ITALY'S HISTORIC HOSPITALS COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS
The Italian Ministry of Work and Made in Italy has commissioned a new series of stamps honouring five of Italy's historic hospitals, as part of its “public spirit” series.
The stamps illustrate iconic features in each institution, all founded several centuries ago but still functioning as modern hospitals, fully equipped with avant-guard instruments for diagnosis and treatments.
The series, which was issued on the 24th November 2024, are veritable historic documents, reproducing images of the unique elements of each hospital, such as the historic archive of the Polyclinic (General Hospital) of Milan, founded in 1456, and with one of the most important historic archives in Europe as well as numerous works of art by celebrated artists, the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova of Florence, first founded in 1285, allegedly on land belonging to the Portinari family to which Dante's Beatrice belonged), the renaissance Civic Hospital of Saints John & Paul of Venice (which also incorporates a series of scientific and medical museums), the Santo Spirito in Sassia (Holy Spirit Hospital) in Rome, situated near the Vatican and believed to be one of Europe's oldest hospitals, dating back to the Dark Ages when it catered to “Saxon” pilgrims, and lastly, the Hospital of Santa Maria del Popolo degli Incurabili (the “Hospital of the Incurables”) in Naples founded in 1522 in the heart of the city.
Info: https:/filatelia.poste.it
TURIN'S EGYPTIAN MUSEUM: NEW EXPERIENCE
The Egyptian Museum of Turin has undergone a thorough restyling to set off some of its most celebrated exhibits to better advantage. In addition, new display space has been created that will finally allow visitors to admire an additional 6,000 items that had been hitherto kept in storage.
After Cairo, the Egyptian Museum of Turin is the oldest and most important museum in the world dedicated to Ancient Egyptian culture, dating from 1824, when King Carlo Felice of Italy bought the vast collection gathered by Bernardino Drovetti, Counsel General for France under Napoleon and his successor Louis XVIII. Among the most important exhibits is the Tomb of Kha and Merit, dating from 1425-1353 BC and a rare example of a tomb found intact. In addition to grave goods it contained traces of food like grapes and meat.
Another special exhibit is the Ellesiya chapel, dedicated to the deities Amun, Horis and Satis and the oldest rock temple discovered in Nubia. It was gifted to Italy by the Egyptian government as a thank you gesture for the help given by Italian archaeologists and restorer specialists in saving some of the monuments that were doomed to be submerged by the construction of the Aswan dam in the 1960s.
Important changes have been made to the Gallery of Kings, where natural daylight now illuminates the groups of gods, goddesses and pharaohs, allowing better observation of details. Previously, lighting was dim, creating an intimate but brooding atmosphere.
In October 2024, three new sectors have been opened in the museum, dedicated to materials used by the Ancient Egyptians to create tools and artefacts, with focus on wood, terracotta and pigments and displaying several thousand items dating from 4000 BC to the Byzantine era.
Info: Tel. +39.011.4406903 https://www.museoegizio info@museitorino.it
GIBELLINA: EX EARTHQUAKE TOWN REBORN ART CENTRE
Gibellina, near Trapani in Sicily has been elected 2026 “Italian Capital of Contemporary Art”, the first Italian town to hold this title. The project is entitled “Portami il Futuro” (Bring Me the Future), and aims to combine tradition with innovation, regenerating the concept of culture as “common good” and involving the citizens together with the artists and the institutions.
Gibellina, a small community near Salemi, was totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1968, and was reborn, thanks to the courageous initiative of the then mayor, Ludovico Corrao, who convinced celebrated artist Alberto Burri to create a landscape monument out of the rubble. The result was the Grande Cretto di Burri, one of the most extensive works of contemporary art in the world – a vast concrete labyrinth constructed over the site of the ruined town, with passages and corners that faithfully followed the former town layout.
The new town of Gibellina was built instead on a more protected site some 11 kms distant, incorporating designs and creations submitted by other celebrated Italian artists, such as Mario Schifani, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Mimmo Paladino, Pietro Consagra, Andrea Cascella, Franco Angeli and others, many of whom donated their art works to a new museum of contemporary art, named after Ludovico Corrao, which now contains a collection of over 2000 works.
The new town is an open air art gallery, with the main square named after the date of the fatal earthquake: Piazza XV January 1968.
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STENHOUSE
Info: Tel. +39.0924.524882 www.macgibellona.it info@macgibellina.it
THE ENIGMATIC WARRIOR OF CAPESTRANO
The Abruzzo Region has changed its official crest to include a stylized image of the prehistoric sculpture known as the Capestrano Warrior, designed by the celebrated contemporary artist Mimmo Paladino.
