In San Gimignano, the Santa Chiara museum complex finally reopens its doors to the public in a renewed and entirely redeveloped guise. The expansion of the exhibition spaces has been completed – with the opening of a new section of the Archaeological Museum dedicated to the Via Francigena – and the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art has been rearranged. Thus, one of the three complexes of the Civic Museums of the Tuscan city, already the subject of previous recoveries in the 1980s and 1990s, returns to shine. WHAT’S NEW IN THE SANTA CHIARA COMPLEX IN SAN GIMIGNANO A focus is reserved for the Via Francigena. Since the 4th century, connecting Canterbury, UK, with Rome, the well-known route has been traveled by countless pilgrims, crusaders and adventure tourists. Historically, San Gimignano owes its birth and its economic and cultural development to this itinerary: consequently, dedicating the new section of the museum to the historical importance that the famous artery has had on the San Gimignano community seemed the most appropriate choice. Equipped with new didactic devices and a renewed lighting system, the exhibition is designed as an expansion of the current Archaeological Museum. It includes extraordinary finds, among which stands out the bronze statuette of an offerer from the 3rd century BC, called “the shadow of San Gimignano”, and other objects from the archaeological site located in Torraccia di Chiusi.THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION ON CELEBRITIESThe Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art of the complex presents a renewed layout of the permanent collection; Furthermore, new sections were inaugurated, such as the one dedicated to the Views of San Gimignano between the 19th and 20th centuries. Until November 3rd, the space intended for temporary exhibitions hosts the photographic retrospective All eyes on celebrities. Portraits by Ken Nahoum. Willem Dafoe, Tupac, Andrea Bocelli, Robert De Niro, Spike Lee, Cindy Crawford and Steffi Graff are just some of the figures known to the general public that, throughout his career, the American Nahoum has immortalized through his lens. Curated by Elio Grazioli and produced by Opera Laboratori, the exhibition brings together a wide selection, allowing visitors to rediscover the work of this impeccable professional, still little known to the general public.[Immagine in apertura: Ken Nahoum, All Eyes on Celebrities, Musei Civici di San Gimignano. Courtesy Musei Civici di San Gimignano]
