30.09.2021 12:00

Quirinale Contemporaneo: inauguration of the 2020-21 edition

Curator of the exhibition and catalogue is Cristina Mazzantini, Professor of Preservation at Politecnico di Milano

The Italian President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella attended the inauguration of the 2020-2021 edition of “Quirinale Contemporaneo” (Contemporary Quirinale) project at the Quirinale, which saw further additions made to this collection of contemporary works of art and design objects open to the public. The Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini was also present.

Cristina Mazzantini, Professor of Preservation at the Politecnico di Milano, curated all the stages of this initiative, including its scientific aspects, selected the artists and exhibits, and was also responsible for the catalogue, edited by Treccani with photos by Massimo Listri.

Since 2019, 101 contemporary works of art and 102 design objects have featured in the three editions of Contemporary Quirinale, enriching the extraordinary cultural heritage of the presidential collection at Palazzo del Quirinale, the Castelporziano Estate and Villa Rosebery.

The official residences of the President of the Republic today see their original decorations, which date back initially to the era of the Papal States and then to Savoyard rule, successfully co-existing alongside artistic expressions from the Republican era, represented by the main currents and the most important names from the second half of the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries: heterogeneous expressions that range from more avant-garde to more traditional movements, and which include paintings, sculptures, installations, mosaics, photos, embroidery and canvases.

Sharing the same showcase as tradition, contemporary flair turns the so-called “Home of the Italians” into a mirror of the country’s times, history and expressive and cultural manifestation in all its multi-shaped creativity and evolution. The works on show include many designed by students at the Politecnico di Milano.

This ongoing initiative proves that far from resting on the laurels of its magnificent tradition, Italy, today as in the past, is an extraordinary powerhouse of creativity.

explains Cristina Mazzantini.

Once again, with the aim of a general expansion of the wealth of artworks on view to the public, the decision was made not to acquire exhibits from public museums, but to put yet more items on public show that had to date been afforded less visibility. All the pieces acquired were either donated or lent for the occasion, quite free of charge.

The Contemporary Quirinale project intends to help represent and narrate Italian national identity, which manages to happily and successfully balance safeguarding tradition and antiques with a necessary spirit of innovation and design for the future. For this reason, the items in the collection represent all the regions in Italy thanks to their creators.

Find out more

Visit the on-line exhibition on Quirinale's website (in Italian)

Photo courtesy Presidency of the Italian Republic