The old Mattatoio (slaughterhouse) becomes Rome’s new Photography Center, January 29th, 2026.

Rome’s new Photography Center was officially inaugurated on January 29^th, 2026 by Rome’s Mayor Roberto Guatlieri and his Parisian counterpart Anne Hidalgo.  It was a way to also celebrate the 70^th anniversary as both European capitals are twinned. 

The spacious 1,500 sq/meter area is currently hosting the splendid Irving Penn exhibit. 

Penn was born in 1917 in the States and died in 2009.  He was an American photographer known for his  fashion photography, portraits and still lifes.  His career included work at “Vogue” magazine.  
 
Penn's first photographic cover for “Vogue” magazine appeared in October 1943. The art department of the Office of War Information in London offered him a job as an "artist-photographer" but he volunteered with the American Field Service.  After arriving in Naples with a boatload of American troops in November 1944. Penn drove an ambulance in support of the British Eighth. In July 1945, he was transferred from Italy to India. He photographed the soldiers, medical operations, and camp life for the AFS, and various subjects while bivouacked in India. 

Best known for his fashion photography,  Penn's repertoire also included portraits of creative greats; ethnographic photographs from around the world; Modernist still-life works of food, bones, bottles, metal, and found objects; and photographic travel essays. 

He was among the earliest photographers to pose subjects against grey or white backdrop and he effectively used its simplicity.  While steeped in the Modernist tradition, Penn also ventured beyond creative boundaries.  He continued to capture collections by his favorite designers, such as Dior's John Galliano, Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld and Vogue's Christian Lacroix by incorporating these darker themes into his images.