San Gimignano, Santa Chiara museum complex reopens with new sections, rearrangements and an exhibition

The reopening to the public of the entire Santa Chiara Museum Complex, one of the three plexuses of the San Gimignano Civic Museums, includes a series of inaugural events: the opening of a new section of the Archaeological Museum dedicated to the Via Francigena, the refurbishment of the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the photography exhibition All eyes on celebrities. Portraits by Ken Nahoum, set up in the temporary section rooms of the Gallery.

On the occasion of the opening, the overall redevelopment project of the Santa Chiara museum complex, promoted by the City of San Gimignano in collaboration with the Region of Tuscany and the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo and with Opera Laboratori, will be presented. The redevelopment project included the expansion of the Santa Chiara Museum Complex, which was carried out by the Municipality of San Gimignano thanks to its own resources and funding from the Region of Tuscany under the POR CREO FESR 2014-2020 call (project “Restoration of the Church of the former Santa Chiara Conservatory and related premises for the expansion of the museum center and adaptation to museum standards” - “La Francigena in San Gimignano: an itinerary from museum to landscape”). In fact, San Gimignano owes its birth and development to the Via Francigena and its important role especially during the medieval period.

For identity reasons, therefore, the Municipality of San Gimignano has promoted the project of setting up a new museum section and redeveloping the entire complex, focusing on the prominence of the Via Francigena in the town’s history and surrounding area. The new museum section, which also includes new specific didactic and explanatory apparatus, is conceived as an extension of the existing Archaeological Museum (hence the domination Archaeological Museum and the Via Francigena). The museum constitutes an integral part of the museum complex within the former Conservatory of Santa Chiara, which has also included, since its opening to the public (1999), the collections of ceramics from the Spezieria di Santa Fina and works of art from the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. On permanent display within the new section will be the bronze statuette of a 3rd-century B.C.E. bidder named Hinthial. The shadow of San Gimignano, related artifacts from the archaeological site at Torraccia di Chiusi, and archaeological material that emerged from the important site, not far from the previous one, of the Roman Villa of Aiano - Torraccia di Chiusi. Hinthial, also denoted theShadow of San Gimignano because of its affinity with the well-known Etruscan votive statuette from Volterra, also known as the Evening Shadow, was the subject in 2019 of a major exhibition promoted by the Municipality of San Gimignano in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo. On the occasion of the opening of the new museum spaces, the renovated layout of the permanent collection of the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art will be presented with changes aimed at more effective visibility of the collection. As part of the new layout, new museum sections will be inaugurated, including Views of San Gimignano, with panoramas and city views traceable to a period between the early nineteenth century and the mid-twentieth century, and Local Ferment, which will feature artistic expressions by San Gimignano’s leading artists and evocative photographic images of the city in the early decades of the nineteenth century. New acquisitions will also be on display, including two paintings by 19th-century painter Niccolò Cannicci and a work by Lombard artist Raffaele De Grada, after whom the Gallery is named. The refurbishment of the Gallery also included the creation of new didactic and explanatory apparatus and a new lighting system for the entire gallery and the adjacent temporary exhibition space.

The photography exhibition All Eyes on Celebrities. Portraits by Ken Nahoum, curated by Elio Grazioli and produced by Opera Laboratories, presents to the public for the first time the extensive production of portraits of celebrities by American photographer Ken Nahoum over the course of his long career. A versatile photographer, Nahoum has been able to capture the look and soul of Hollywood stars and international song performers in his shots.

The inaugural program will also include a series of in-depth scientific talks scheduled for Saturday, April 6, one at 10 a.m. related to the new section of the Archaeological Museum and the Via Francigena, another at 5 p.m. on the refurbishment of the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art and the photography exhibition. Sunday, April 7, on the other hand, will be devoted to guided tours of the various exhibition spaces by appointment.

San Gimignano, Santa Chiara museum complex reopens with new sections, rearrangements and an exhibition

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