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Pierino Di Tonno’s moustache is impressive.

He got a compliment on it from one of the great moustachioed men of the 20th century, famed artist Salvador Dali, when Di Tonno was taking his photograph in the 1970s.

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Dali’s portrait is one of hundreds that adorn the walls of the photo studio and apartment Di Tonno has called home for the last 40 years. Among other standouts are actors Sophia Loren, Charlie Chaplin, Sergio Leone, Al Pacino and Italian film director Federico Fellini.

“He had a little, thin moustache, and I had a big, thick one; he complimented my moustache,” Di Tonno, 82, said of Dali while showing reporters around his apartment on Saturday. “He was a very nice person.”

Born in the small town of Montorio nei Frentani in Italy near the Adriatic Sea, Di Tonno came to Montreal about 60 years ago, and found work as a photographer for an Italian newspaper. He also took photographs for several film festivals, both in Montreal and Venice.