Exhibitions, events, festivals and more: Italy welcomes 2016 with a wealth of interesting cultural offerings which will make your visit even more special. Here are four major ones not to miss in the coming year.
- “Lo splendore di Venezia: Canaletto, Bellotto, Guardi e i vedutisti dell’Ottocento” – Brescia, 23 January-12 June 2016
Palazzo Martinengo in Brescia will host an important exhibition celebrating the Italian city that perhaps more than any other remains a timeless myth in the collective imagination: Venice.
Melting pot of art and culture, religion and business, historic monuments and breathtaking views, the Serenissima has charmed countless generations of travelers, merchants, and artists who have tried to capture the magic of its squares, churches and canals, its lights, reflections and the changing moods of this "enchanted place suspended between water and sky."
This explains why Venice became reknown as the center of the “vedutisti”, artists who belonged to the “vedutismo” or landscape painting genre, which aimed to provide a faithful, highly-detailed reproduction of landscapes and cityscapes.
The exhibition will feature a selection of more than 100 paintings, including masterpieces by some of the most important representatives of the Venetian genre, such as Canaletto, Bellotto, Guardi, and all the major “vedutisti” from the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus the visitor will discover the sights and the most beautiful corners of Venice, from Piazza San Marco to Punta della Dogana, from Palazzo Ducale to the Rialto bridge to the spectacular Grand Canal where gondolas pass by - following the thread of a story that unfolds along two centuries of art history, through the different pictorial trends that have occurred over time, from Baroque to Rococo, from Romanticism to Impressionism.
For more information: http://amicimartinengo.it/.
- “Piero della Francesca. Indagine su un mito” - Forlì, 13 February-26 June 2016
The first exhibition of its kind devoted to Piero della Francesca, an artist of the early Renaissance who enjoyed great success in his lifetime, but was largely forgotten from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and was later rediscovered by modern artists.
Hosted by Musei San Domenico in Forlì, the exhibition aims to compare some of Piero della Francesca’s masterpieces with those of important Renaissance artists, including Domenico Veneziano, Beato Angelico, Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno, who influenced Piero in the early stages of his artistic career. The exhibition will also try to document the influence the Umbria-born master had on the generation of artists immediately following his, including Marco Zoppo, Francesco del Cossa, Luca Signorelli, Melozzo da Forli, Antoniazzo Romano, Giovanni Bellini and Antonello da Messina.
Finally, the exhibition will investigate the myth of Piero della Francesca once it is rediscovered, after centuries of oblivion, in the modern era, and especially in the 20th century, by artists of the caliber of Morandi and De Chirico in Italy, and Hopper and Balthus abroad.
For more information: http://mostrapierodellafrancesca.com/.
- 2016 Opera Festival of the Arena di Verona – Verona, 24 June-28 August 2016
The 94th edition of the Opera Festival at the Arena di Verona promises to be a sort of “best of”, putting together the most beloved titles staged with the most successful productions of all time, for a season of wonder and emotions enhanced by the spectacular setting of the world's largest open-air theater.
Five opera classics will be staged: Carmen by Georges Bizet, Aida, La Traviata, Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini's Turandot.
On June 24, the 2016 Festival will open with an opera that is acclaimed worldwide, particularly by Arena di Verona audiences: Carmen by Georges Bizet, staged for 13 evenings with the cinematographic production created in 1995 by Franco Zeffirelli.
Beginning the following evening, 16 performances will be staged of the opera that is a symbol of the Arena di Verona and the most-performed of all: Aida, with the traditional production created in 1982 by Gianfranco de Bosio.
The third opera on the program, for 8 nights, with the first show on July 2, is La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, featuring the refined production created for the inauguration of the 2011 Festival by Hugo de Ana.
From July 23, there will be 5 performances of Turandot by Giacomo Puccini, with the lavish production by Franco Zeffirelli.
Last but not least, from August 6 for 4 evenings, Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi will be staged, with direction and set design again by Franco Zeffirelli.
For more information: http://www.arena.it/arena/en/.
- Commemorations for the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Florence flood – Florence, throughout the year
2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the flood of the Arno river that devastated the city and province of Florence in 1966. Several events throughout the year will be organized to commemorate the tragedy that saw the loss of 101 lives and damaged or destroyed millions of masterpieces of art and rare books.
More than sixty countries came to the rescue of Florence, participating in various ways to the reconstruction, restoration, implementation of safety measures, ultimately helping significantly to bring the city back to normal. The same can be said for the Florentines themselves, as well as Italians from every corner of the country. The commemorations wish to remember this choral, concrete action, this active contribution on the part of the local and international community.
Some of the most important events will be organized at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, which will host a chronological reconstruction through documents, images and witness accounts, with a focus on the damage to the cultural heritage and its restoration; and at Santa Croce, which is expected to host a reconstruction of the most symbolic flood event, the fury of the waters hitting the Crucifx by Cimabue.
For more information: http://www.firenze2016.it.
