Oberto gili house & garden magazine 1993

Oberto Gili, a celebrated fashion and interiors photographer for over 30 years, has always dreamt of self-sufficiency, of living off the land–it’s a dream he’s now fulfilling in his current chapter in Bra, Piedmont, where he’s rediscovering his roots through his love of gardening and embarking on a new, deeply personal creative endeavor.

It’s certainly a change of pace for the formerly restless Gili, for whom New York’s major airport was once a “second home” and who traveled around the world on the regular for shoots–whether of Carla Fendi’s crisp, 20th-century art-filled Roman apartment, French interior designer Jacques Garcia’s 17th-century Sicilian monastery-mansion, or of Isabella Rossellini, donned in a sumptuous blue velvet robe, in the comforts of her bohemian home.

When it comes to interiors, Gili’s style masterfully highlights remarkable works of art and design objects while offering an intimate view of the personalities who collected or created them. His photographic aesthetic favors natural light and lived-in settings, with minimal or no staging; the houses he photographs feel to be as full of anecdotes as he is.

As a result, his images exude immediacy and naturalness, reflecting a sincere, non-judgmental eye that faithfully captures and interprets environments with empathy. This can perhaps be traced to Gili’s view that homes act as doorways to personal stories; photographing a room becomes a way to understand and capture the soul behind its conception.

It’s not about the pieces within, no matter how beautiful they may be, but “rather by how people use their shelters–how they live.”

Gili's farmhouse in Bra, called "Il Picot"

Originally from Turin, Gili first lived and worked in London before moving to New York, where he built a career spanning over three decades that saw photographs contributed to Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, House & Garden, The Washington Post Magazine, as well as to advertising campaigns and celebrated book projects.

Among the latter are &#;Home Sweet Home,&#; co-authored with Susanna Salk, and &#;Domus: A Journey into Italy’s Most Creative Interiors,&#; produced with Marella Caracciolo—both published by Rizzoli–as well as &#;Artists Living with Art,&#; a stunning coffee-table tome offering an intimate look inside the homes of prominent contemporary artists.

It’s therefore unsurprising that his innate artistic style is clearly reflected in his own homes.

His charmingly shabby, colorful West Village apartment brims with an eye-catching mix of antique Italian furniture, vintage design pieces, folk art, and piles of art books. It’s a style that extends to his sensually rich, purposely laid-back country home on the hills of Bra, a town in the Langhe area, surrounded by two-and-a-half hectares of land devoted to various types of cultivation.

In this candid interview, Gili, who has a special gift for sharing memories with honesty and grace, traces the roots of his artistic journey back to the picturesque landscapes of Piedmont and shares insights on the creative and human landscape of New York in the &#;80s and &#;90s, its transformative power, and the invaluable encounters that shaped his life.

A peacock at Il Picot

You were born in Piemonte. How was it growing up there?

I was born and grew up in Turin, but during the summers and weekends, I used to go to the Langhe––a beautiful hilly part of the region. My father was the chief surgeon at the hospital in Bra.

I loved everything about spending the summer in the country. My grandfather had a big, beautiful house there, and I spent all my time with the farmers out in the fields, tending to vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and farm animals.

Was there a moment that sparked your inspiration to start photographing?

Around age 17, I started spending less time in the country and more time in Turin.

I went on to study physics at university, but I quickly became more passionate about philosophical pursuits. I had been interested in photography since an early age.

My true and steady fascination for it was sparked by watching [Michelangelo] Antonioni&#;s Blow-Up. I realized that a university degree (especially in physics, unless you were a genius!) would only lead to boring office jobs. I loved, then and now, to travel and experience new things. Although I didn&#;t exactly know what a job in photography entailed, I decided to give it a try.

So, at age 23, I left university to go to London for a year. I moved there on a whim and eventually found a job as an assistant for Michael Joseph, an advertising photographer. During the first week with him I was responsible for making cappuccinos. They were so good that they decided to keep me!

What was the sentiment towards leaving Italy at the time?

Did you have any second-thoughts?

