The wonders of explorer Carlo Vidua's ethnographic collection on display in Casale Monferrato

From December 15, 2018 to December 31, 2019, the Civic Museum of Casale Monferrato presents a major new exhibition project. It is Carlo Vidua a life on the road: from Monferrato to the Far East 1785/1830, an exhibition that presents the extraordinary ethnographic collection of explorer Carlo Vidua (Casale Monferrato, 1785 - Ambon, 1830): rare objects, marvelous Chinese watercolor notebooks, jewelry, textiles, books and documents that are the result of the long peregrinations in the five continents of the traveler from Monferrato, who was born in Casale Monferrato in 1785 and died in Indonesia, in 1830, following a burn due to the boiling mud of a volcano in the island of Celebes, now Sulawesi. The collection, which is civic property, came to the Municipal Administration in 1854 through a bequest in Clara Leardi’s will and until now has been kept in the Museum’s storage rooms.

The objects (a unicum on the Piedmont territory for rarity and heterogeneity of materials) were collected during three long journeys made by Vidua in the five continents: between 1818 and 1821 in France, Northern Europe, Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Middle East, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Rhodes; between 1825 and 1827 in the United States, Canada and Mexico; and from 1827 to 1830 in India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea.

The exhibition design selected a careful number of objects, displayed in a large showcase divided according to chronological and geographical criteria; the themes of “travel” and “discovery” also engage visitors in the exhibition journey through the use of two videos visible in the hall and on the web. The exhibition on Vidua thus makes it possible to travel around the world, proposing itself at the educational level as a highly attractive operation that can be modulated to make the itinerary usable for schoolchildren of all levels. The Casalese exhibition benefits from contributions from the Piedmont Region and the Fondazione Cassa Risparmio di Alessandria. Partners in the initiative: Biblioteca Civica-Archivio Storico of Casale Monferrato, Egyptian Museum of Turin, Museum of Oriental Art of Turin, Academy of Sciences of Turin. For info, hours, accessibility, insights at the website of the Municipality of Casale Monferrato.

Pictured: Craftsman of the Holy Land, Model relic representing the Holy Sepulcher (before 1808; olive wood and engraved mother-of-pearl; Casale Monferrato, Museo Civico)

The wonders of explorer Carlo Vidua's ethnographic collection on display in Casale Monferrato

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