Hannibal returns to Italy: major exhibition in Piacenza re-enacts the Punic Wars with immersive environments and works

From December 16, 2018 to March 17, 2019 , the exhibition Hannibal. A Mediterranean Myth, which after two thousand years brings the Carthaginian general back to Italy. Curated by Giovanni Brizzi, the leading expert on Hannibal, the Piacenza exhibition allows visitors to take a journey through the history of the Mediterranean at the time of the Punic Wars through the story of the leader who challenged the might of Rome. Hannibal. A Mediterranean Myth is proposed as an immersive itinerary that winds its way through the recently restored basements of Piacenza’s historic ducal residence, where technology meets the rigor of historical research. An itinerary among precious historical and artistic artifacts from Italian and international cultural institutions and lost objects, which come to life through holographic showcases, as well as video installations, video walls and projections, reconstructing Hannibal’s adventure and the historical context of the time, between Rome, Carthage and the entire Mediterranean. Special attention is also given to the strategic centrality of Roman Piacenza.

The exhibition itinerary, structured in ten sections, opens with the definition of the historical context: two different timelines chronologically reconstruct the geopolitical events of the time and the key events in the life and exploits of Hannibal, whose face is portrayed on the coinage from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Through video installations, holographic vitrines and projections, the figure of Hannibal will intersect with that of two great classical icons such as Alexander the Great and Heracles, whose bronze copy of the Herakles Epitrapezios, from the Archaeological Museum of Naples, is on display. In fact, the figure of Alexander the Great, explains curator Giovanni Brizzi, “was the model that prompted Hannibal to adopt an ideal of culture and kingship, to conceive an unrealizable imperial dream that probably involved the entire western basin of the Inland Sea and that inspired him, finally, both the strategy he adopted against Rome and the unparalleled tactical reform capable of later giving through him to the Urbe and the West a supremacy, including military supremacy, destined to last for centuries.” Heracles, on the other hand, “provided the ethical justification for the enterprise and was, at one and the same time, the ingenious key to attempt to open to him, as far as possible, the hearts of the peoples framed in his army or simply encountered on the road.” It was a destiny sealed from childhood for Hannibal, who while still a child pronounced his pledge of hatred toward Rome, documented by the Greek historian Polybius; the exhibition will reread the family context in which he grew up, from his father Hamilcar, to his brothers, to his brother-in-law Asdrubal, the young man’s Greek and Punic cultural formation, his military training and his rise as a condottiere.

The exhibition then offers an in-depth historical look at the strategic, military and political aspects of the Second Punic War, with evocative depictions of the Romans and Carthaginians lined up in the main battles of the conflict, to which is added a room entirely devoted to the strategic importance of Piacenza and the Via Emilia, a barrage that closed off Roman Italy to the north. Francisco Goya’s fascinating preparatory sketch of Hannibal the victor gazing over Italy for the first time from the Alps, from the Prado Museum in Madrid, will be one of the valuable contributions to the reconstruction of the myth of the Carthaginian leader: a path punctuated by in-depth videos on military and political strategic preparation accompanies the public into the heart of the Second Punic War, toward the spectacular clash between Carthage and Rome, with focus on the main battles: Trebbia, Trasimeno, Canne, and Zama. Following the entire arc of the biographical story of one of history’s greatest commanders, the exhibition project closes with Hannibal’s defeat, return to Carthage, exile and his last days. There will also be two sections reserved for the crossing of the Alps: an immersive projection accompanies the public through the fictional crossing together with Hannibal and his army to revive a feat that became legendary because of the difficulties brought about by the climate and the inaccessibility of the places. And one section is devoted precisely to the myth of the crossing, celebrated by painters and engravers of various eras. Of these works, the exhibition offers an unprecedented and surprising review enriched by the display of two exceptional archaeological artifacts that illustrate one of the most legendary tools used by the condottiero in his enterprise: elephants. Concluding the tour is a space for the screening of film sequences dedicated to Hannibal and his exploits. These include Cabiria (1914), considered the most famous Italian silent film, some of whose original costumes are on display. In addition, the public can attend the screening of Hannibal immortal myth, made by Aldo Zappalà especially for the event.

The exhibition, enhanced by a creative declination of the project conceived by TWOSHOT and Gli Orsi Studio of Milan, under the scientific supervision of the curator, is promoted by the Piacenza and Vigevano Foundation, the Municipality of Piacenza, the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio and the Museums of Palazzo Farnese, with the patronage of MiBAC, the Province of Piacenza, Musei in Rete, Destinazione Emilia, with the contribution of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Chamber of Commerce of Piacenza, Iren, in collaboration with Capitale Cultura and the Fondazione Cineteca Italiana of Milan; main partner Crédit Agricole Italia; media partner La Libertà.

