This was the Abruzzo that Ashby knew, frequented, and loved. With acute farsightedness, he preserved valuable visual testimonies, foreseeing their future historical-documentary function. The value of those images – captured with simplicity, sometimes lacking in composition and formal perfection – lies in the uniqueness of the events photographed. Indeed, looking at Ashby’s photographs illustrating the various stages of his fascinating journeys is a bit like travelling through time and space, finding a great amount of information that goes well beyond the technical quality of the photographs.
Text by V. Tordone
Photos by Thomas Ashby, Cappadocia (AQ), 1914, TA-XLIV.068; Roccacerro (AQ) panoramic view of the village and Monte Bove, 1923, TA-LIX.035
