New photo book tells Italian history

(ANSA) - Milan, March 9 - ANSA and Italian highway agency ANAS reached into their vast photo archives to provide images for a new photo book celebrating ANAS' 90th anniversary.
    The book, titled "La Strada Racconta" (The Road Tells), was presented at Milan's La Triennale art and design museum, where a concurrent photographic exhibition is part of celebrations for the 90-year history of the highway agency, which is part of the Italian State Railways Group FS.
    At a press conference for the event, ANSA CEO Giuseppe Cerbone said ANSA "also presides over an infrastructure, that of news, which is part of democracy".
    "Our photographic heritage of 19 million photos makes up part of Italian history and allows for projects such as this one," he said.
    The book is divided into chapters for each decade, covering the years of the Fascist regime, WWII, the birth of the Italian Republic, the economic boom, mass motorisation, the Dolce Vita, the Years of Lead, the Italy of the 1990s, through the modern Italian "smart road".
    The images contain iconic public figures from the various decades, from Anna Magnani to the Beatles to JFK.
    Elisabetta Stefanelli, ANSA's director of culture and performances, curated the book.
    "ANSA journalists tell what happens on the road - where Italians are in the significant, joyous and dramatic times," Stefanelli said.
    "It's a book of news and bearing witness, highlighting the social and cultural value of ANAS".
    ANAS President Ennio Cascetta said ANAS contributes to connecting Italy, as eight million people and a half-million trucks use Italian highways each day.
    ANAS CEO Gianni Vittorio Armani called ANAS "a renewed company" that is "working to change the present and build the future".
    ANSA editor-in-chief Luigi Contu said the book traces "crucial moments in the development of the country, growth at times impetuous, at times slow and complicated".
    "The beautiful images gathered in this book show once again how vital Italy is," Contu said.