From September 10 to October 20, 2026,Taormina will host the exhibition *Corrado Cagli: Nostoi. Rome, New York, Taormina*, held at Palazzo Corvaja and dedicated to one of the most original and internationally renowned figures in 20th-century Italian art. The exhibition, curated by Raffaele Bedarida under the artistic direction of Franco Baldasso, will open on Friday, September 10, at 6:00 p.m. and stems from renewed international interest in the artist’s work (Ancona, 1910 – Rome, 1976), who had deep ties to the Sicilian city.
The project is sponsored by Babilonia Center for Italian Language and Culture in collaboration with the Corrado Cagli Archive in Rome, the Taormina Foundation, the Municipality of Taormina, Bard College in New York, and Sapienza University of Rome. The exhibition expands upon and builds on the initiative launched in 2023 with the exhibition curated by Bedarida at the Center for Italian Modern Art in New York, which explored Cagli’s relationship with Rome and the United States, from his exile during World War II through his return to Italy in 1948.
During the war, Cagli enlisted in the U.S. Army, participated in the European campaign, and, during his years in New York, became involved with the community of European exiles, also collaborating with the emerging modern ballet movement as a set and costume designer. The New York exhibition focused on the theme of memory as a tool for complexity and resistance to dominant narratives, highlighting the artist’s controversial return to Italy after the war, when Cagli chose not to subscribe to the redemptive rhetoric prevalent during the reconstruction period.
The Taormina exhibition, on the other hand, explores the artist’s connection to Sicily through the concept of nostos, the Homerian return to one’s homeland. For Cagli, this return did not stem from nostalgia for a lost place, but rather from a continuous redefinition of his own identity. Rome, New York, and Taormina thus become three fundamental coordinates of his personal and artistic experience: Fascist and postwar Rome; New York, the city of exile and rebirth; and Taormina in the 1960s, an international meeting place for artists and intellectuals.
Among the lesser-known aspects of Cagli’s work is his relationship with soccer, which the artist interpreted as a collective ritual and a form of physical expression. In Sicily, he founded and financially supported Robur di Letojanni and designed the Palermo soccer jersey. In Taormina, he moved in diverse circles, from intellectuals such as Giuseppe Ungaretti and Danilo Dolci to young soccer players and champions like José Altafini, leaving a lasting impression on the town’s collective memory.
The choice of Palazzo Corvaja resonates with the artist’s work from an exhibition design perspective as well. The building, characterized by a complex historical and architectural layering, houses an exhibition itinerary designed by architect Pietro Airoldi that connects the works with the palace’s spaces: from the section dedicated to muralism to the one exploring his relationship with Sicily, set up in the rooms that once housed the first Sicilian Parliament.
A central section of the exhibition is dedicated to the international network of collaborations Cagli built with figures such as Charles Olson, Igor Stravinsky, Danilo Dolci, and George Balanchine. Through works donated by friends and collaborators, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the community of intellectuals in exile in the United States and into the artist’s connections between Rome and Taormina with figures such as Saul Steinberg, Eugene Berman, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Victor Brauner.
The exhibition also reconstructs the cosmopolitan character of post-World War II Taormina, with particular attention to Casa Cuseni, the center of the city’s cultural life and a meeting place for artists, activists, and civil liberties advocates. On display here will be * Piccolo Processo*, a work dedicated to Judge Giuseppe Navarra and inspired by the challenges faced by the judiciary in combating the Mafia following the 1969 Viale Lazio massacre. The work also evokes the shared commitment of figures such as Danilo Dolci and Girolamo Li Causi to the defense of the rule of law and democracy.
The exhibition ticket will also include admission to Casa Cuseni, where the work will be on display. The exhibition catalog, published by Dario Cimorelli Editore, will feature scholarly contributions by Franco Baldasso, Raffaele Bedarida, John Champagne, and Yasmin Riyahi, exploring Cagli’s relationship with Sicily, the dialogue between his art and literature, queer strategies, and homoerotic iconography, as well as his interest in soccer, sports, and popular culture, featuring previously unpublished images and documents.
With this project dedicated to Cagli, Babilonia aims to launch a two-year program of cultural initiatives and introduce the public to MID (Mediterranean Innovation District), a new hub based in Taormina conceived as an international ecosystem dedicated to education, research, culture, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship. The project aims to connect students, universities, experts, companies, and investors, supporting the development of ideas and projects through pathways of learning and practical implementation.
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| Corrado Cagli Takes Center Stage in Taormina with an Exhibition on Return, Memory, and Identity |
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