Lisetta Carmi

Lisetta Carmi (born in 1924 in Genoa, Italy) is an Italian photographer and writer. She began her career as a photographer in the 1950s, documenting the cultural and social life of Italy in the postwar period. She is best known for her portraits of marginalized communities and subcultures, including prostitutes, transgender individuals, and the gay scene in Italy. Her photographs are often intimate and sensitive, revealing a deep empathy for her subjects.

Carmi's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications, including the Venice Biennale in 1980 and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. In 2018, a major retrospective of her work was held at the MART Museum in Rovereto, Italy.

In addition to her photography, Carmi has also written several books, including the memoir "I Wanted to See the World" (2014) and "Living With Ghosts: A Jewish Childhood in Post-World War II Italy" (2018). Her writing often reflects on her experiences growing up as a Jewish woman in Italy during the fascist period and her later travels around the world.

Carmi's work is held in several collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the MART Museum in Rovereto.