The city of Jacopone will host, on the fortieth anniversary of his death, the tribute to Rodolfo Siviero, the most famous secret agent of art. The study day, which will remember his figure and his commitment to finding the works stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War, will be held Saturday 11 Maywith a conference in the Council Room of the Municipal Buildings at 4pm entitled “The 007 of Art: the recovery of the Italian heritage between Florence, Rome and Todi”.
Speakers at the conference will be Riccardo Luciani of the University of Perugia, Francesca Bottari, author of a monograph on Siviero, Cristina Galassi, university professor, director of the specialization school in Historical-Artistic Heritage, Attilio Tori, former curator of Rodolfo Siviero’s house museum in Florence, and Carlo Zoccoli, which will deal with Siviero’s connection with Todi. Stefano Petrocchi, of the regional management of Lazio Museums, will coordinate the various contributions.
Starting from a brief excursus on the life and deeds of Siviero, we will outline the story of the art historian who, as an informant for the SIM, the information service of the fascist secret police, decided to fight, during the years of conflict, for the protection of the Italian artistic heritage from the aims of the most formidable raiding system developed by the Nazis, the Kunstshutz. Alongside Siviero, other important personalities of the time also worked during the conflict: from Giulio Carlo Argan to Palma Bucarelli, from Emilio Lavagnino to Pasquale Rotondi, many were those who distinguished themselves in important actions in a race against time to save the artistic heritage from certain alienation.
The commitment that Siviero demonstrated in the discovery and return to Italy of the stolen works, which today can once again be admired in the museums of the peninsula, constitutes proof of his great interest in art and provides testimony to the ideals in which he recognized. Alongside the activity carried out over forty years in the service of the State, the personality of a fine collector of works of art emerges, so much so that at the behest of his heirs the Lungarno Serristori villa with its collections was donated to the Tuscany Region and then became a public museum.
Alongside the conference, a photographic exhibition entitled “Rodolfo Siviero: photographs of the most famous secret agent of art” will also be proposed with material borrowed from the Archive and Library of the Casa Rodolfo Siviero Museum in Florence. The exhibition, which will be set up in the premises of the Civic Art Gallery, aims to outline the figure of Siviero, reconstructing his life and the deeds he accomplished. Inside the route there will also be space for one or two display cases with documentary material also on loan from the Casa Rodolfo Siviero Museum, and a monitor with the video on the life of Rodolfo Siviero and his collection of works of art.
The initiative is promoted with the patronage of the Municipality of Todi, the University of Perugia, the School of Specialization in Historical and Artistic Heritage of Gubbio and Pro Todi.
