PADUA – It is already the record-breaking exhibition, with 70 thousand tickets sold in less than 2 months. Exceptional numbers, with positive effects on the related industries, considering that many visitors arrive from outside Padua and therefore sleep in hotels, eat in restaurants and make purchases: an impact that according to councilor Andrea Colasio should eventually settle down between 10 and 15 million euros. In fact, the “Monet. Masterpieces of the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris”, inaugurated on 8 March at the San Gaetano Center and which also recorded long queues in the last weekend of 25 April, as previously for Easter Monday and in any case since the first days of opening. via Altinate of people waiting to go and see the extraordinary exhibition. And since the tickets booked online for all weekends until the closing date set for July 14th are “sold out”, and given the continued great demand, the organizers have decided to keep the event open tomorrow May 1st, with an extended opening time until 10pm and last entry at 9pm. As predicted, the “exhibition of the year” is confirmed, therefore, with the set-up which is a re-proposal of the career of the Master of Impressionism and his life, thanks to the presence of the paintings to which he was most attached, which he had never wanted to sell and which he kept until his death in the atelier and in the family home in Giverny. The exhibition was organized by the Municipality, by the Arthemisia association chaired by Iole Siena, and by the Marmottan Museum itself.
The exhibition of the year
Data in hand, Colasio himself takes stock of the performance. «I don’t remember that there has ever been an exhibition in Padua that reached 70 thousand visitors in less than sixty days.. And it is plausible, therefore, that it will leave its mark. It is of the highest quality, it was created in collaboration with a prestigious international museum and it fits fully into a precise strategy of cultural policy, which is to portray Padua as a great European city of art, with an extraordinary heritage, but also capable of organizing large events like this one proposed on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Impressionism.”
«Making an underestimated calculation – said the representative of the Giordani junta – we can hypothesize the arrival at San Gaetano of 150 thousand people from outside Padua by the end of the event. And taking into account that each spends at least 100 euros on eating, sleeping and shopping, it is clear that the exhibition dedicated to Monet, in addition to promoting Padua, will bring a sum of between 10 and 15 million euros to the Saint’s shadow. Therefore it doesn’t just give back to the organizers, but to the entire capital.”
«Since 2017 – concluded Colasio – we have proposed important international exhibitions, in a space in the city that is now recognized as the ideal container for such events. A policy that also combines constant attention to the activities of local realities, creating a varied and substantial offer that is aimed at the widest possible audience. I thank Arthemisia for the excellent work she is doing with the Monet exhibition and for the decision to expand the visit possibilities thanks to the extraordinary opening tomorrow which I am sure will be much appreciated.”
On display there are 60 masterpieces from the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, including the Water Lilies, the Irises, London landscapes and many others – enriched by spectacular rooms, lots of content, videos, testimonies and magical atmospheres.
