Museums reopen in 11 more regions, "We missed you!" reactions

As of Monday, Feb. 1, as 11 regions enter the yellow zone, museums also reopen. The regions leaving the orange zone and entering the second risk zone (still none in the white zone) are Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo and Calabria, joining Trentino, Tuscany, Campania, Basilicata and Molise. Remaining orange, however, are the autonomous province of Bolzano, Umbria, Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia.

Let’s see which are some of the reopening institutions and what the reactions are. In Piedmont, among the first to restart will be the Royal Museums of Turin, which will present itself with the Capa in color exhibition in the Sale Chiablese (extended until May 30), with the exhibition On the Traces of Raphael in the Savoy Collections, with Beyond Walls - Oltre i muri, a solo exhibition by the Franco-Swiss artist Saype, and with the project TOward2030. What are you doing?, conceived by Lavazza and the City of Turin to spread the culture of sustainability through the language of street art (these last three exhibitions are all extended until April 11). Also in Turin, reopening for the CAMERA space with a solo exhibition by photographer Paolo Ventura. “In the weeks before the last closure,” says CAMERA director Walter Guadagnini, “we were pleasantly surprised by how many people expressed their intention to return a second time to see Paolo Ventura’s exhibition. Those who decide to do so now that it is again possible will find a new nucleus of works on display, in a view that fits perfectly with Ventura’s artistic practice, which is impossible to pigeonhole into a static horizon. Even the decision to install purely pictorial images within a space dedicated to photography goes in this direction, emphasizing the fluidity with which the different languages are used by him within a path that remains extremely coherent.” Also in Lombardy, from February 3 Palazzo Ducale in Mantua (including the National Archaeological Museum) reopens, with free admission until February 12, as director Stefano L’Occaso had already announced.

In Milan, the Gallerie d’Italia reopens, also opening its doors in its Vicenza and Naples venues. In the Milan branch, extended until May 2 the major exhibition on Tiepolo, in Veneto there is time until June 27 to visit Futuro. Art and Society from the 1960s to Tomorrow, while in Naples the public will be awaited by the masterpiece of the permanent collection, Caravaggio’s Martyrdom of St. Ursula. “We are reopening the museums of the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan, Vicenza and Naples, where the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions can be admired in full safety,” says Michele Coppola, executive director of Art and Culture and Historical Assets at Intesa Sanpaolo. “It is very important to be able to return to cultural venues, even more so at this historic moment.” Instead, civic museums, from the Palazzo Reale to the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, from the Museo del Novecento to the museums of the Castello Sforzesco, will remain closed for the time being. “Opening a museum,” said Culture Councillor Filippo Del Corno, “is not like turning on a switch, it takes time and above all it takes seriousness and the necessary planning that a weekly or almost weekly shift from one risk band to another does not allow.” Doors are also still closed at the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.

Turin, Royal Palace

Milan, the exhibition on Tiepolo at the Gallerie d’Italia

Mantua, Ducal Palace. Ph. Credit Gian Maria Pontiroli for Fondazione Palazzo Te

In Liguria, the exhibitions at Palazzo Ducale in Genoa reopen, including the major exhibition on Michelangelo. And just on Feb. 1 there will be a special guided tour with the director, Serena Bertolucci, who says, “We restart with great strength and with the conviction of the importance of culture in this complex phase; we restart with an appeal to our traditional visitors, but also to those who have rediscovered the indispensability of culture: we need your presence, your contribution. Buying a ticket for an exhibition or a visit to the historic rooms of the Palace has an extraordinary value at this time; it is a fundamental help so that the cultural offer of Palazzo Ducale can continue to be strong, free, and accessible to all.” Also in Genoa, open doors at the Royal Palace and the National Gallery at Palazzo Spinola.

As forEmilia-Romagna, the Genus Bononiae venues reopen, so last call to visit the long-awaited Griffoni Polyptych exhibition, open until Feb. 15. Also in the capital reopens Palazzo Pallavicini with the exhibition on Vittorio Corcos (extended until June 27, 2021), and the venues of the Bologna Musei Institute, i.e., the civic museums (MAMbo, Archeological, Medieval, Municipal Collections, Davia Bargellini, Museum of Industrial Heritage), will also be open, while in Ferrara doors open at Palazzo dei Diamanti for the exhibition on Antonio Ligabue.

