RESIDENCE ROYALE À SANT'ANNA DI VALDIERI
Luca Comerio / Italy / 1910 / 6 min / Colour
Produced by Luca Comerio. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory from a tinted positive print
Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy, also known as the "hunter king", in 1857 transformed the Val Gesso in the Maritime Alps, on the borders of the Kingdom, into a Royal Hunting Reserve, depriving the local inhabitants of the right to hunt and fish in exchange for offerings to the municipalities of Valdieri and Entracque. He had paths, bridges, mule tracks, and hunting lodges built, like the building that forms the backdrop to the royal chamois hunt, portrayed in the film. Luca Comerio, official photographer of the House of Savoy, was the producer and perhaps the director of this short film.
Luca Comerio
Luca Fortunato Comerio (1878 – 1940), Milanese photographer and director, was a pioneer of Italian documentary and cinematography. He courageously dedicated himself to making important reportages, documenting historical facts of his time, such as the Milanese uprisings of 1898 and the Messina earthquake of 1908. He was the official photographer of the House of Savoy. He also produced much official footage of the conflicts in Libya and during the Great War. Later afflicted by psychiatric problems, he died in poverty and solitude in 1940, at the age of 62.