[1] Born in Turin, Calcina was a photographer by profession,[2] he was the Lumière brothers' representative for Italy from 1896.
[3] In that year: He then became the official photographer of the House of Savoy,[2] the Italian ruling dynasty from 1861 to 1946.
In this role he filmed the first Italian film, Sua Maestà il Re Umberto e Sua Maestà la Regina Margherita a passeggio per il parco a Monza (English: His Majesty the King Umberto and Her Majesty the Queen Margherita strolling through the Monza Park), believed to have been lost until it was rediscovered by the Cineteca Nazionale in 1979.
[8] He ended his career as a short film director in 1905, when he resumed the activity of representative of the Lumière brothers in Italy.
[2] List of films made by Calcina:[9]