The baroque town of the “One Hundred Bell Towers” is “dressed” for two days in seventeenth and eighteenth century silk with refined floral decorations. New and exclusive museum exhibition on the 27th and 28th, tomorrow and Sunday, at the Diocesan Museum of Acese: “The objective of the exhibition ‘Vestimenta Sacra: silk and flowers in the sacred vestments of the Aciresco area between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries”, explains the director Monsignor Giovanni Mammino, “is to offer a unique window on devotion, aesthetics and social interactions within the Christian community through the centuries”. It is worth visiting the Diocesan Museum of Acireale, on the first floor of the splendid Palazzo D’Amico in via Genuardi 16, near the cathedral, where from this evening the evocative temporary exhibition dedicated to the sacred wallpapers in fine silk from the seventeenth century and of the eighteenth century. “A journey between art and devotion begins which will open to the public on the occasion of the Flower Festival, an event scheduled in Acireale from 25th April and which will continue until 1st May”, adds Don Giovanni Mammino. This setup will however last for quite a few months upon reservation.
In a concentration of beauty and testimonies of faith, some precious artefacts will be put on display, the result of the cult and devotion of the town of Acisa, “to bring to mind the time of silk production and its processing in our territory between the Seventeenth and the nineteenth century.”
Unique craftsmanship. Don Mammino adds: “This exclusive exhibition highlights the art and spirituality of the sacred vestments used over the centuries in liturgical actions. The exhibition presents a careful selection of vestments and sacred accessories from various ecclesiastical collections of the diocese, many of which have never been exhibited to the public before. Each piece tells a unique story of faith, tradition and religious craftsmanship.” In fact, “this was a fairly intense period, also because the silk industry in those centuries represented the driving factor of the local economy. This exhibition displays sacred vestments made with fabrics that were also purchased from Sicily, that is, the raw silk came from our territory to then make the vestments.” In other words, “we want to focus attention on a very lively reality in the Acese area, that is, the production of silk. Hence the breeding of silkworms. Thanks to this, a large quantity of raw silk was produced in our territory which was then sold mainly in Messina and from there it then left for the various ports of northern Italy and France, where it was processed. And then the silk and fabrics often arrived here. Which were mainly sold as part of the ancient Fiera Franca di Santa Venera, which was particularly active in the 17th and 18th centuries in many families of Acireale, who became rich thanks to this trade”. Hence the real works of art with floral motifs on display in the new museum exhibition.
The permanent exhibition. At the Diocesan Museum of Acireale not only temporary exhibitions are set up. Monsignor Mammino reports that “there is a nucleus of permanent collection, in the historic headquarters in via Genuardi 16, in the premises of the diocese, which is still being set up. In recent years we have organized several temporary exhibitions and at the same time we have continued the formation of the permanent collection. Starting from 2014, the year in which the first exhibition on the Divine Infant was held, a collection that recalled the cult of baby Jesus and in particular the eighteenth-century nativity scene of Acireale. Then in 2015, thanks to funding from the European Union, the museum began to take on its own shape; the contributions of the CEI have thus made it possible to activate temporary exhibitions which have had considerable success. In the following years, the permanent collection gradually formed, bringing together finds from the cathedral and branch churches that are currently not accessible. Then in 2017, in collaboration with the Superintendence of Catania, we organized an exhibition on the Passion with the exhibition of prints by the artist Albrecht Durer, prints kept at the regional library of Palermo. And again in 2019, another temporary exhibition, this time on the cult of Santa Venera, Patron Saint of the city and the diocese of Acireale, with the title: ‘The Acireale iconography of Santa Venera. Holy tutelary mistress. Which was a beautiful exhibition because there was an extraordinary display of the treasure of Santa Venera, with ex-voto jewellery”.
