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66 Rare Photos Of 1980s Italy Reveal The True Meaning Of ‘Living La Dolce Vita’
For over fifty years photographer Charles H. Traub has been capturing expressive moments around him, but his most impressive works have to be the ones from the 80s, when he first traveled to Italy and witnessed the iconic street life Italians call 'La Dolce Vita.'
During the 1980s Traub visited various parts of Italy for 2 to 3 weeks at a time, documenting the intriguing lifestyle he called La Dolce Via (the Sweet Way). The freedom, slow pace, and diversity were the trademarks of the time which is now witnessed mainly in photos.
According to the photographer, this street culture is now almost gone as Italy struggles to overcome the problems that arose together with the global economy. Traub describes these photos as “a time capsule” of the Italy that no longer exists.
You can experience the full series in his book Dolce Via: Italy In the 1980's.
More info: Charles H. Traub (h/t: businessinsider, demilked)
This post may include affiliate links.
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April Showers 7 years ago
"Look here, sonny boy, in my day, if we wanted to send a text, we used a stone tablet and a chisel...and we liked it that way"
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April Showers 7 years ago
Give the man a mustache ...and a rolled up pack of cigarettes in his sleeve...it could be Schinder , the handyman..
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April Showers 7 years ago
I am impressed at this lady's balance. My butt hanging over this thing would look like I got hit in both rear cheeks with a bag of nickels..
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Lorenzo Gaggiotti 7 years ago
this is not 80´s, at least 1995 because that car is a Fiat Barchetta
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April Showers 7 years ago
"Pleeeeaase, I promise to take care of him, I love you so much, I will never ask you for anything ever again, oh please, can we get one?
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RaroaRaroa 7 years ago
Florence? It looks a lot like a place I saw in Florence, but I guess there could be several similar places.
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Vivien Someya 7 years ago
I grew up in Rome in the 80s and these photos are amazing. Thank you for posting them!
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What do you think ?
Terri Rowland 7 years ago
My soulmate is Italian, nice to see how life was before he came to England... He is back in Italy again now and I love and miss him so much 💝 ❤ 🐶 🤗 🌹 💏🏽 🌈 😘
John L 7 years ago
The one thing that stuck in my mind most, from my two trips to Italy, in the mid-late -60s, was the huge number of farmers/hunters, who rode their Vespas and had shotguns slung over their shoulders. They drove everywhere with them, in the towns, on the roads, and anywhere they would stop to talk with anyone. I had always thought European countries had pretty much outlawed firearms, but the guns were everywhere. This showed up in the European north of Italy, perhaps not the Mediterranean south, to the best of my knowledge. I'm surprised that there are no pictures of this here, because it was very common during my stays.
Daria B 7 years ago
It says these are pictures from the 1980s, not late 1960s. Many things can change in over a decade. Specifically in Italy, inbetween these two eras they had huge problems with guns due to politics, it's also called also "anni di piombo". They probably did something about it and took radical measures and outlawed guns by then.
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Terri Rowland 7 years ago
My soulmate is Italian, nice to see how life was before he came to England... He is back in Italy again now and I love and miss him so much 💝 ❤ 🐶 🤗 🌹 💏🏽 🌈 😘
John L 7 years ago
The one thing that stuck in my mind most, from my two trips to Italy, in the mid-late -60s, was the huge number of farmers/hunters, who rode their Vespas and had shotguns slung over their shoulders. They drove everywhere with them, in the towns, on the roads, and anywhere they would stop to talk with anyone. I had always thought European countries had pretty much outlawed firearms, but the guns were everywhere. This showed up in the European north of Italy, perhaps not the Mediterranean south, to the best of my knowledge. I'm surprised that there are no pictures of this here, because it was very common during my stays.
Daria B 7 years ago
It says these are pictures from the 1980s, not late 1960s. Many things can change in over a decade. Specifically in Italy, inbetween these two eras they had huge problems with guns due to politics, it's also called also "anni di piombo". They probably did something about it and took radical measures and outlawed guns by then.
Load More Replies...
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