AstArte is born in Palermo: the national association of art historians

The first National Association of Art Historians is born in Sicily, a project that aims to fill a gap in representation at the national and regional levels for one of the key figures in the system of protection, study and enhancement of Italy’s cultural heritage. The initiative, named National Association of Art Historians - AstArte, will be officially presented on May 22 in Palermo, in the spaces of Villa Zito, headquarters of the Sicily Foundation, during a dedicated conference.

The event is part of a wide-ranging institutional and academic context and is curated by art historian Silvia Mazza, who conceived and coordinated the project. The birth of the association is promoted by the Associazione Premio Saturno - La Sicilia che produce, with the support of the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana and the Fondazione Sicilia, chaired by Maria Concetta Di Natale, honorary professor at the University of Palermo. The conference also enjoys the patronage of the Department of Cultures and Society of the University of Palermo, the Department of Law of the University of Messina and the Department of Law of the University of Turin, as well as the support of Sicindustria and the CGIL and CISL trade unions. The initiative also has the organizational support of Il Cigno Arte of Rome and the contribution of the National Association of Archaeologists, represented by Alessandro Garrisi, president of the Board of Arbitrators.

The project presents itself as unique on the national scene, since, to date, there is no association recognized by the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy that represents Italian art historians in a unified way. An absence that, according to the organizers, makes evident a structural gap in the system of cultural heritage professions.

Underlining this aspect is the project’s curator herself, Silvia Mazza, who points out that all the other main professions in the sector, from archaeologists to archivists, from librarians to demoethnoanthropologists, already have recognized and representative associations. The goal of the new associative entity is therefore to provide a unified framework of representation for the category of art historians, regardless of their contractual status, the role they hold or the institution they belong to, whether public or private.

During the conference, in addition to the official presentation of AstArte, a discussion between specialists in the field and institutional representatives will also be initiated, with the aim of collecting the first adhesions and starting a shared path of recognition and protection of the profession. The stated intent is to strengthen the professional dignity of art historians and their strategic role in the processes of conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage.

“I welcome with great favor,” says Councillor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity Francesco Scarpinato, “the birth in Sicily of an association that aims to represent art historians at the regional and national levels. Sicily, once again, demonstrates its ability to be a laboratory of ideas, cultural innovation and enhancement of professionalism related to the protection and promotion of our artistic heritage. Art historians play a fundamental role in preserving memory, spreading knowledge and building the cultural identity of territories. For this reason, I believe it is important to support any initiative capable of giving voice, representation and professional dignity to a category that contributes greatly to the enhancement of Italian and Sicilian cultural heritage. It is an important signal that starts from our island and that I hope will soon become an authoritative point of reference for the whole country.”

“Although the new associative entity is national in character,” Silvia Mazza points out, “the project has a specific cultural cross-reference with Sicily, the region hosting the founding event of the new Association, which can also be inferred from the choice of acronym: Astarte is, in fact, the deity who in Semitic culture represents femininity par excellence, deeply rooted in the Mediterranean: she is the mother earth, progenitor common to all living beings, plants, animals and humans. For this characteristic it is possible to associate her with the Greek goddess Demeter, whose cult was particularly widespread in Sicily.”

The May 22 day at Villa Zito will be articulated through a series of institutional, academic and professional speeches that will shape a wide-ranging discussion on the role and future of the art historian’s profession. After the institutional greetings of Francesco Scarpinato, Regional Councillor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, Maria Concetta Di Natale, president of the Sicily Foundation, and Massimo Marino, president of the Saturno Prize Association - La Sicilia che produce, an introduction by curator Silvia Mazza will follow.

The program will then include a series of high-profile speeches involving representatives from the academic, institutional and cultural professions. Ilaria Miarelli Mariani, president of the National University Council for Art History CUNSTA, and Massimiliano Rossi, president of the History of Art Criticism Association SISCA ETS - University Council, will speak. Valeria Danesi, president of the Comitato Idonei Storici dell’Arte CISDA (CISDA Art Historians’ Committee), will also be present.

From the Ministry of Culture, Directorate General for Museums, Roberto Vannata and Luca Mercuri, directors of Service II and Service III, respectively, will speak. The university world will be represented by Giovanni Travagliato, president of the Master’s Degree Program in Art History at the University of Palermo, along with Francesco Astone of the University of Messina and Sergio Foà of the University of Turin, both full professors of administrative law.

The panorama of museum institutions and protection will be represented by Stefano L’Occaso, director of Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, and Vincenzo De Felice, commander of the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale of the Carabinieri in Palermo. They will be joined by Rita Ferlisi, art historian official of the Agrigento Superintendency of the Sicilian Region’s Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, and Emanuela Daffra, superintendent of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.

The auction house sector will be represented by Luca Melegati Strada, director of the Milan office of Wannenes Casa d’Aste, while the business world and productive and trade union organizations will be present with Luigi Rizzolo, president of Sicindustria, Alfio Mannino, secretary general of CGIL Sicilia, and Leonardo La Piana, secretary general of CISL Sicilia.

The set of interventions and adhesions confirms the will to build around AstArte a wide and transversal network, capable of involving institutions, universities, public administrations, the world of culture, business and professions. A project that, starting from Sicily, aims to define a new framework of recognition for Italian art historians and their role in the national cultural system.

AstArte is born in Palermo: the national association of art historians

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