Description
Alessandria Preziosa
Un laboratorio internazionale al tramonto del Cinquecento

Curated by Fulvio Cervini

21 March – 6 October 2024

Palazzo del Monferrato
Via San Lorenzo 21
Alessandria

Inauguration: 21 March 2024 at 6 pm


From 21 March 2024, Palazzo del Monferrato in Alessandria will host a new major exhibition entitled "Alessandria preziosa. Un laboratorio internazionale al tramonto del Cinquecento". Following the success of the exhibition Alessandria scolpita in 2019, dedicated to the artistic context in the city between Gothic and Renaissance, this exhibition, which is always focused on the city of Alessandria and its surrounding areas, reveals its creative civilization between the 16th and early 17th century, focusing on sumptuous arts, close to the advent of International Mannerism in the years of the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

A unique project which is inserted in the program "Uffizi diffusi", which will bring to Alessandria loans from the Florentine gallery and from some of the most important Italian Museums.

"Alessandria preziosa. Un laboratorio internazionale al tramonto del Cinquecento" is the new exhibition which will be held in Palazzo del Monferrato in Alessandria, curated by Fulvio Cervini with the organisational design of Roberto Livraghi, Director of Palazzo del Monferrato.

"Alessandria Preziosa" is divided into seven sections composed by close to eighty works, in which the protagonists are the precious metal sculptures, highlighting the decisive role played by the sumptuous arts, from goldsmithing to metalworking, from the art of armorers to the carving of semi-precious stones. The goal of the exhibition is two-fold: on one side to outline the advent of international mannerism harbinger of a new sense of reality and shape, through a selection of jewellery and objects in metal, but also canvas and panel paintings and sculptures in wood and marble which better dialogue with the precious arts; the second focus of the project is that of displaying and showing how the current territory of the province of Alessandria was a place where strengths and different cultures converged, which did not pale in comparison with other more glorious cities of the Po Plain, but rather represented a happy exception, in which Nordic influences measured themselves against those from Florence and Rome.

Alessandria and its territory acted as a link between Milan and Pavia on one side and Genoa on the other, while just outside the city stood the Convent of Santa Croce in Bosco Marengo built at the behest of Pope Pius V, which enclosed the artistic climate of Tuscan-Roman origin.

The key themes of the exhibition that emerge are devotion, represented by an important core of ecclesiastic objects, many coming from the dioceses of Alessandria, Casale, Tortona, such as the magnificent busts of Antonio Gentili sculpted for Pope Pius V, the reliquary cross of the Cathedral of Alessandria, which encloses a much older Byzantine reliquary, the magnificent German jewelry of San Filippo in Casale and San Salvatore Monferrato, the magnificent San Marziano of the Cathedral of Tortona, work of a Genoese silversmith of the early 17th century; or an original banner embroidered in Milan at the end of the 16th century from the Diocesan Museum of Tortona, restored for the exhibition with funding from the Alessandria Council. It is also focused on the relationships between painting, sculpture and jewellery which in the late 16th century, thanks also to the influence of Nordic craftsmen, gave way to extraordinary works such as the Calvary of Magdalen in Novi Ligure, but also on the art of the war and for the war, represented by military armour and portraits. Furthermore, an entire section of the exhibition is dedicated to the "Roman-Florentine Island" of Bosco Marengo, which sees the presence of Giorgio Vasari.

The exhibition goes beyond the halls of Palazzo del Monferrato, extending to several cultural venues of the province of Alessandria. First among all is the Basilica of Santa Croce in Bosco Marengo with the relevant museum, followed by the Confraternity of the Maddalena of Novi Ligure, the complex of Torre Garofoli near Tortona, the Picture Gallery of the Capuchins of Voltaggio, the parish church of San Sebastiano Curone, to name but a few (for more information refer to the document attached).

The exhibition is part of the program of "Uffizi diffusi", a project devised by the director of the museum Eike Schmidt, which wants to take some works of the gallery outside the capital of Tuscany and, consequently, avails of the important scientific collaboration of the Florentine Gallery and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.

"Alessandria preziosa. Un laboratorio internazionale al tramonto del Cinquecento" aims to be an ethical reflection on the artistic heritage of Alessandria which projects the city and its territory into a supra-regional dimension, through an original project and a story told through works of art.

A catalog is planned with the collaboration of illustrious experts and members of the exhibition scientific committee, with general background contributions on the period and artistic currents represented, and detailed fact sheets on the works on show.


* * * * *

Info and bookings; guided tours and workshops
www.palazzomonferrato.it
info@palazzomonferrato.it


Days and OPENING times

Saturday and Sunday
10 am -1 pm and 4 pm - 7 pm

To mark the passage of the Tour de France through the town of Alessandria the exhibition is open on Monday 1 July 2024 from 10 am to midday and from 2 pm to 7 pm.


Costs of TICKET

Full €8
Reduced €5
(from 12 to 18 years of age, over 65s, groups, university students, FAI members)
Free
(up to 12 years of age, Abbonamento Musei, disabled people and carers, schools)
For more information refer to the website indicated below.

FREE ENTRY on the first Sunday of the month

To mark the passage of the Tour de France through Alessandria the exhibition is open with FREE admission on Sunday 30 June and Monday 1 July.

* * * * *


The exhibition is promoted by the Chamber of Commerce of Alessandria-Asti, the Piedmont Regional Authority, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria, the Municipality of Alessandria, Council for the enhancement of the artistic heritage of the Alessandria area, in association with the Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Office for the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo, Fondazione Slala and ATL Alexala.

The event is currently sponsored by Guala Dispensing and Syensqo of Alessandria, Fondazione CR Asti and the Municipality of Ovada. Technical sponsor Hotel Londra of Alessandria.