All possible hyperbole has already been used regarding the formidable Italian artistic heritage. But it is known that a part of this heritage remains confined in deposits and “excluded” from the eyes of the public. Prato, on the tenth anniversary of the Palazzo Pretorio museum, has decided – by expanding the available rooms – to exhibit works from the 15th and 16th centuries that had until now remained hidden in storage. Now these masterpieces can be admired, and can “tell” the cultural climate of the workshops active in Florence during the splendors of the Renaissance
◆ The article by GIANFRANCO NITTI
► Ten years have passed since the inauguration of Museum of the Praetorian Palace in Prato which opened on 12 April 2014, after a complex restoration of the Palace, which began in 1998, home to the Civic Museum since 1912. And many projects have been carried out, guided by a single objective: to interpret the contemporaneity of all times and become increasingly inclusive. «We are celebrating 10 years since the opening of the Palazzo Pretorio Museum with the presentation of a new room, demonstrating that the Pretorio has never stood still: exhibitions, new rooms, inclusive languages, a cultural hub with particular attention to autism , are testimony to how art is capable of involving everyone with its beauty and its ability to communicate. From today on the first floor it will be possible to admire 15th and 16th century works from the deposits, thanks to the desire to invest to enhance the existing heritage”, he declared in recent days Matteo Biffoni mayor of Prato.
A significant anniversary, that of the tenth anniversary, which the Museum shares with the community by making enjoyable seventeen works which until now have been kept in storage and have now found a place in the new room “From deposits to the museum: fifteenth and sixteenth century paintings”, located on the first floor in the recently restored area of the ancient Monte dei Pegni. The exhibition itinerary thus expands with a nucleus of masters of the fifteenth century which document the cultural climate reflected in the many workshops active in Florence and in the suburbs; and with the precious one collection of Holy Families and Madonnas with Child from the 16th century composed of ten paintings. The new room is part of a project to expand the museum offering which will soon see two other dedicated spaces, respectively, “Prato before Prato” with archaeological finds from the territory and the nearby area of Gonfienti, home to an Etruscan settlement from the 6th century BC, also enriched by multimedia content, and at the Museum of the Risorgimentowith a collection of relics from the ancient Risorgimento Museum which was set up in the Praetorium from the early twentieth century and still preserved in storage.
«In these ten years, the Civic Museum of Palazzo Pretorio has become a point of reference not only in Tuscany. Constant work – on the front row there Director Rita Iacopino, all the staff and the Scientific Committee – allowed us to establish relationships and consolidate and enrich a priceless heritage. The administration’s choice to expand the path of the Collection recovers the idea of the project Gae Aulenti And Bianca Ballestrero and returns with even greater adherence the not only artistic history of our territory”, he added Simone Mangani, Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Prato, also presenting the new exhibition to representatives of the foreign press. These installations add to the recent parallel multi-sensory journey enriched with interactive content, works to touch and listen to, guides in sign language, new multimedia devices.
The Museum celebrates its tenth anniversary by also offering an original program of events, shows, dance, workshops, music, themed meetings and activities aimed at different audiences. Among others, he organized the exhibition in collaboration with the Opera Santa Rita Foundation “Pretorio Aperto – 10 years 1000 glances”, in which the protagonists are the children with autism spectrum syndrome from the “Silvio Politano” Center, who through their point of view offer visitors an alternative interpretation of the works of the Palazzo Pretorio Museum; their artistic productions, unpublished and original, are created in collaboration with their educators, museum operators and the contribution of the students of the “Umberto Brunelleschi” Art School in Montemurlo. A space for discussion, knowledge and dialogue with diversity. The exhibition is free to access until Monday 29 April.
With the Prato Card, a single ticket is available that allows you to visit the four main museums of Prato: Palazzo Pretorio Museum, Textile Museum, Opera del Duomo di Prato Museum and Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art. A card aimed at everyone, tourists and residents, with offers for young people and families. However, Prato also deserves a quick acquaintance with its historic center, with a definable walk “Prato Classica – The city of merchants, yesterday and today”: a walking itinerary in the city centre. We start from Francesco by Marco Datini, the merchant who founded the first European conglomerate in the 1400s and who with his legacy contributed to founding the Ospedale Degli Innocenti in Florence, to arrive at the monumental Forma Squadrata with cut by Henry Moore, installed in Prato in 1974, 50 years ago , whose presence represents the tangible sign of the renewed patronage of the Prato textile entrepreneurs of the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the cultural and artistic relaunch of the wool city. A view of the ancient church of San Francesco, with the cloister of Santa Maria delle Carceri and the Emperor’s Castle is unmissable.
Information:
(Fb@pratoturismo ufficio and IG @pratoturismo); Prato Card 4; Prato Card 365; Prato Card Family; Prato Card Young Info: https://bit.ly/PratoCard_Info Purchasable here: https://bit.ly/Prato_Card PratoCard VisitPrato CittàdiPrato PratoMusei