Therefore “between 2023 and 2024, the last exhibition was the one on shepherds, the so-called shepherds who ‘lost their heads’, that is, all those artefacts, those heads of the shepherds that were removed from the eighteenth-century nativity scene from the church of Santa Maria della Neve were exhibited to the public.” Inside Palazzo D’Amico it is also possible to admire the wonderful decorated ceilings. “We have six rooms – continues to report the director of the diocesan museum Don Giovanni Mammino -. And the interesting thing in particular is that we have a restoration laboratory inside the museum, which represents a great attraction especially for school groups, thanks to the work of the restorer Angelo Trovato, who illustrates the different phases of the restoration, providing information to the interior of an open laboratory. He works mainly on wooden and pictorial works”. Monsignor Mammino continues: “We are focusing a lot on schools and groups, parish groups, groups of cultural associations, by reservation.” The permanent collection has around thirty works, including statues and canvases. For silver, for now we rely on the nearby cathedral. A permanent collection which, however, slowly aims to grow more and more.
History and devotion to Acireale. “Museums play a crucial role in preserving and transmitting history and culture, acting as bridges between the past and the present. This exhibition allows visitors to explore different aspects of human history, offering significant insights into how societies have evolved over time”, continues the director of the diocesan museum of Acireale Monsignor Mammino.
A stone’s throw from the Cathedral. On the ground floor of Palazzo D’Amico, in via Genuardi 16, there is the Cultural Heritage office, on the first floor is the Diocesan Museum, on the second floor is the headquarters of the Diocesan Historical Archive. Therefore, located in the parlor of the city, the palace is a sort of ‘Palace of Culture’. The construction dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century and was purchased by the diocese in the 1930s. The Acireale Church has been led since 2011 by Monsignor Antonino Raspanti, bishop of Acireale, as well as president of the Sicilian Episcopal Conference. The director of the museum, Monsignor Mammino, then explains that “the permanent collection is mainly composed of paintings, in particular we have two large canvases from the Church of San Giovanni Nepomuceno; and then other canvases by the painter Michele Vecchio; a canvas by Alessandro Vasta; and the Madonna of the Rosary with the Dominican Saints, which in recent days was loaned for the exhibition inaugurated in Catania at the Diocesan Museum. In addition, we also have a fairly large, interesting canvas in the museum which comes from Randazzo and which represents the birth of the Virgin Mary, the work of a 17th century painter from Messina”.
Not just paintings. “Above all we have statues, which testify to the burning statuary craftsmanship of the 18th century, in particular the Madonna, the Magdalene and then the penitent Saint Peter, and also the Christ the Good Shepherd by the sculptor Ignazio Castorina Canzirri, the main exponent of the 18th century burning sculpture ”. And to complete, of course, “the vestments and in particular silk vestments, because the city of Acireale was also renowned in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the production of silk: as mentioned, raw silk was purchased in particular and therefore the the various silk fabrics”. The nearby Cathedral. The flagship of the Acireale cult is certainly the imposing religious building of the Cathedral of Acireale. In the historic center, it enriches Piazza Duomo with its bell towers and its magnificence. The interior is elegantly enriched with frescoes and marble. The external visual impact is fabulous, given by the facade, a few meters from a sumptuous radially paved square. The cathedral of Maria Santissima Annunziata is the main place of worship in the city located in the articulated Piazza del Duomo, which also overlooks the enchanting basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Acireale, as it is known, represents a pearl set in the Etna province. Known above all for the baroque historic centre, with its numerous majestic buildings, the baronial palaces with lava portals embellished with sculpted masks, the fascinating intertwining of streets, testifying to the importance that culture and history have had for the city.
Organization. The exhibition was set up in collaboration with the “Cento Campanili” association and with the “Renato Guttuso” art high school in Giarre. In particular, the students of this institute took individual fabrics into consideration and developed studies on floral decorations by taking and drawing the various flowers.
Useful information. The exhibition will be open to visitors from tomorrow, Saturday 27th, and then on Sunday 28th April from 9.00 to 20.00, all day. After these days the exhibition will be available for groups by reservation by calling 351 5215736.
