Step into a world where silence speaks volumes and history lingers in the shadows. In Massimo Listri. Fotografie, now on show at Moretti Fine Art in Monte-Carlo, the acclaimed Italian photographer invites viewers on a meditative journey through time and space, capturing the forgotten grandeur of palaces, libraries, and asylums in images that are as still as they are stirring.
This latest exhibition marks the second occasion that renowned art dealer Fabrizio Moretti has welcomed Massimo Listri to Monaco. But this time, there is a quiet evolution in scale. At Moretti’s request, Listri has adapted his typically monumental photographs to suit the interiors of Monaco’s refined and often more compact residences. The effect is no less powerful. These smaller-format works continue to astonish with their depth and precision, each one a silent portal into a world that feels somehow familiar and yet entirely otherworldly.
Listri’s photography goes far beyond simply documenting beautiful interiors. His images are quiet studies in composition and light, created with an eye for detail that makes the ordinary feel extraordinary. It’s not just the architecture that captivates, but the way he captures a shadow falling across a marble floor, the soft glow of natural light through a window, or the stillness that lingers in a long-forgotten hallway. There’s a calm precision in the way he frames each shot—an instinctive understanding of space and atmosphere. The result is immersive. Looking at one of his photographs feels almost like stepping into it, as if you’ve been transported to another place and time, and for a moment, you’re the only one there.
For over five decades, the Florentine-born photographer has travelled the world in pursuit of these sacred spaces. His camera has captured the solemn grandeur of the Vatican, the faded opulence of forgotten villas near Turin, the eerie emptiness of the criminal asylum of Montelupo, and the resplendent halls of Schwetzingen Castle in Germany. Each photograph is a window into another world, layered with memory, solitude, and the passage of time. From the age of 17, Listri’s vision was already being recognised in the pages of elite architectural journals. By 1981, he had co-founded the revered art magazine FMR, using it as a platform to share his photographic essays with the world. Today, with over 80 publications and a string of prestigious exhibitions behind him, including at Palazzo Pitti in Florence and El Museo de Arte Moderno in Buenos Aires, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest architectural photographers of his generation.
Speaking with Monaco Life, Listri revealed something rather unexpected: he has never been invited to photograph the Prince’s Palace. It’s a surprising gap in his otherwise remarkable portfolio, especially given his deep affinity for places steeped in history and layered with time. The palace – home to the Grimaldi dynasty for over seven centuries, and recently the site of a major restoration that brought to light long-hidden Renaissance frescoes – seems like a natural fit for his lens. It’s the kind of space he captures so well: quietly majestic, full of detail, and echoing with stories. That he hasn’t yet been invited to photograph the palace feels like a missed opportunity – for Monaco as much as for Listri. One can only hope that changes soon.
Meanwhile, Listri’s quiet prestige continues to travel. In a recent honour, Italian President Sergio Mattarella selected two of his photographs to present as a gift to King Charles III. Perhaps Buckingham Palace will soon follow suit – after all, Listri has a gift for revealing not only how a space looks, but how it remembers.
Massimo Listri. Fotografie runs until 9th May at Moretti Fine Art, located at 27 Avenue de la Costa. Open daily from 10am to 6pm, this exhibition is not simply one to view, but one to experience. These are not just photographs; they are acts of devotion, each image an invitation to lose yourself in the poetry of space.
See more in Cassandra Tanti’s video reel below…
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Main photo of Massimo Listri by Cassandra Tanti
