The Italian filmed future Catholic priests as they did not dare

Mario Giacomelli is an Italian photographer whose name is known far beyond Italy. From his youth, Mario was fond of art: he painted, tried himself in poetry, but only by the age of 30 he was seriously interested in photography. However, even his first works quickly gained recognition, and by the end of his career, Giacomelli already occupied an honorable place in the history of the genre of "humanistic photography."

So, a few years after the start of his photo career, at the dawn of the 60s, Mario Giacomelli went to a theological seminary in Senigallia as part of a project on the representatives of the Catholic clergy of his country. Here he photographed young men who were preparing to become a religious stronghold and personification of the faith, god-fearing and morality of Italy. Especially dramatic and interesting were the pictures taken in the rare moments of rest for seminarians. They differed so sharply from photographs of worldly youth that they could not help touching society. The most audacious photos in this series are, of course, those where future priests smoke cigarettes. They, by the way, were given to the guys by the photographer himself. Before Giacomelli, no one showed the clergy in this light - ordinary people chatting on the street about their worries, throwing snowballs, dancing and playing outdoor games.