working for the FAO in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Jordan before turning to celebrity and society photography in the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1960s he photographed Hollywood stars such as Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, becoming a familiar paparazzo of Rome's Dolce Vita scene, and his work appeared in Time, People Magazine, Sunday Express Magazine and the main Italian publications. In the 2000s he collaborated with the news site Dagospia, curating its Cafonal photography column that chronicled the social life of Italian politicians and high society, and co-authored the books Cafonal and Ultracafonal with Roberto D'Agostino. In his later years he also collaborated with Il Fatto Quotidiano.