Costanza Caraffa

Dr. Costanza Caraffa serves as Head of the Photo Library at the Max Planck Institute of Art History in Florence (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz), a position she has held since October 16, 2006. The institute, founded in 1897 and part of the Max Planck Society since 2002, functions as a fundamental research laboratory in art history engaging in transcultural and global perspectives with particular focus on Italy, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

Her research interests center on photography archives, the history of photography as a research tool in art and cultural history, and architectural history of cities in Italy and Europe. She explores the intersection of photographic documentation with the 'material turn' in art historical research.

Dr. Caraffa's work with the Photo Library connects to broader institute research that combines historical scholarship with contemporary critical engagement on issues including ecology, heritage, urbanization, migration, diversity, aesthetic and artistic practices, media and material cultures, digital transformation, and the future of museums.

She leads several significant projects including 'Photographs of Instruments and Mediums of the Kunstgeschichte,' 'Photo Archives,' 'Photo Objects,' and 'Photographs, War and Cultural Heritage,' positioning the Photo Library as one of the most important collections of documentary photography on Italian art and architectural history.

As an active member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (German Society for Photography), she contributes to the international and transdisciplinary debate on the role of photographic archives in 21st century research and society. Her daily activities including photographic campaigns, cataloging, and digitization are inseparable from research activities.