An exhibition in Grosseto dedicated to the art of the 1960s in Maremma

Until Sept. 3, the Polo Culturale delle Clarisse in Grosseto is hosting the exhibition I favolosi anni ’60 in Maremma. In the sign of Ico Parisi, promoted as part of the exhibition program of Fondazione CR Firenze and Gallerie degli Uffizi, within their respective projects Piccoli Grandi Musei and Uffizi Diffusi.

The Uffizi Galleries (of which the Palazzo Pitti Fashion and Costume Museum is part) will contribute four garments from their prestigious collection, signed by designers who marked the fashion of the 1960s, to the exhibition. Among them are two cocktail dresses, one by Federico Forquet, the other by Mila Schön, and two swimsuits by Dianora Marandino: mounted on four mannequins, they have been placed in a setting inspired by two tourist accommodations of the time and enriched with photographs, drawings and vintage design objects. The aim of the exhibition, to evoke the fervent tourist environment of the Maremma in the 1960s, highlighting the dialogue between artistic and cultural expressions, between design and local visitors.

The exhibition is contextualized in three places-symbols, two hotels and a church, evidence of the prolific tourism in the 1960s in Maremma.

The first is theHotel Lorena, strategically located on the Via Aurelia. It was opened on November 26, 1960, but closed in the 2000s. Architect Ico Parisi furnished it according to the most up-to-date Italian design taste, where he usually conducted his business. The second is the Corte dei Butteri hotel, located near the sea: it was designed and built entirely by Parisi, after the reclamation of the swamp that previously covered the area. The clientele, more reserved than that of the first hotel, also manifested a sensitivity marked by a more conscious respect for nature. Dianora Marandino’s swimsuits express, through the forms of weaves and fabrics, the close relationship with the surrounding nature, as evidenced by the choice of cotton and colorful hand-painted decorations, which refer to the elements of the landscape. Further setting of the exhibition is the church of Santa Maria dell’Osa, part of the Corte dei Butteri hotel complex and also a witness to intervention in full consideration of the natural scene.

The two cocktail dresses lent by the Uffizi Museum of Fashion and Costume represent its refined and dynamic clientele. Federico Fourquet’s overcoat from 1968, with its well-defined flared cut, has five circles on the right side, one inside the other, in neutral colors such as beige, cream, and brown. The matching dress, also dating from 1968, echoes the light color of the first circle of the overcoat and has a black circle on the right side. Comparing the shapes and colors of the overcoat and mini-dress communicates a certain geometricism typical of the taste of the time.The second dress is a two-piece women’s suit by Mila Schön, circa 1965, all in light blue.

The vertical lines of the edges of the jacket and the dress dialogue with the curved lines of the neckline, the buttons and the lower part of the pockets.

Dianora Marandino’s two hand-signed costumes show the same attention to the dialogue between fashion and surroundings. The natural cotton fabric and hand-painted geometric shapes recall elements of the natural maritime and rural landscape.

“A truly original ’first time’ for ’Terre degli Uffizi,’ debuting in Grosseto with an exhibition somewhat outside the traditional canons of the exhibitions that characterize this cycle so appreciated by the public and scholars,” says Luigi Salvadori, president of Fondazione CR Firenze. “Thanks to the clothes lent by the Uffizi, the Polo delle Clarisse is transformed into an atelier that will not fail to enchant the public with a truly evocative setting, which refers to a season that is still well present in the collective memory. That post-war period that looked to the future with many hopes and was happy to be contaminated by the best cultural and artistic expressions that were emerging with great enthusiasm in the most lively territories of our country.”

“The Grosseto exhibition,” stresses Uffizi director Eike Schmidt, “proposes the female side of fashion in the Roaring Sixties, in spaces that themselves become an integral part of the exhibition. With this initiative, Terre degli Uffizi addresses not only the more traditional art forms, but the entire socio-cultural milieu of the time, promoting Fashion as a noble form of aesthetics: painted sculpture, a matter of reflection, an engine of the economy and part of the cultural and social debate of the time.”

"Welcoming to the City The Fabulous 60s. In the Sign of Ico Parisi," says Grosseto Mayor Antonfrancesco Vivarelli Colonna, “is a great honor for us. It is the first time that the Le Clarisse Cultural Pole becomes the venue for an exhibition included within the ’Terre degli Uffizi’ project, an idea born from the brilliant minds of Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Galleries, and the Fondazione CR Firenze, which responds perfectly to the new needs of experiential tourism. By visiting the halls of our cultural hub, visitors will have the opportunity to go back in time to the Grosseto of the golden years of the ’fabulous sixties,’ a period of formidable social and economic development. I would like to thank, on behalf of the entire municipal administration, those who contributed to the creation of this incredible exhibition, which, through the architectural works of designer Ico Parisi and the period clothes from the Fashion and Costume Museum of Palazzo Pitti, gives an unusual look at the Maremma, no longer the one now known to all, linked to Dante or the Lorraine reform, but the Maremma of the economic boom, of trips and seaside vacations.”

“This prestigious exhibition embellishes our Le Clarisse Cultural Pole with a completely new atmosphere,” highlights the president of Fondazione Grosseto Cultura, Giovanni Tombari. “We have the opportunity to retrace a historical period that also left indelible traces in Grosseto, especially in culture and art, fashion and design. We thus re-enact the environments designed by Parisi through period photographs and objects from private collections and bring back to life splendid items from the Uffizi Galleries, strengthening the link with the territory. Evidence of the interior décor of the Hotel Lorena in the Station Square in Grosseto and the Hotel Corte dei Butteri with the adjoining Church of Santa Maria, along the Aurelia, which bear Parisi’s signature, thus takes shape an original and contemporary exhibition, the result of work that has seen the collaboration of many: We thank all those who made it possible, starting with the Uffizi Galleries with director Eike Schmidt, the Fondazione CR Firenze with president Luigi Salvadori and Carlo Sisi, and exhibition curators Lucia Mannini and Anna Mazzanti.”

For all information, you can visit the official website of the Uffizi.

An exhibition in Grosseto dedicated to the art of the 1960s in Maremma

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