“The exhibition has two hearts and two guidelines,” the curator illustrates. “On the one hand, Hannibal, a character who is seen as a maieuta, the one who will forever change nature and destinies, not only of Rome and Italy, but of the entire Mediterranean. On the other, the city of Piacenza, a privileged balcony from which this passage is observed and a thematic core that also and especially concerns Roman Italy. In 218 the city is the gateway on the plain of the Po River that is to be conquered and transformed, but as a result of the changed conditions in the Mediterranean, at the end of the Hannibalic War, Placentia will become the northern terminal point of the Roman res publica marking the border of what was then Italy.” And again on the history of Piacenza at the time of Hannibal and immediately after: “a Latin colony created in 218, the city was supposed to be the advanced point of an expansion in the plain of the Po destined to wipe out the Gallic peoples, to be replaced by settlers who flocked there en masse from central Italy; now, when, in the aftermath of the victory over Hannibal, it rises again after having been destroyed by the Celts, its function changes completely. When, in 187, the Via Aemilia comes into being, the last great fleet of the Mediterranean, the Syriac fleet, has just been destroyed (188) off Patara, erasing the risk, feared above all others, of a future invasion by sea of the peninsula. That leaves access by land; and that means via Emilia. If the given definition (Forni) of the limes is correct, to bar the passage across the Apennines comes into being, a good two centuries ahead of the great structures on the Rhine and Danube, a first garrisoned line that already includes all its essential components: a political frontier, a road and troops manning it, the inhabitants of the six colonies staggered along it, at the northern edge of Roman Italy. Which stops here: after the hawkishness of the Hannibalic War a full repopulation of Cisalpine would be impossible. Better, despite the victory, to treat benignly the Celts, whose lands are no longer needed and who want to be friends to guard together with the Veneti the region between the Apennines and the Alps.”

In addition, Giovanni Brizzi always anticipates, “in the basement of Palazzo Farnese there will also be an acted part in which it is Hannibal himself who narrates his military campaign: the leader himself will accompany the audience to the future fate of the Mediterranean. A destiny that he himself unquestionably helped shape.”

“After the major operation dedicated to Guercino,” says Massimo Toscani, president of the Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano, "and the ascent path on the dome of Piacenza Cathedral, the Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano is promoting a new, exciting project that retraces the life and exploits of the Carthaginian leader Hannibal. Hannibal. A Mediterranean Myth is indeed an exhibition; on display will be, in fact, important historical artifacts, but it is also an amazing initiative that immerses, physically, the visitor within a historical context reconstructed through the most innovative technologies. A story, that of Hannibal, told in Palazzo Farnese, which will bring back to the center of attention an important and even decisive geographical area such as the Mediterranean, the Mare nostrum, a nerve center at the basis of the commercial, social, political, and cultural evolution of the whole of Europe, now back as an essential element in this historical period."

“The concept,” TWOSHOT and Gli Orsi Studio recall, “is built on a fundamental goal: to engage and excite people by presenting complex topics in an engaging way, with videos, projections, site-specific installations and video walls. A series of immersive environments then will constitute a true journey through time, in which visitors will find themselves literally surrounded by Hannibal’s men.”

A series of collateral events is planned: publications, meetings, lectures, historical and popular conferences at the Auditorium of the Piacenza and Vigevano Foundation, as well as a program of theatrical and musical events, guided tours in the province of Piacenza to the localities linked to Hannibal’s exploits and the clash with Rome, and an educational proposal addressed to first- and second-grade schools in the area. A guidebook with text by the curator accompanies the exhibition.

Hours: Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Special openings for Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Closed Mondays, including Monday, December 31. Tickets: full price €12.00; concessions €10.00 (visitors aged 11 to 18 or over 65; military personnel with card; Touring Club, FAI, ACI, ARCI, Historic Houses Association, Italia Nostra members; account holders and employees of the Crédit Agricole Italia; university students (including senior citizens); reduced schools € 6.00; reduced € 7.00 for children aged 6 to 10; free for children under 6; family season ticket: 2 adults + 1 child over 6 years old: € 25.00; 2 adults + 2 children and over: one child gets in free. For all info you can visit www.annibalepiacenza.it.

Pictured: Hannibal on the Alps, Benedict Masson (1881; oil on canvas, Musée des Beaux Arts, Chambéry)

Hannibal returns to Italy: major exhibition in Piacenza re-enacts the Punic Wars with immersive environments and works

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