Toscana
Livorno celebrates Giovanni Fattori with a permanent itinerary in the places of the painter
Presented in Livorno the permanent itinerary "Fattori's Places": ten stops in the city with interactive panels and QR codes to discover the memories of the Livorno master on the bicentenary of his birth, with a photo exhibition and dedicated publication.
By Redazione | 16/09/2025 13:50
An urban itinerary, ten stages, interactive panels, QR codes and multimedia content to restore voice to memories and places linked to Giovanni Fattori (Livorno, 1825 - Florence, 1908). This is how Livorno celebrates the bicentenary of the painter's birth with the I luoghi di Fattori project, officially presented on Thursday, September 11, at the Granaries of Villa Mimbelli (where the major exhibition Giovanni Fattori. A Revolution in Painting: here is our review).
The initiative, conceived and curated by Cooperativa Agave thanks to funds from the Livorno Foundation's "Interventi per l'arte e la cultura 2025" call for proposals, is realized in collaboration with the City of Livorno, the Labronico Group, Finestre sull'Arte, the Livorno com'era association and the Livorno Committee for the Promotion of Risorgimento Values. The itinerary focuses on the deep and enduring relationship the painter had with his hometown. Although he moved as a young man to Florence, where he lived most of his life and matured as an artist, Fattori never ceased to feel Leghorn. "I have always loved with all its faults, my Leghorn," he wrote, summarizing a bond that never broke.
A journey through the master's places
The new urban itinerary touches on the most significant points in Fattori's life: from the house where he was born to the school where he took his first steps in painting, to the church where he married his first wife, Settimia Vannucci, who was beloved by the painter and died prematurely. Each stage will be marked by a panel with a QR code. Simply framing it with your smartphone will be enough to access audio content that returns the words and memories of the painter, thus offering the visitor a complete and satisfying experience.
The signs thus become true portals of memory, gateways between present and past, capable of evoking the cultural and human context in which the painter was formed. A path aimed at better understanding the figure of Fattori, not only as an artist, but also as a man: from family homes to summer vacation spots to the refuges of old age.
In addition to the main route, which consists of ten stages, the project also includes a mapping of ten additional places related to Fattori's life, which can be consulted online. Completing the initiative is a publication enriched with testimonials, archival documents and photographs, designed to accompany the visitor and restore an even broader vision of the bond between the painter and his city. On the occasion of the presentation, the Granaries of Villa Mimbelli also featured a photographic exhibition dedicated precisely to Factor's places. The images, photographs by Emiliano Cicero and Linda Ughi, document the city spaces linked to the painter and make it possible to visually reconnect the stages of the itinerary with today's context.
A choral project for the bicentennial
The project is part of the "Giovanni Fattori 200" calendar of initiatives organized to accompany the exhibition Giovanni Fattori. A Revolution in Painting. Numerous professional figures contributed to its realization: coordination was entrusted to Elena Spagnoli, while texts and research are by Jacopo Suggi and Francesca Cutrona. Contributing to the project were, among others, Fabio Leonardi for artistic contribution, Samuel Olivar for graphics, Giulia Donnini for English translations, and numerous other professionals for instructional design, audio content, and narrating voices.
The involvement of apartment buildings in some city buildings, which consented to the installation of the panels, underscores the participatory aspect of the initiative. So does the active collaboration of the Councillor for Culture Angela Rafanelli, the City of Livorno, the Livorno Foundation and the cultural associations that took part in the project.
A new way of narrating Fattori
Fattori's Places is thus not limited to proposing a tourist itinerary, but offers an innovative way of narrating an artist. The use of digital technologies, integrated with careful historical research, transforms the city into a diffuse museum, capable of involving residents and visitors. Each stage becomes an opportunity for discovery and reflection, bringing to light fragments of daily life and significant moments in the painter's career.
Through the route it will be possible to rediscover the young Fattori who approaches art, the man who maintains strong ties with his hometown, the master who becomes a reference point for a generation of Italian artists. In this sense, the project fits fully into the celebrations for the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, enhancing not only the artistic, but also the civil and human dimensions of the painter.
