|
|
|
|
|
|
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!
La Belle Epoque: Art in Italy 1880-1915 (through July 13, 2008 at Palazzo Roverella, Via Giuseppe Laurenti,
Rovigo, open Tuesday-Friday 9am-7pm, Saturdays 9am-9pm, Sundays 9am-8pm). The forty years covered by this
exhibit were for Europe a delightfully carefree time filled with unlimited faith in the future, vast sums
of money, and countless beautiful women. Electricity had obliterated the gloom of nighttime, and members of
high society took advantage of every moment to enjoy themselves. The 110 works in this show, by many of the
greatest artists of the time, recreate the hedonistic atmosphere of a continent not yet aware of the horrors
soon to be played out on the battlefields of World War I. If you want to see what high society Italian life
was like at the turn of the 20th century, head for the charming Veneto village of Rovigo.
Rome and the Barbarians (through July 20, 2008 at Palazzo Grassi, Campo
San Samuele 3231, Venice; open daily 9am-7pm). The event focuses on the Roman Empire's most difficult age,
when people of profoundly different cultures and traditions from the steppes of Asia and Eastern Europe gradually
began to dominate the Western world, leading to the fall of Rome. On show is a vast collection of archeological
finds that covers the various phases of coexistence and conflict between the empire and barbarian populations. Click
here for the web site.
15th-Century
Rome: The Rebirth of Art from Donatello to Perugino (through September 7, 2008
at Museo del Corso, Via del Corso 320, Rome; open Tuesdays-Sundays 10am-8pm). Usually when we mention the
word "Renaissance," we think of Florence, whereas we tend to associate Rome with the ancient and
Baroque periods. But since it was the popes who were the greatest patrons of the artistic rebirth that put
Italian painters on the map, Rome also harbors a vast assortment of 15th-century masterpieces. The 170 pieces
in this exhibit range from sculptures to sacred vestments to famous paintings, arranged in five categories
pertaining to The City, Religious and Civil Life, Rome As An Open-Air Museum, The Popes, and the Great Artists. Click
here for the web site (mostly in Italian).
The Revival of Classical Antiquity in Italian Art, From Federico II to
Andrea Pisano (through
September 7, 2008 at Castello Sismondo, Piazza Cavour, Rimini, open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-7pm). One of Italy's
most interesting 15th-century castles is the one almost no one ever sees, in the old part of Rimini on the
Adriatic Coast. Built by the great Stefano Malatesta, it offers a wonderfully complete picture of what these
medieval fortresses were like in their heyday. Get three thrills for the price of one this summer: visit the
castle, enjoy this fascinating exhibit about the great Italian resuscitation of the classical arts, and then
spend the rest of the day at the best equipped (and perhaps biggest) beach in the world.
Amedeo Modigliani and Silvestro Lega (through September 14, 2008 at the former church of
San Rocco and San Sebastiano, Piazza Pretorio, Modigliana, open Saturday and Sunday 3-7pm and all Thursdays
in July 8-11pm). It has often been pointed out that Italy's native Impressionists, i Macchiaioli, had a great
influence on Modigliani, who was painting a couple decades after their demise. Lega, one of the finest of
the Macchiaioli, was from the town of Modigliana -- so combine the two facts and you have the perfect reason
to host a collection of pastels and oils by both artists and their mediator, Guglielmo Micheli.
Heaven
on Earth. Medieval Gardens at the Rocca Borromeo (through October 19, 2008 at Rocca
Borromeo on Lake Maggiore, open daily 9am-5:30pm). This delightful exhibit inaugurates Princess Bona Borromeo's
plan to turn her family's spectacular lakefront castle into a bona fide center for medieval studies. Setting
herself a goal never before achieved in Italy -- to recreate an authetic replica of the Middle Ages in one
of its original settings -- she gets the ball rolling with this wonderful collection of medieval garden scenes.
A great excuse to visit the austere and imposing castle that dominates the southern shore of Lake Maggiore.
Rembrandt and European Graphic Masterpieces (July 4-November 2, 2008 at Castello
del Buonconsiglio, Trento, open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm).The Buonconsiglio collection of "Rembrandtesque" etchings
and watercolors numbers more than 1000 Italian, French, Dutch, Flemish, German, Spanish and English works
dated from the end of the 15th century to the mid-16th century. Most of these have never been seen by the
public: they will now be on display alongside works by the Maestro himself, on loan from museums around the
world.
Rome and Egypt: From History to Myth (through November 9,
2008 at Castel Sant'Angelo, Lungotevere 50, Rome, open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-7pm). The close ties between the
Roman and Egyptian empires are evident everywhere in the Eternal City: from the 13
obelisks to the stone lions guarding the Campidoglio (site of the world's first senate) to the Cestian
Pyramid (where Caius Cestius is buried) and the countless small relics you'll find gracing walls and sidewalks
all over town. This exhibit includes works dating as far back as 2700 BC, and shows how the arts of the Pharoahs
influenced one of Europe's greatest cultures from 100 BC through the Middle Ages.
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.