The Foliage Train Resumes. Two stops to discover the artists of the Vigezzo Valley.

The Foliage Train returns again this year on the historic Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway, which connects Domodossola and Locarno. From October 12 to November 17, 2024, thanks to a special tourist ticket, it will be possible to travel through landscapes immersed in the atmosphere of autumn and its characteristic colors. Among the two must-see stops along the route of the Foliage Train, the first is in Domodossola, where the exhibition Lorenzo Peretti (1871-1953) takes place . Nature and Mystery, hosted at Casa De Rodis in Piazza Mercato, open until Oct. 26. The second stop is the historic Rossetti Valentini School of Fine Arts, located in the heart of the Vigezzo Valley in Santa Maria Maggiore, which offers a series of fall events including workshops, guided tours and tours. The exhibition Lorenzo Peretti (1871-1953). Nature and Mystery, organized by the Poscio Collection and curated by Elena Pontiggia, explores for the first time in an organic way the figure of Lorenzo Peretti (Buttogno, 1774 - Buttogno, 1851), a mysterious and little-known Vigezzo painter. The exhibition includes about eighty works and traces the entire brief life of this singular artist (“a misanthropic character and an artist in the true sense,” his master Enrico Cavalli said of him), who painted for only a dozen years, never exhibited in his life and did not let anyone into his studio, so much so that his figure as a cultured intellectual, imbued with religious tension, was often mistaken for that of an alchemist in the odor of witchcraft.

The exhibition itinerary of Lorenzo Peretti’s exhibition begins in 1890, when he attended the Rossetti Valentini School of Fine Arts in Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was a pupil of Enrico Cavalli and had for a companion Carlo Fornara, the two most famous Vigezzo painters. And it is all the way to Santa Maria Maggiore that one can take the foliage train and stop right at the School, which reopened to the public last year and has always been a training ground for Vigezzo artists. Until Nov. 3, it is hosting the exhibition Gian Maria Rastellini in the Milan of Grubicy and Tosi curated by Lorella Giudici and Elisabetta Staudacher, which traces the training and artistic activity of Gian Maria Rastellini (Buttogno Ossola, 1869-Milan, 1927) and his brother Gian Battista Rastellini (Buttogno Ossola, 1860-Milan, 1926), also a painter and decorator, who were originally from Buttogno. For the occasion, there is an agreement with the Vigezzina Centovalli Railway: purchasing a ticket to the exhibition gives a 10 percent discount for a ticket to be used by Friday, Oct. 11, while purchasing a Vigezzina No Limits tourist ticket online or at the ticket office gives a 10 percent discount on the exhibition ticket. In addition, the Rossetti Valentini School of Fine Arts is offering various events for the fall that are open to the public.

Here is the program:

• Oct. 5-12 Wool Processing Workshop-The Wool Way from Spinning to Tricoté by Gaiadilana and Gruppo Folkloristico Valle Vigezzo. Min 6, max 10 people. A minimum contribution of €90 is required to participate (fee includes the wool needed to make the final artifact). Reservations: segreteria@fondazionerossettivalentini.it

• Oct. 5, 3 p.m. Readings. Gian Maria Rastellini through letters to friends and family memories Acted readings of Gian Maria Rastellini ’s epistolary legacy with Alice Agnello. Musical interludes by Roberto Bassa. Max 25 people, reservations are required at segreteria@fondazionerossettivalentini.it . Free admission

• Oct. 6, 11 a.m., Guided tour with LIS interpreter to the Gian Maria Rastellini exhibition in the Milan of Grubicy and Tosi. Min 5, max 20 people. Free admission. Reservations: segreteria@fondazionerossettivalentini.it

• Oct. 11-12-13: Creative writing workshop Beyond the Mountain educational path for adults. Curated by Davide Vanotti. Min 8, max 15 people. A minimum contribution of €75 is required to participate. Reservations: segreteria@fondazionerossettivalentini.it

• Oct. 19: 11 a.m. Guided tour of the Gian Maria Rastellini exhibition in the Milan of Grubicy and Tosi. Min 5, max 20 people. A minimum contribution of 5€ is required to participate. Reservations: segreteria@fondazionerossettivalentini.it

Photos: Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway

The Foliage Train Resumes. Two stops to discover the artists of the Vigezzo Valley.

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.