Volterra

“Museums Exhibitions” from September 13th till November 8th 2009

“Site Installations” from September 2009 till September 2010

Mauro Staccioli is an Italian contemporary “minimalist” sculptor.

His monumental operas are realized with grey or brow concrete, steel and marble.

His “fare arte” (art making) main characteristic is to introduce contemporary sculptures in the ancient contest of italian urban space.

His unique art symbolizes the challenge in the panorama of contemporary art: the eternal discussion between the ancient and the new.

Through contemporary signs, Staccioli wants to rediscover  the identity of a country, Italy, whose roots are buried in a past that has moulded the towns, countryside and the development of society.

Volterra, the Tuscan town where Staccioli was born seventy years ago, is tributing an acknowledgement to the work of this great artist, by organizing an incredible event that involvies museums, streets, urban environment. The final result is a sort of big “wedding ring”  made of art installations along and around the urban perimeter of Volterra.

The whole exhibition realizes a tight link between the artist, his making art and the earth where Staccioli has grown up.

20 monumental installation, respresenting Mauro Staccioli “Sites of Experience” are set out in the landscape, as well as in historic places and piazzas.

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Italy is land of Art and Culture. Opera is born in Italy in the XVI – XVII century . Opera is an art form in which drama, singing and music are combined in striking performances. From Italy it soon spread through the rest of Europe and now it is appreciated by fans from all over the world.

Some of the world famous Italian Opera writers are Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Puccini and Verdi.

During the summer period, the Opera performances move from the most prestigious Italian theaters to the gorgeous open air theatres. From  these beautiful Arenas located in equally beautiful landscapes, Italian summer evenings are brightened by great music!

In this section we will present the major Opera Festivals that will take place in Italy during the summer months.

55° PUCCINI FESTIVAL - Torre del Lago (Lucca) – TUSCANY , July 10th to August 22nd

Torre del Lago hosts since 55 years one of the most important opera festivals in Italy and Europe: the Puccini Opera Festival, founded  in 1930 by Giacomo Puccini itself that lived and worked in this enchanting village in the Tuscany Riviera, near Lucca and Pisa.

Bohème, Turandot and  Manon Lescaut  will be performed this year, together with a great new production of Tosca.

The nice village of Torre del Lago lies in Tuscany is a few kilometers away from one of the most exclusive beaches in Italy: Versilia. Near the beautiful art city of Lucca and close to the world known Pisa.

The official website of the Puccini Festival

ROSSINI OPERA FESTIVAL - Pesaro, from 9th  to  20th August

This year will be the 30th edition of the Festival dedicated by the town of Pesaro to the master Gioacchino Rossini.

Apart from the classic masterpieces of the Rossinian canon, which have here been restored to their authentic form  the Festival can also boast a long list of unknown titles, revived in important productions, which critics and audiences alike have greeted in each case as authentic cultural events

The 2009 programme includes the Opera Zelmira, La scala di Seta, Le Compte Ory and many concerts.

The official website of the Rossini Opera Festival

RAVELLO FESTIVAL - Ravello  - AMALFI COAST,  June 26th – September 26th

The Ravello Festival is one of the oldest festivals in Italy.

During the whole months music, dance a and various art performance make this gorgeous village in the Amalfi Coast even more attractive to Italian and foreignThe main festival location is an attraction by itself: a gorgeous open air theatre built on the cliff in the breathtaking Amalfi Coast.

The offcial website of the Ravello Festival

53rd International Art Exhibition - Venice - Giardini and Arsenale - from June 7th to November 22nd, 2009

Sunday June 7th,  the 53rd International Art Exhibition opens to the public. This exceptional event is located in the two main exposition areas in the Giardini and the Arsenale  as well as in various other locations around the city.

In the beautiful Giardini area will be hosted the 29 Pavilions of the participating countries. Set amidst tall trees, the pavilions themselves form a sort of anthology of important twentieth-century architecture. While the Italian Pavilion is located in the Arsenale area: the renovated and enlarged Italian Pavilion will overlook the adjacent Giardino delle Vergini and will be one of the main innovations of this year edition. The Pavilion will also host a special exhibition within the exhibition, “COLLAUDI. Omaggio a F. T. Marinetti“.

The theme of the 53rd International art Exhibition is “Making Words” and wants to emphasize the process of artisitic creation, as each artist with his work of art wants to represent a vision of the world. Works from 90 artists from all-over the word and all forms of artistic expression are represented: painting and drawing, sculpture, photography, video and film, installation art, performance and a live parade.

A great number of collateral events will make the visit –if possible- even richer.

And, of course, the magic city of Venice, where art and culture are the tissue of the city and its life, will be the superb scenery for this great event.

For any traveler interested in Classic as well as Contemporary Art, a visit to Venice and the International Art Exhibition are a “must see”.

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Rome - The Colosseum - from March 27th 2009 till January 10th 2010

The city of Ancient Rome, the imperial one, still exists today under the eyes of all visitors. Very often from the underground of the city the ancient magnificence of the Roman Empire reappears with evident traces of the great power and fabulous prosperity of the lords who ruled it.

Vespasianus was the founder of the Gens Flavia and a man of a great importance during the years of his empire (69–79 AD). He was considerably open minded in relation to social policies: for example in terms of town planning, he returned to roman citizens some public urban areas, dispossessed during the reign of Nero. So, Vespasianus is to be considered as the promoter of the economic and social restoration of the whole empire which under his reign experienced a proverbial period of serenity. As a consequence of that, he was one of the most loved emperor of the roman history.

The exhibition, staged inside the Colosseum, is divided in six parts and takes also place in other areas of the eternal city including some monuments generally closed to public: the Curia, in the Foro Romano, where the main subject of the exhibition is the “imperial cult”; the Criptoportico neroniano, on the Palatino Hill, where remains of the imperial palace are displayed.

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