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Since Italy has over half of the artistic masterpieces in the world, you probably already
have a list a mile long of "must-see" artistic treasures. But sometimes there are special shows
that are just as unique and unrepeatable, so we hope you can fit one or more of them in!
| Dürer, Titian, Rembrandt, Tiepolo (through October 4, 2009 at Museo Remondini, via Schiavonetti 7, Bassano del Grappa, open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-1pm and 3-6pm; Sunday 10:30am-1pm and 3-6 pm). Apart from the exquisite works displayed here, this show is a fascinating look at a collection amassed by several generations of one of Europe's finest engraver families. A few of the masterpieces were huge best-sellers in their time, contributing to the wealth of a family whose ancestral mansion hosts a delightful museum worth visiting if you're going to be in the Veneto. |  |
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From Petra to Shawbak, The Archeology of a Border Region (through October 11, 2009 at the Limonaia in Palazzo Pitti, Florence, open Monday-Sunday 8:15am-6:30pm; until 7:30pm in July and August). The sites of Petra and Shawbak are one of the most important historical areas in the world, and theatre of extraordinary recent discoveries. Petra, capital of the mercantile empire of the Nabataeans which controlled the incense route, was conquered by the Romans, the Persians and the Arabs up to the epoch of the Crusades, between 1100 and 1118, when king Baldwin of Jerusalem built the two castles of Al-Wu’Ayra and Al-Habis. The “Crusader” century (between 1100 and 1189) revived the city’s ancient function in southern Jordan, as a frontier between the Mediterranean and Arabia, but also between Syria and Egypt. |
| Leonor Fini, The Italian from Paris (through October 18, 2009 at Museo Revoltella, Via Diaz 27, Trieste, open Wednesday-Monday 10am-10pm; Thursday until 11pm). Born in Buenos Aires in 1907, Leonor Fini died in Paris in 1996, and thus her life and oeuvre spanned almost all the 2oth century. Although she never gained the fame she deserved, the 250 works in the exhibit clearly demonstrate the world-class level of her paintings, drawings, prints and illustrations. One entertaining aspect of the show is the hundreds of photographs of the artist, taken by all the greatest photographers of the century. |  |
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The People of San Spiridione. Serbians in Trieste 1751-1914 (through November 4, 2009 at Castello di San Giusto, Trieste, open daily 9am-7pm). To celebrate the 140th anniversary of the very elaborate church of San Spiridione and the 240th anniversary of the first ancient Slavic mass celebrated in Trieste, this fascinating exhibit will trace the origins of the "small but very active" local Serbian community. First arriving in the 8th century, they included merchants, businessmen and shipbuilders looking to take advantage of the relaxed trading conditions introduced by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. The exhibit traces the community's influence on southern European history, as well as the development of their religious ceremonies and relics. |
Sneak Preview of Egypt: Collections Never Before Seen (through November 8, 2009 at Castel del Buonconsiglio, Trento, open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm). This astounding exhibit offers no less than 800 works discovered one hundred years ago by Italian archeologists. Even if you have been to the museum in Cairo and the one in Turin and the Metropolitan in New York, you still have never seen anything like these extremely precious relics. Diaries and letters and photographs let you relive the thrill of their discovery; you can even explore a lifesize recreation of the mythical city where the Holy Family found refuge. Visit the Alps this fall -- and see Egypt while you're there! |
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Futurism! From Boccioni to Aeropainting (through December 8, 2009 at Fondazione Magnani Rocca, Via Fondazione Magnani Rocca 4, Parma-Mamiano di Traversetolo, open Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm; Saturday and Sunday 10am-7pm). On February 5, 1909, a local paper called Gazetta dell'Emilia was the first to publish the official manifest of Futurism, thus making 2009 the centennial year of this fundamental Italian artistic movement. The hundred works collected here offer a complete view of the movement's first and second phase, showing its gradual development and how the clamorous events of the 20th century's first quarter affected the Futurists. |
| All the Souls of the Mummy (through January 6, 2010 at Museo Civico Archeologico di Chianciano, Via Dante, Chianciano, open through October 31 Tuesday-Sunday 10am-1pm and 4-7pm; November 1-December 18 Saturday and Sunday 10am-1pm and 4-7pm; December 19-January 6 Tuesday-Sunday 10am-1pm and 4-7pm). Anyone interested in ancient culture would enjoy this exhibit because it is concise as well as comprehensive. The tiny museum's regular collection includes fascinating archeological artefacts from the Greek, Etruscan and Roman period. Now this temporary show adds some spectacular relics from the Egyptian tombs, thus tying in four important ancient periods with no cultural overload. |  |
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Telemaco Signorini and Painting in Europe (through January 31, 2010 at Palazzo Zabarella, Via degli Zabarella 14, Padua, open Wednesday-Monday 9:30am-7:30pm). One of the leading members of the predominantly Tuscan Macchiaioli movement that prefigured Impressionism, Signorini lived and worked alongside the greatest artists of his time. This exhibit proudly displays at least 100 of Signorini's finest works, as well as masterpieces by Degas, Tissot, Van Gogh, Decamps, Toulouse-Lautrec, Courbet and others. A fabulous excuse to stop on the way to Venice for a day! |
| Boldini in the Impressionists' Paris (through January 10, 2010 at Palazzo dei Diamanti, Corso Ercole I d'Este 21, Ferrara, open daily 9am-7pm). And one can never have enough of the Impressionists, can one! As you make your way north to Padua, stop off in Ferrara for this delightful show revolving around Giovanni Boldini, one of the greatest portrait artists of the Belle Epoque. After moving to Paris in 1871, he quickly made the acquaintance of everyone who was anyone, ably depicting many of them on canvas. At the end of your visit, you will feel that you've just spent a few special hours in the right place at the right time. |  |
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Michelangelo, Architect in Rome (through Feburary 7, 2010 at the Musei Capitolini, Piazza del Campidoglio 1, Rome, open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-8pm; December 24 and 31 9am-2pm). Michelangelo left his immortal mark all over Rome, and yet there were so many more designs that did not reach their glorious finale in marble or stone! Luckily, we still have the drawings and blueprints for those unborn buildings. Today they speak to us of the artist's great love for this city, equaled only by his feelings for his native Florence. The 105 works in this very special show came from all over Italy and represent Michelangelo's stays in Rome from 1505 to 1516 and then again from 1534 to his death in 1564. After you soak up this one man's unparalleled genius in the museum, step out onto the street and see the real thing, first right there at the impeccable Capitoline Square. Next, venture off to St. Peter's, Santa Maria degli Angeli (the church he fashioned inside one of the ancient baths), Porta Pia (the monumental city gate), and the Sforza Chapel in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. |
Our list is anything but complete: if you know of other exhibitions or events you think people should hear about, please drop us a line.