The 2m-tall statue, carved out of a single limestone block, has been dated to the VI century BC, and identified with the Vestini, an ancient Italic people who once lived in the area stretching from the mountains of Gran Sasso to the Adriatic coast.
The sculpture was discovered by chance in 1934 in an ancient burial site near the town of Capestrano, and has intrigued archeologists and scientists ever since. An inscription on the base, which was only fully interpreted in 1986 after years of study by noted archaeologist and Etruscologist Adriano La Regina as “Aninis made this fine image for King Nevio Pompulledius” has also provided the key to understanding other inscriptions found in this hitherto unknown language.
The warrior is a unique and impressive work of art, representing a noble chieftain, armed for battle, holding a sword and a small-headed axe in arms crossed over the breast, with a mask over its face and a unique wide-brimmed hat on its head. Recent restoration has revealed traces of red colouring and bronze, suggesting that it once had metal shin guards and breast plate. The face was covered by a mask that was originally painted white.
The warrior intrigues some researchers for other reasons, thanks to certain anatomical anomalies. While the upper torso is flat and conforms to the male form, the lower part of the trunk tapers into a slim waist above generously curving hips and typically feminine buttocks. Did the statue actually represent a Warrior Queen? Another theory suggests it was a mythical figure of a divinity representing both sexes.
The Warrior of Capestrano is part of the collection of the National Archeological Museum of Abruzzo at Chieti.
M. STENHOUSE
Info: Tel. +39.0871.331666 www.museiabruzzo.cultura.gov.it https://cultura.gov.it
SEEING THE INVISIBLE WITH MARCONI
The Italian Ministry of Culture is commemorating Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of radio communications, with a major exhibition in Rome's monumental Victor Emanuel Memorial to mark the 150th anniversary of the scientist's birth.
The multi-medial exhibition, complete with rare and exclusive material supplied by Cinecittà, Italy's major cinema studios and the historic Luce Archives of photographic material, was launched on the 8th November with the title: “Seeing the Invisible”
Meanwhile, other exhibitions and tributes to Marconi's genius are being staged all over Italy, with special initiatives involving the Marconi Foundation, located in the Villa Griffone near Bologna. This was Marconi's family residence and where he conducted some of his earliest experiments with “wireless” communications.
Marconi conducted most of his experiments from his yacht, the Elettra, the name that he also gave his daughter, now aged 94. A living custodian of her father's memory, she is much in demand this year by both Italian and foreign media.
Marconi was forced to move his operation and experiments from Italy to Great Britain in 1896 when he was unable to obtain sufficient funding from the Italian government. Within a year, he was able to transmit signals over a distance of 12 miles and took out his first patents. In 1901 he successfully made his first transatlantic contact in the form of the morse code letter “S” between Newfoundland in Canada and Poldhu in Cornwall.
Originally, the potential importance of his experiments were underestimated – until the Titanic disaster in 1912. The doomed ship was equipped with radio transmitters but the signals were not picked up immediately and rescue ships were slow in arriving. Nonetheless, some 700 survivors were saved and the era of modern communications was born.
“Seeing the Invisible” runs until the 25th April 2025
M. STENHOUSE
Info: Museo Marconi at Villa Griffone: Tel.- +39.051.846121) www.museomarconi.it
“Vedere l'Invisibile” https://cultura.gov.it www.archivioluce.com
THE BOOK BOAT: NEW CRUISE ROUTE
After its successful series of voyages between the Italian port of Civitavecchia and Barcelona (this year in its 12th edition), Grimaldi shipping lines has launched a new literary cruise for book lovers with destinations Naples and Palermo.
During the voyage, between the 13th and 19th November 2024. participants can enjoy meeting a selection of well-known authors who will present their books, with live musical accompaniments.
The “A Ship of Books” event is part of the programme “Leggere Tutti” (Everyone Read), promoted by the publishing company Agro Editrice, with the collaboration of the Grimali line. It will not be, however, an exclusive bookworm event. Emphasis will also be on the gastronomical treats of the two cities, prepared by local top chefs and patisseries.
Time off shore is spent exploring the marvels of the two cities, accompanied by local guides and will include the splendid Norman Cappella Palatina, Monreale and Villa Niscemi in the Park La Favorita.
The second day contemplates visits to Bagheria with Villa Palagonia (the Villa of the “Monsters”), Villa Cattolica, seat of the Guttuso Museum, plus the famous wine cellar of Duca di Salaparuta at Casteldaccia, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.
Naples offers a city tour of the city monuments and artistic marvels, including a visit to the Museum of Capodimonte.