In the Veneto region, the civic museums of Padua and Treviso are reopening, as well as Palazzo Roverella and Palazzo Roncale in Rovigo with their respective exhibitions (the major exhibition on Chagall and the exhibition on “Dante’s Oak”), while as already announced by the many controversies, the reopening of the civic museums in Venice will have to wait. In the capital, however, the Gallerie dell’Accademia are ready to reopen. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the doors of the Miramare Castle, the National Archaeological Museum in Cividale del Friuli, and the National Archaeological Museum in Aquileia are opening. “Opening the doors of culture, after all this time, is an important milestone,” says Andreina Contessa, director of Miramare Castle. “Our work has never stopped and we have used these months to bring forth new projects and ideas that our visitors will soon be able to admire. Unfortunately, we had to permanently close the Dudovich exhibition in Miramare that had been very popular during the summer months because the loans could no longer be extended. I really invite all fellow countrymen to visit our museums now, enjoying the right calm and tranquility to reacquaint themselves with the area’s art treasures that are often taken for granted precisely because they are so close.”

Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti

Genoa, National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola

Trieste, Miramare Castle. Ph. Credit Massimo Crivellari

State museums reopen in Rome: the Borghese Gallery kicks off two weeks of special events entitled We Missed You. Every morning at 12 noon, director Francesca Cappelletti, alternating with an art historian or restorer from the museum, briefly recounts Guido Reni’s newly acquired painting Danza campestre, its history and rediscovery until its return to Cardinal Scipione Borghese’s collection. The daily appointment is in the Loggia del Lanfranco where the painting is temporarily set up before its final placement that will take place in the coming days to contextualize the work by juxtaposing it with those of Bolognese artists, from Annibale Carracci to Domenichino, who are fundamental to understanding the phase of experimentation with landscape as a pictorial genre in the early seventeenth century. In addition, every afternoon at 4 p.m. there will be surprise thematic mini tours of the museum’s rooms, all of which have been reopened, conducted by Gallery officials, in anticipation of resuming educational activities as soon as possible.

Also in Rome, the green light is also given to the Colosseum, with almost all routes open (the closed spaces of the Colosseum Archaeological Park will not be accessible, due to restraining measures related to the health emergency: Domus Aurea, Santa Maria Antiqua, Rampa Domizianea, Palatine Museum, House of Augustus and House of Livia, Neronian Cryptoporticus and Aula Isiaca). And still in the capital, Palazzo Barberini reopens. “These have been months of great melancholy, but in which we have also worked a lot, carrying on the Museum’s research and projects, as well as the restoration of many works and new acquisitions,” says director Flaminia Gennari Santori. “We are here for the public, so we are excited to welcome our visitors back. Of course, the issue of security will be a priority, to make sure that everyone can enjoy our collections and exhibitions to the fullest.” Three exhibitions will be on view at the historic venue of the National Gallery of Ancient Art: Shaping the Idea. Pierre-Ã?tienne Monnot, Carlo Maratti and the Odescalchi Monument, curated by Maurizia Cicconi, Paola Nicita and Yuri Primarosa (through May 2, 2021), The Restored Canaanite. New Discoveries on Mattia and Gregorio Preti, curated by Alessandro Cosma and Yuri Primarosa (through May 2, 2021), and the long-awaited The Spectator’s Hour. How Images Use Us, curated by Michele Di Monte, through April 5, 2021. Also ready to start up again are the Civic Museums system: the Musei Capitolini, Museo di Roma a Palazzo Braschi, Museo dellAra Pacis, Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Galleria dArte Moderna, Musei di Villa Torlonia, Museo Civico di Zoologia, Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco, Museo Napoleonico, Museo Pietro Canonica a Villa Borghese, Museo Carlo Bilotti Aranciera di Villa Borghese, Museo della Repubblica Romana e della memoria garibaldina, Museo di Casal de Pazzi, Museo delle Mura, Villa di Massenzio are open to the public again.

Finally, in Abruzzo, the Abruzzo National Museum inL’Aquila reopens. Beaming is the new director Maria Grazia Filetici, in office since November: “We are happy to reopen the MuNDA, which for the time being will remain closed for the weekend according to MiBACT instructions. Our goals are many, so we are working on new offerings and enhancement programs for all. We look forward to seeing you at the Borgo Rivera location, the museum without architectural barriers.”

Rome, Borghese Gallery. Ph. Credit F. Vinardi

Rome, Capitoline Museums

L’Aquila, National Museum of Abruzzo

Museums reopen in 11 more regions, "We missed you!" reactions

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