Gianni Ferrari (Milan, 89 years old) goes up and down the stairs of his house in Madrid's Mirasierra district with the agility of a gymnast. “When I was a child living in Tripoli, I won gold medals in athletics,” recalls the photographer. In the end, he didn't pursue speed racing, but instead spent more than half a century chasing kings, princes, duchesses, actresses and singers in search of the perfect snapshot. In 1962 he founded his own agency, Contifoto, which exclusively catered for the then emerging gossip magazines. His collaborators included the very young Paco Umbral and César Lucas. Today he has more than 50,000 photographs in the basement of his chalet, where he keeps his studio and archive. On the walls hang portraits of some of the women he immortalized: Rocío Jurado, Jacqueline Kennedy, Carmen Sevilla, Catherine Deneuve, Rocío Dúrcal, Brigitte Bardot, Lola Flores, Geraldine Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, Marisol, Claudia Cardinale, Sara Montiel. “Women inspire me,” she says. There is only one photo of one man: Juan Carlos I. From 1978 to 1997, Ferrari accompanied the king emeritus on 78 official trips.
Questions. How does a Milanese get to Madrid?
Answer. My parents were teachers. The Italian state sent them abroad. They were stationed in Athens, Istanbul, Tangier, Tripoli, Barcelona and finally Madrid. This is where I started writing for Italian sports media. They gave me the job of correspondent for Il Giorno, a Milanese newspaper. One day, when I was 27, they assigned me to report on the Madrid night. They didn't like the photographer's photos and I took different ones. My bosses loved them. This is how my career began.
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Q He doesn't like being called paparazzo…
R. No. The only time I tried to be a paparazzo was when Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer lived in Madrid in 1966. I went to her house in the La Florida neighborhood and climbed a tree to try to photograph her in the pool. I didn't find anyone. As I was leaving, someone grabbed me from behind, slapped me in the face, and took my camera away. It was Ferrer. That day I said, “Never again.”
Q In 1962 he founded his own agency and hired Paco Umbral.
R. Yes, but Paco wasn't known back then. In the morning he worked on a magazine called Mundo Hispánico and in the afternoon he worked with me. Every day I created a different report. He went to Café Gijón and always came back with a story. When he left the agency, I hired Raúl del Pozo. César Lucas also worked with me. I paid him 500 pesetas per report.
Carmen Sevilla portrayed by Gianni Ferrari in 1966.Gianni Ferrari (Cover/Getty Images)
Q What was the highest paying job?
R. One of the most expensive was that of Isabel Perón. I always spent my summers in Menorca. One day, in the summer of 1991, I went to the beach, the beach bar manager came and said to me: “Don't you see who's there? Perón's widow. I walked up to her, introduced myself and asked if I could take her photo. She accepted it happily. I sold this report very expensively all over the world. Hello! He paid me millions of pesetas for exclusivity in Spain.
Q Do you remember others?
R. Di Stéfano with his family, in 1961. Imagine getting Messi now with his wife and children. Marisol first posed in a swimsuit in 1962. Raphael in 1963, when he had just arrived in Madrid. The photos of Audrey Hepburn in Mantequerías Leonesas in 1966 that I sold all over the world. The posing of Juan Carlos and Sofía in 1969, when they were still princes…
Q Still want to photograph someone?
R. Nobody has ever said no to me.
Q Which photo report was the most difficult for you to achieve?
R. My first pose of King Juan Carlos when he was a prince. Nobody knew me yet and it was difficult for the Zarzuela Palace to say yes. The king loved me. Then they called me and said, “Do you mind coming in for a report?”
Kings Juan Carlos and Sofía with their children Elena, Cristina and Felipe, photographed by Ferrari in Mallorca in 1976.@ Gianni Ferrari/Cover/Getty Images (Cover/Getty Images)
Q What was the king like back then?
R. Very nice, pleasant, simple. When I met him he was a child, he was a nobody. He made a lot of jokes and laughed like a madman. He was mentally horny. He always told me, “Don’t call me Your Majesty.” It seems a lot has changed.
Q And Queen Sofia?
R. At first she was very cold, very German. But little by little she got used to the press and became friendlier.
Q How did they behave towards each other?
R. They were always very polite in front of us. They held hands; he hugged her.
Q Have you seen her in love?
R. No, not as much as lovers. After 10, 15 or 20 years of marriage, love no longer remains the same.
Q He knows Felipe VI. since his childhood. How was it?
R. Friendly and a little shy. But the nicest was Cristina. He loved me very much. One day at Christmas I went to do a report on the children in the palace. As I was leaving, Cristina came and said to me: “When are you coming back?”
Felipe de Borbón covers his face in front of the camera of Gianni Ferrari, founder of the Contifoto agency, in June 1976. Gianni Ferrari (Getty Images Agency)
Q Are you still in contact with the King Emeritus?
R. No. I did a final report with him during his first official visit to Greece in 1998 and never saw him again.
Q What do you think about him living in Abu Dhabi?
R. I don't understand it anymore. He was such a nice person, so nice. I don't know why he turned into someone like that, I don't know… I wouldn't even like to see him anymore. A lot has changed.
Q There is a photo of Juan Carlos I and Franco playing golf shortly before the dictator died. How did they get along?
R. They had a very pleasant relationship. Franco treated him very well and Juan Carlos treated him very well. They talked a lot.
Don Juan Carlos and the dictator Francisco Franco, portrayed by Gianni Ferrari playing golf in A Coruña, 1974. Gianni Ferrari (Getty Images)
Q The characters on the coated paper have changed a lot, haven't they?
R. In 2000 or 2001 I started to become disillusioned with the characters no longer paying attention. People used to pose and say thank you. Since 2000, everyone has asked you for money. Now famous people only care about money.
Q His photos continue to be published around the world. How do you feel when you see that your work is still valid?
R. Not because they are mine, but because the characters I photographed are important.
Q But they are your photos, you were there…
R. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I never studied photography. Technically, my photos weren't perfect. But every picture told a story.
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