If you are going to be in or near Brescia between this Friday and next June you have a chance to see an unusual and impressive exhibition at the city’s Museo di Santa Giulia. To mark the 2010 bicentenary of Latin America’s liberation from Spain, the exhibition “INCA: Origine e misteri della civiltà dell’oro” [INCA: Origins and Mysteries of the Golden Civilisation] looks at pre-Columbian civilisations in Peru and the importance of gold in their lives over 3,000 years, from the 15th century BC to the time of the Incas.
Gold was much prized in these civilisations as it was believed to be a gift from the sun. Its rarity added to its desirability and pieces were considered to be the “crystallised tears of the sun gods”. Over 270 objects will be on display at the exhibition, including “tumi” or sacrificial knives, funeral masks – one of which, on loan from the Bruning Museum in Peru, is made of solid gold - jewellery, items featuring turquoises, wooden artefacts and silver and ceramic objects. Sounds and music will be used to tell the story of the civilisations.
A second exhibition, “PLUS ULTRA. Oltre il barocco" [Beyond the Baroque: Distinctive Signs of Latin American Art] will run concurrently at the same Museum and traces the development of recognisably Latin American art forms. It will document the interlinked history of colonialism and art by displaying around 90 works borrowed from Latin American and Spanish collections.
Tickets are valid for both exhibitions and for the rest of the Museo di Santa Giulia, which is interesting in itself for its convent past as well as its permanent exhibits. Visitors who book online also have a chance to win a holiday in Peru.
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