Ninety-seven drawings and four models, coming respectively from the Piermarinian Fund of the Foligno library and from Palazzo Trinci, for the exhibition “Piermarini in Milan. The drawings of Foligno” inaugurated on May 29th at Palazzo Reale, in Milan, and which can be visited until July 28th. An exhibition, with free entry, promoted and produced by the Carifol Foundation together with the Municipalities of Milan – Culture and Foligno and at Palazzo Reale and which celebrates the genius of Piermarini: an architect who was born in Foligno and who left his mark as an artist in Lombardy, shaping it through his great works.
The route inside the Royal Palace is divided into two sections, through which the most important moments in the life and works of Giuseppe Piermarini are recalled. Starting from the first, “The years of training”, which illustrates the architect’s Roman apprenticeship, including the fundamental stay in Naples with Vanvitelli, who was his main mentor and who introduced him to the city of Milan, to which he is the second section is mainly dedicated. Entitled “Piermarini in Lombardy”, it highlights the Lombard activity of Piermarini, who was precisely the Royal Imperial Architect of the House of Habsburg, for whom – among other things – he designed the Teatro alla Scala and the Palace itself Real.
Precisely in this regard, on the morning of Monday 3 June, a conference was held at the headquarters of the Cassa di Risparmio di Foligno Foundation to illustrate the exhibition which, in recent weeks, sees Giuseppe Piermarini and the city of Foligno protagonists in Milan. “The exhibition – commented the president of the Carifol Foundation, Monica Sassi – was a great opportunity for us and for our city, because we had the opportunity to network with an extremely dynamic reality like that of Milan. Furthermore – he added – it is impossible to deny the visibility that this initiative brings to our territory, considering that Palazzo Reale is currently part of the Association des Résidences Royales Européennes project, which is aimed at the valorisation of European royal residences and which includes, in addition at the Royal Palace itself, about 30 other residences scattered throughout the Old Continent. This allows the exhibition to be even more exposed to the public, including the international one. Obviously – concluded Monica Sassi – in accordance with the will of the administration, our objective is to have the exhibition back here in Foligno, so as to be able to insert and contextualise it in its context”.
The president’s speech was then followed by that of the councilor for culture, Decio Barili, who wanted to underline how important it is to remember the relevance of a figure of Piermarini’s greatness, thus supporting the excellent work carried out by the Foundation by creating “something wonderful.” Also speaking were Paolo Verducci, vice president of the Foundation and curator of the exhibition, who illustrated in detail the structure and composition of the exhibition; and Italo Tomassoni, also among the curators of the exhibition. “Milan – commented Tomassoni – has a neoclassical face that is still recognizable thanks to Piermarini, who managed to create a sign left in the city, which cannot be talked about without mentioning it”.
