After taking her degree in literature in Milan in 1973, Giovanna Calvenzi taught photography for eleven years while working for a number of Italian magazines. She became photo editor for the weekly Amica in 1985 and moved on to the magazine Max and later, to 7, the supplement to the daily Il Corriere della Sera.
In January 1990 she was photography director for the Italian Vanity Fair and then directed the women's monthly Lei-Glamour. She switched back to photo editor for the magazine Moda and in 1996 for Specchio, the supplement to the daily La Stampa.
Since January 2000 she has been photography director for Sportweek, the weekly supplement to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
As a photography exhibition and book originator, Giovanna Calvenzi has a special interest in contemporary photography. In 1998 she was the director of the Rencontres d'Arles.