Reading and writing. Photographs by Melo Minnella

Sixty snapshots from different parts of the world: a journey through time and space, from black and white to colour, from the 1960s to the present day. This is the exhibition dedicated to the master Melo Minnella, dean of Sicilian photographers, who lived through the 20th century, bringing light to Sicilian culture with a curious and attentive eye towards different continents and civilisations.

UniPa Heritage, the Museum System of the University of Palermo, pays tribute to this great photographer with an exhibition that focuses on two of the most important activities in human life: reading and writing.

“In photographic archives, in order to bring some order to the thousands of images, we try to make it easier to search for photographs,’ says Melo Minnella, "by giving each shot or complete series a title. So, concise titles guide you in finding what you are looking for. Bread, Bread Festivals, Wine, Art Nouveau, Baroque, Sulphur Mines. And so on. Reading and Writing are titles that stand out in my archives. A child who stops to read, back in 1963, a long tirade written on a blackboard leaning against a wall in an alleyway in beautiful Fez, fascinated me and will force me, sooner or later, to beg my garage owner, a Moroccan of great quality, for a translation, even if only approximate. My thoughts now turn to a great painter, Bruno Caruso, who was fascinated by the aforementioned writing. But, finally, I would like to understand who was not struck by the film based on Umberto Eco's masterpiece, The Name of the Rose, full of twists and turns and with constant references to the copyists who have handed down to us, since the Middle Ages, the fabulous illuminated manuscripts”.

Reading and writing are the first actions that define us as human beings. They are the fundamental steps that allow us to connect with the world, to communicate, to learn and to express ourselves. These practices are the keys that open the doors to social and cultural life, accompanying us from the earliest years of life and remaining with us throughout our existence.

The exhibition, which will open on 6 June at 6 p.m. in the Sala delle Verifiche of the Steri monumental complex, will be open to visitors until 29 June.