Ilo Battigelli
March 19, 2009
Survived by his wife Pauline, daughters Danielle and Michelle, and four grandchildren.
He joined the Ras Tanura Refinery project in 1946, arriving from Eritrea with a large group of Italians who had been interned there during World War II. He made a name for himself as Ilo the Pirate, photographing people and places in the Eastern Province and creating a
unique record of old Saudi Arabia. He left Aramco in 1954 after serving as supervisor of the
photographic group attached to the Engineering Dept., and moved to Rhodesia where he opened a studio.
He retired to Italy in 2000. He exhibited his photographs in the United States, England Italy and Rhodesia, and was honored by Italy for his services to photography and the Italian community in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia).
Correspondence may be sent to Pauline at Via Sabotino, 14, San Daniele del Friuli 33038, Italy.
Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah