On the evening of Monday 17 June the meeting entitled “The beauty will save the world? – Taking care of art, Italy’s wealth” with Angelo Crespiappointed director of the Pinacoteca di Brera in December 2023, e Luigi Mascheroni, journalist for “Il Giornale”. The event is part of a series of meetings created by the Board of Directors of Legnanese family on the occasion of the Centenary of the city of Legnano with the aim of creating opportunities for discussion and reflection on cultural and current issues. Monday 17th was the second meeting of this cycle of cultural events, the first took place at the Tirinnanzi theater in March and featured the journalist Nicola Porro, and was much appreciated by the large audience with around 180 attendees.
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Meeting “Will beauty save the world?” with Angelo Crespi 4 of 8
Our artistic heritage
Among the reflections made during the evening also the importance of artistic heritage for our country. «Italy has an extraordinary privilege, – he said Luigi Mascheroni – that of being very rich in works of art and having an incredible cultural tradition but, precisely for this reason, it has an enormous responsibility. Art and culture without protection and care are nothing. The fact of living in a country that has a widespread diffusion of art like Italy is something unique, we are 200 meters from the Basilica of San Magno where one of the most beautiful works of the 16th century in Lombardy and beyond is preserved. The fact of having to deal with cities that have a wealth of extraordinary works in every place – continued Mascheroni – it entails an obligation in protection and conservation but above all in the awareness of being privileged and therefore to know what art gives us every day.”
«The heritage that surrounds us is our identity – he said Angelo Crespi – and inexhaustible from which not only beauty but identity emanates. When we Italians go abroad we are proud of the fact that they consider us the heirs of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque. We are the inventors of everything and therefore our artistic heritage determines us and is what truly distinguishes us. Not everyone is lucky enough to live in this perfect and beautiful thing which is an interpenetration between nature and art, that is, human work, and this beauty inspires us with beautiful solutions to complex problems».
Palazzo Citterio with a view of the Grande Brera
During the meeting, theopening to the public of Palazzo Citterio which will take place in December. «In ’72 – explained Angelo Crespi – the Italian State purchased a building next to the Botanical Garden called Palazzo Citterio, an 18th century building, and it did so with the idea of enlarging the Library. From ’72 to today the building has remained closed and 4 or 5 renovations were carried out. I – continued Crespi – I will be lucky enough to open this Palace to the public on December 7th, where two important collections of modern art will be transferred which include masterpieces by Boccioni, Modigliani, Morandi, De Pisis, Carrà, Sironi and even Picasso”. Palazzo Citterio is currently open to the public for a month with the Swarovski exhibition.
The Brera Academy and the city of Legnano
The reflections on the connection between Legnano and the Brera Academy. In fact, it should be remembered that “Civitas”, the Weight of the Palio 2024, was created by 4 students of the Academy. Just as the plexiglass cylinder which is given as a gift to the donors of the scholarships of the Legnanese Family Foundation was created by Francesca Petricci of the Brera Academy, the students also collaborated in the restoration of the church of Sant’Ambrogio and it is currently in shows Hayez’s painting “The Milanese consuls tear up and trample Barbarossa’s decree”, which recalls the famous Battle of Legnano, on loan from Brera. «Legnano does some excellent things with the Academy, – said Crespi – iThe fact that young people can work on such important issues by producing new things increases awareness of how art can save beauty and, as Dostoevsky said, the world.”
Restoring is taking care
Angelo Crespi then explained the true meaning of restoration, which is not just “preserving” the work of art but is much more. «The thing that makes me happiest – said Angelo Crespi – is that the attention to training restorers is still one of the main focuses of the Academy. The theme of restoration is fundamental because we must train people aware of the importance of maintaining and conserving our heritage. It is not simply a matter of simply “preserving” but of mediating the value that lies at the basis of restoration, which is that of taking care».
The next meeting of the cycle of events for the Centenary of the city will be immediately after the summer and will feature Paolo Mieliwhich will mainly talk about history.
