Archival events » From Giotto to Maxxi – Italian art and museums at the turn of the 21st century
All lectures will begin at 6.00 p.m. and will be translated simultaneously from Italian. Free admission.
A series of four lectures, organized jointly by the Italian Culture Institute and the International Cultural Centre in Kraków, is addressed to both art lovers and specialists. These talks by Italian experts aim to acquaint the Polish audience with recent Italian achievements in the field of art and museum development.
We present Italian cultural heritage, which was the leading theme of the first series of jointly organized lectures in 2010, in the most attractive way in terms of both content and visual aspects. The series of lectures will begin with the presentation of a monographic work which focuses on the reinterpretation of symbolic aspects of Giotto frescoes at Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. The presentation will be followed by three lectures by directors and curators of different museums and collections, diverse in terms of their content and method of presentation. The lecturers will talk about special and magical places, inspiring a discussion about contemporary art and museums: D’Anunnzio’s villa in Vittoriale, a private collection of site-specific art Fattoria di Celle at the Renaissance palace in Santomato di Pistoia near Florence and the exhibition of the National Museum of 21st Century Arts (MAXXI) in Rome, designed by the architect Ms Zaha Hadid.
The Secrets of Giotto
Professor Giuliano Pisani, PaduaFebruary 28, 2012
Professor Pisani has worked for many years on the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, adorned with famous frescoes by Giotto, and authored the book titled I volti segreti di Giotto (The Secret Sides of Giotto) which was published in 2008. Professor Pisani is seeking new threads in this world-famous work of art, using an almost detective-like investigation method which has led to new, surprising observations which differ from classical, stereotypical interpretations. In his eye, the forms and colours create new, unexpected patterns, revealing the figures which have, so far, gone unnoticed. The presumed symbols of the Evangelists have turned out to be mythological animals and figures.
Giuliano Pisani – a scholar of ancient Greek and Latin literature, dealing with Ancient and Renaissance philosophy. He has authored numerous articles and research papers devoted to the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua with its famous Giotto frescoes as well as the book titled I volti segreti di Giotto (Rizzoli), published in 2008. He is an active promoter of culture, addressing in particular young people and is the initiator and Chair of the organizing committee of the Campiello Giovani award in literature. This award has been held every year since 1994. In 2001 Pisani initiated the Gemine Muse forum. This encourages dialogue between a work by a young artist and a selected museum exhibit. He also manages the Garden of the Righteous of the World in Padua, set up to commemorate individuals who stood up against genocide in the last century. A laureate of numerous awards for his translation and literary achievements.
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Il Vittoriale degli Italiani
Professor Giordano Bruno Guerri, VittorialeMarch 20, 2012
Il Vittoriale degli Italiani is a monumental architectural complex which was created by the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio and the architect Giancarlo Maroni in the years 1921-1938. In 1923 it was donated to “the Italian nation”. The complex consists of extensive gardens with numerous terraces, artificial rivers, orangeries and monumental structures, such as the Dolphin Fountain, the Puglia Ship and the Heroes’ Mausoleum. Villa Thode stands out among these structures with its interior adorned with impressive decorations. It houses D’Annunzio’s memorabilia as well as a unique library numbering 33,000 volumes.
Giordano Bruno Guerri – President of the Vittoriale degli Italiani Foundation, in custody of Gabriel D’Annunzio’s villa in Gardone Riviera. Lecturer of modern history at the Marconi University in Rome. Specializes in the era of fascism and its prominent figures, to which he has devoted many scientific papers and works for the general public. Among his most recent publications are the following: D'Annunzio. L'amante guerriero (2008), Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (2009), Il sangue del Sud (2010) and Il bosco nel cuore (2011). He is the former editorial director of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore and editorial director of "Storia illustrata", "Chorus" and "L'indipendente". He has collaborated with the Italian television station RAI as history consultant, originator of ideas, scriptwriter and a host of feature programmes on TV.
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MAXXI: the Culture Factory
Pio Baldi, RomeMarch 27, 2012
The Roman MAXXI (Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo) designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2010, presents the most important phenomenon of modern art and architecture. MAXXI Architettura is a museum that is at the same time both historical and modern, in which the past and the present meet. MAXXI Architettura’s exhibitions contain everything that documents the process of creating a work of architecture. Focusing on modern art, MAXXI Arte serves as an interpreter and spokesman for different types of art, promoting new art and showing full awareness of the fact that modernity assumes various forms whose origins can be retraced in earlier centuries. MAXXI is a museum with architecture that is far for schematic – a starting point for new museum practices which break from those of the past. In addition to its usual exhibitions, the museum offers an array of multidisciplinary cultural events, being a museum, an archive, a library and a media library, while at the same time a space which embraces, encourages and brings people together.
Pio Baldi – an architect and author of essays, books and specialized publications on cultural heritage and contemporary art and architecture. He is currently President of the Foundation that manages MAXXI - National Museum of the 21st Century Arts. He has worked for over 30 years in the field of cultural heritage, taking care of the restoration of numerous monuments in Italy and abroad, during his tenure of office as Director General for architecture and contemporary art (DARC), and Director General for environmental assets and landscape. He was Superintendent of Lazio, Superintendent of Sienna,Vice Director of the Central Institute of Restoration and a member of the National Council of Cultural Heritage. He is a member of the Academy of St Luca.
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Environmental art as nature preservation and the return to the historic relation between the artist and patron
Fabio Gori, Santomato di Pistoia near Florence Deliver a lecture in place of his father, Giuliano GoriApril 19, 2012
In 1970, Giuliano Gori, the initiator and owner of the collection, moved to Fattoria di Celle in Santomato di Pistoia with the intention of combining the natural environment with art. In 1982, he inaugurated there the first private collection of site-specific art, which today numbers over seventy works created by world-renowned artists. It is an unusual project both because of the collection’s specificity and its situation within a Renaissance palace and park complex.
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Giuliano Gori – creator of the collection and founder of Fattoria di Celle in Santomato di Pistoia. He was a founder of, advisor to and the first President of the Luigi Pecci Modern Art Centre in Prato, and advisor to the Grand Arche de la Défence in Paris. He is a founding member of, and advisor to, the World Monuments Fund, the curator of Risarcimento (an association thanks to which the Uffizi Gallery acquired 62 works of modern art); the curator of the City of Science Section of Visual Arts in Bagnoli (Naples); curator of the 11th edition of the Biennial in Carrara, where he created an all seasons park with seven works of landscaping art. In 1993 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at Suor Orsola Benincasa University in Naples. In 2007, he obtained the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles award.
Fabio Gori - art collector, with the whole family actively works for collection Fattoria di Celle. Chairman of numerous organizations established in the Prato area, involved in activities of bibliophilic and Italian history. Currently holds the position of counsellor in ARPAI (Associazione per il Restauro del Patrimonio Artistico Italiano). The promoter of art exhibitions and curator of the edition of the Dakar off 2002.
