Five years after the opening of Palazzo Maffei Casa Museo in Verona, director Vanessa Carlon tells us about the evolution of a project that was born from the passion of collector Luigi Carlon and has now become a landmark for culture in Verona. With more than 700 works spanning 4,000 years of art history, the house museum continues to distinguish itself for the originality of its layout, which puts ancient and contemporary in dialogue, and for an intense cultural activity aimed at different audiences. In the interview, the director traces the initial goals, recent challenges, including the protection of works, and strategies put in place to engage younger people, including through digital and artificial intelligence. A look at the past and future, new acquisitions, and collaborations with contemporary artists for a museum vision that focuses on sharing, beauty, and responsibility. The interview is by Noemi Capoccia.
NC. How did the idea of turning Luigi Carlon’s collection into a house museum accessible to the public come about?
VC. Collector Luigi Carlon, in his early sixties, started thinking about the future of the collection he started when he was very young, wanting it to be made available to the community, giving the works a chance to resume their function, including their social function. It was a desire that turned into a definite project when there was a chance to acquire a prestigious venue such as Palazzo Maffei in the oldest square of the city where the Roman Forum used to be.
What were the main goals at the time of opening in 2020? Do you think they have been achieved to date?
During the 2020 opening press conference, we declared our intention to become a reference point for culture in Verona and beyond, and it seems to me that we have succeeded. For this reason, we aimed, from the very beginning, not only at the exhibition of the collection, which is still an attraction of culture and beauty, but also at the organization of an intense program of cultural activities: from free meetings with great artists and scholars at the Teatrino di Palazzo Maffei (a room with a hundred seats overlooking Piazza delle Erbe) to contests aimed at children. There were many initiatives that saw splendid crossovers between the arts, theater, dance, music, and proposals for different keys to interpreting works and artists on display, through our in-depth formats on social and thematic tours.
The exhibition route blends Veronese antiquities and modern works. What criterion guides the layout to make such different styles coexist in the same space?
The dialogue between ancient and contemporary art, although in a chronological unfolding on the second floor, is developed based on the themes of the different rooms that expertly lead visitors. It responds to the taste of the collector who has always loved this crossover, but it has been masterfully developed by Gabriella Belli, who curated the museological project and created these sudden “short circuits” in which works from very different eras ultimately tell us about the same feelings, the same themes.
Among the 700 or so works now on display at Palazzo Maffei, is there a work or juxtaposition that, in your opinion, fully represents the spirit of the House Museum and your museum vision?
I would say that one of the most iconic and exemplifying dialogues is Fontana’s Red Cut juxtaposed with a 14th-century gold background, a Crucifixion by the Second Master of San Zeno, signifying the pain, the wound, but also that man’s quest has always been aimed at what transcends our earthly life.
After the incident in early June, in which two tourists damaged Nicola Bolla’s chair covered with Swarovski crystals while trying to take a picture of themselves, what considerations have you made about the task of a museum in making people understand the importance of respect for art?
Thanking the majority of visitors who have respect for art, we think that the awareness campaign implemented resonated well and was a positive and necessary signal to make people understand how certain behaviors, which actually move away from the enjoyment of the artistic good, its intrinsic value in terms of aesthetics and content, also put the integrity and preservation of the work at risk.
Recently, a similar episode involved the Uffizi, where Director Verde said, “Visitors who come only for selfies represent a problem, we will intervene.” How does Palazzo Maffei respond? Have you taken specific measures since the June incident?
We have further strengthened the security and deterrence systems, but we still try to ensure full usability and enjoyment of the works in accordance with the installation choice we made from the beginning.
In recent years you have invested heavily in educational and digital projects. What activities have proven most effective in bringing young people and schools closer to the museum? And what role does research play in helping people discover art in new ways?
Certainly some of the themes we have developed, such as arts and science, have helped us; in addition, many of the stories on social media are done by university students since we have collaborative agreements with the University of Verona and the Academy of Fine Arts and a constant presence on our staff of the best recent graduates that we employ mainly for the educational and public support sector: so young people talking to young people. But we have also experimented with the artistic use of languages that are more usual for young people: the work Aeternamente by CamerAnebbia, about the history of the Palace inserted in the Roman Forum, has a beautiful scientific content, narrated with a digital language. Young and old navigate immersed in the images on a history-rich journey. I appreciate the use of digital if it serves to deepen content. Similarly, Borderland by Manuel Gardina is the first work created with the help of artificial intelligence to enter the permanent collection of an Italian private museum.
In recent years you have integrated important works such as Hokusai, Modigliani. What criteria guide the acquisitions? Are new acquisitions of equal importance planned in the future?
Palazzo Maffei was born from my father’s collection and visceral passion for art; a passion that continues to this day and therefore certainly other important works will soon make their way into Palazzo Maffei. After all, Luigi Carlon has always been very clear, even in the extreme heterogeneity of an eclectic collection, about the overall vision, the founding nuclei of the collection ,with certain artists, movements or techniques that he particularly loved; and in the same way he has set himself precise goals of knowledge, of representing art through the centuries, and of recovering works by artists from Verona, or who worked here, dispersed over the centuries, now rediscovered and brought back to Verona.
Are there thematic nuclei or artists that you feel the urgency to integrate into the collection today, also to respond to new cultural sensitivities?
We have the pleasure of collaborating with contemporary artists who bring their vision of the world. We did it with Claire Fontaine for example, now we are doing a project with Anna Galtarossa that we will open on October 10, on the occasion of Artverona.
How do you envision Palazzo Maffei in 10 years? What is the goal you have for the future of the museum?
The hope is to do beautiful projects with artists and institutions, including international ones, and to have a public that comes out of this museum satisfied, enchanted by art and the power of creativity. A loyal audience that loves to come back and frequent these halls.
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
