Nicola Parente

Nicola Maria Parente (13 March 1847 – 19 May 1911) was an Italian-Brazilian dentist, photographer and wandering projectionist. During his travels throughout Brazil in the late 19th century, Parente introduced motion pictures to several Brazilian capitals with the Lumière .

Early life and family

Nicola Parente was born on 13 March 1847 in Marsico Nuovo, in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, before the unification of Italy. Local newspapers place Parente arriving in Rio de Janeiro at least as early as 25 March 1871.

Parente purportedly arrived to Taquari in 1876, and a source claims that only then did family members migrate alongside him from Europe. In Taquari, he had at least four children with Maria Carolina Rotundo: Galileo, in 1877; Galvani, in 1878; and the twins Margarida and Timotheo, in 1880. Later that year, newspaper reports cite Parente as having taken portrait photographs during a previous visit 6 years earlier, in 1875. These photographs were described as being "as perfect as if they had been taken right now", and their quality was attributed to the pureness of the chemicals Parente used. In João Pessoa, Parente opened a studio called . In 1897, Parente begins his wandering projections in Belém; on 28 July, Parente brings cinema to João Pessoa, the first time in the city's (and the state's) history. (in 7 views: 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496);

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Parente holds his first film session in Fortaleza on 13 November 1897; it is unclear whether he or Dionísio Costa, another wandering projectionist who similarly brought a Lumière to the capital at that time, holds the title for the first cinematographic projection in the city.

Afterwards, Parente returns to Belém and,

Parente's journey as a wandering projectionist ends in December 1899, after almost 3 years travelling the country. He would present films one last known time at , again in Manaus, on 13 September 1900. While in Abaeté, Parente also resumes working with photography.

Legacy For his introduction of moving pictures to the state of Paraíba, Nicola Parente was chosen as patron for the #1 chair of the , founded in 2008.