I didn&#;t have any second thoughts about leaving Italy. At that point, I couldn&#;t care less about Turin; it felt terribly provincial. In the ‘70s, London was the center of the world and I loved everything about it: fashion, music, and other creative scenes, they were all there. I wasn’t making much money––I shared an apartment with a friend––but enough to buy an old Mini and to eat out with my new girlfriend once a week.

Villa Falconetta in Capri

How did you transition and specialize in interiors?

What do you find fascinating about interior design?

After leaving London and returning to Bra––I didn’t want to work as an assistant my entire life, and London was too expensive to support myself while starting out as a photographer––I eventually got a job as a photographer at a publisher, Achille Mauri. I was, at that point, spending more time growing vegetables and fruits than taking photos: Achille offered me a humble salary to travel around the world for a year to research and shoot unique homes for a book project.

I did it all by myself, mostly thanks to word of mouth.

I would call up friends living in London, Paris, and Rome and ask them for leads. The publisher ended up dropping the project but I eventually managed to have it published by the interiors editor at The New York Times, Norma Skurka, as Underground Interiors. That&#;s how I started to be known as an interiors photographer and that’s when photography became my main focus.

I wasn&#;t, and I am not, fascinated by interior design, but rather by how people use their shelters–how they live.

You moved to New York in the 80s and created a base from which you traveled the world. You worked for the most important magazines––Condé Nast, Washington Post, etc. How did you find the city from a creative and human standpoint?

Any revealing and/or life changing encounters during those years?

I moved to New York for both personal and professional reasons, and I stayed because Condé Nast gave me a work visa, then I got a green card and eventually a US passport with which I traveled the world. I had many revealing and life-changing encounters during my many years living there.

I always said that the US and NYC were the best places to be if you were willing to have ideas and pursue them. The business really helped you. In Italy, on the other hand, and particularly in Milan, independent endeavors and creativity appeared daunted and held back by power games and blocked by processes of gatekeeping. NYC and the US have changed for the worse now, but I believe they will see a resurrection.

As for Milan, I don’t really know: I’m not in the game there any longer.

What were your favorite places in New York City? Any favorite Italian places?

Museums––Moma has always been my favorite! I lived in the West Village and I would visit many restaurants like Da Silvano and Pearl Oyster Bar [now closed], RedFarm, Corner Bistro, Waverly Inn.

I’ve always loved good food.

An interior in Habana, Cuba

Did you return to Italy often back then?

For 30 years I have been going back to Europe, including Italy, at least once a month. JFK was my second home.

Any project you are particularly fond of? Is there a project you are working on right now?

I really liked working on For The Love of Italy with my dear friend Marellina [Marella Caracciolo], who used to write for many important magazines.

It’s a book on some of the most beautiful houses across Italy that people can rent as holiday homes––many are organic farms.

My home in Bra is also included, and for a long time I’ve received phone calls for people wanting to rent it, but in the end I never did, and now I have been starting to say “fully booked!” [he laughs].

Recently I have been working on a book about my life. I don’t have a title yet, but it’ll be a sort of autobiography with pictures.

I am in the process of choosing about images from a longlist of over 1, book will also include notes from friends whom I’ve met through my life and career as a photographer.

I read that you like to live on the move and that you experience withdrawal symptoms when you stay in one place for too long: are there any places where this feeling is lessened, where you feel you could plant deeper roots?

I left NY after the pandemic.

It had become extremely expensive, and I wanted a slower life. I returned to Bra, where I had a home next to my family property. The renovation and decor were deeply influenced by my work––in the sense that, thanks to my work, I’ve had the chance to travel around the world, meet interesting people, and see their houses. I’ve collected objects from all my trips, kept taps on pieces of design I’d spot here and there, and poured all these influences into my home.

Here, I have eased into a life where I can focus on my love of gardening––in NYC I could only grow nasturtiums on the balcony.

Oberto gili photography: Celebrity Homes. I had been interested in photography since an early age. Gili, shown, planted vegetable beds between rows of grapevines. In other words, these interiors told a story.

In Bra I have my vegetable garden; I have chickens and two rescue puppies I adore. I still take on assignments every now and then just for the love of it. For now I live here. No withdrawal symptoms so far.