The “Leggere Tutto” publishing house aims to encourage and promote reading, also in schools and public libraries. Previous cruises of “A Ship of Books “ included Erasmus students, teachers and school children among its passengers .
M. STENHOUSE
Info: +39.06.44254205 www.leggeretutti.it info@leggeretutti.it
FORGOTTEN WOMEN ARTISTS IN ROME
The ground-breaking exhibition “Le Signore dell'Arte”, focussing on Italian women artists of the 16th and 17th centuries, held in the Royal Palace of Milan in 2021, opened a door onto a hitherto unknown reality: that art had not been an exclusive prerogative of men from the Renaissance onwards, but that many women artists had also had successful careers during the same period. The Museum of Rome at Palazzo Braschi has now taken up the theme, offering a spectacular exhibition of the works of 56 women artists who worked in Rome between the 17th and 19th centuries.
On display are 130 works, coming from major Italian galleries and museums in various Italian cities, as well as the National Gallery of London and the Thorvaldsen Museum of Copenhagen.
For many of these artists, this is the first time that their work has received official recognition, since many of their paintings were catalogued as “artist unknown” or were attributed to their maestro or to a male family member.
A series of talks, open to the public, describing the lives and works of the artists on show are available during the exhibition period, as well as a map of Rome indicating the places connected with the life and work of many of the artists
“ROMA PITTRICE, Artiste al Lavoro tra XVI e XIX Secole” (Rome Women Artists, working between yhe XVI and the XIX centuries) runs until the 23rd March 2025 at the Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi.
Info: Tel. 060608 www.museodiroma.it museodiroma@comune.roma.it
BATS IN MILAN
Bats are the focus of the exhibition “Ali nella Notte” (“Wings in the Night”) that recently opened inside the historic San Romano Farmhouse in Milan's agricultural park near the San Siro Hippodrome.
The 300 acre “Bosco in Citta” (City Woodland) is a spacious green area, gifted to the citizens by the city authorities and cared for exclusively by volunteers. It includes woodlands, a lake fed by streams, wetlands and paths with observation points where visitors can observe the spontaneous flora, fish, birdlife and other native fauna in their natural setting. In addition, the park contains over 200 citizen allotments, plus orchards, bee sanctuaries and a “Green Library” containing books on the environment, farming and conservation, created in 1973 by the Italia Nostra Heritage Protection Association.
In recent years, environmentalists have expressed concern that the number of bats is declining fast and the current exhibition aims to bring more public awareness of the problem. The “Ali nella Notte” is curated by the Natural History Museum and the Platypus company, specializing in the planning and management of natural resources,
Running until the 19th March 2025, with a special event programmed for the 5th November 2024.
Info: Tel. +39/02.4522401 info@efu.it
POSTAGE SERIES FOR ITALY'S SPECIAL TOWNS
The Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy has launched a series of official postage stamps commemorating some of Italy's lesser known small towns listed in the “Borghi Piu Belli d'Italia” (“the Most Beautiful Small Towns of Italy”) sure to attract collectors. The stamps have been printed by the official Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.a. (the State Mint and Polygraphic Institute) and can be used for regular postage purposes.
The first series features Pescocostanzo (in Abruzzo), Stilo (Calabria), Codrongianos (Sardinia) and Scicli (Sicily)
The choice cannot have been easy as there are at present 325 listed “borghi” (small, historic towns that have remained architecturally and culturally intact over several centuries).
The Borghi are mostly off the beaten tourist track in scenic and unspoiled areas, and offer alternative destinations for the more discriminating tourist. They all abound in Italy's classic attractions, such as splendid monuments and works of art, gastronomic treats, cultural events and local folklore festivals.
Info: www.posteitaliane.it
THE ROOMS OF THE LAST DUCHESS
Palazzo Pitti (Florence) has now opened, for the first time, the sumptuous apartment that once belonged to the last owner, the Duchess Anne of France, widow of Duke Amedeo d'Aosta.
The palace was first purchased in the 16th century from the wealthy merchant Luca Pitti by Cosimo 1 de'Medici who transformed it into a royal residence for Maria de'Medici, his niece and future Queen of France. Subsequently it was reserved as the private residence of various members of the Medici and Hapsburg-Lorraine families until the arrival of the Savoy dynasty, the Unification of Italy and the end of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Subsequently, the palace was the residence of the Italian royal family until 1911, when it was known as “the Apartment of His Majesty the King”. The present décor and furnishings of the 14 lavish rooms have remained those created by the last inhabitant, the Duchess Anne.
From November 2024 regular guided tours are available for groups of max 10, with entrance from the Modern Art Gallery, 2nd Floor.
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