Carlo Bavagnoli was born in Piacenza in 1932. He joined the staff of Epoca, then edited by Enzo Biagi, in 1955. After an article on Trastevere, he began working also with Life in 1958 and has been the only non-American photographer to work for this prestigious magazine. Among his most important articles have been those on Moscow and Leningrad in the 1960s.