Landscapes of Rome in the time of Covid: a journey into the art of lockdown

Five years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted daily life and left cities in surreal silence. Rome, usually chaotic and alive, emptied out, taking on an unprecedented, almost suspended appearance. It was in those days that La Repubblica entrusted 21 artists with the task of narrating the deserted capital with their visual language. Now, Block 13 is repurposing those same works in an exhibition titled Paesaggi d’autore al tempo del Covid (Author’s Landscapes at the Time of Covid), to be held from Feb. 22 to March 10 at its headquarters at 13 Benzoni Street.

The exhibition has value beyond historical memory: it is a tribute to Rome, its resilience and art’s ability to document reality by transforming it into vision. It is also a tribute to Ruggero Savinio, the last artist to contribute to the series published in the newspaper, who passed away on January 1, 2025 at the age of 90.

The project on Republic

The initiative came to life in March 2020, in the midst of lockdown, with the idea of pairing news about the health crisis with a visual narrative of the empty city. The artists’ works found space in theCrisis Agenda, but also in the cultural pages and in the Bottega di poesia column edited by Gilda Policastro. The entire project was supervised by Carlo Alberto Bucci, who wrote the texts commenting on the images(they can be found in Repubblica ), with the support of Repubblica ’s editorial staff and in particular Stefano Costantini and Francesca Giuliani.

This formula was not unprecedented: already in the past, Giuseppe Cerasa, then head of the Rome Chronicle, had involved artists in similar experiments, juxtaposing works with stories by writers, both in the newspaper and in exhibitions that grew out of those publications. The 2020 collection, however, took on a special significance, returning an image of Rome reminiscent of de Chirico’s metaphysical views or Donghi and Trombadori’s Magic Realism.

The artists and works on display

From March 26 to April 28, 2020, each day a new work interpreted the new urban landscape. Among the first were Piazza Dalmazia, 3 p.m. by Alessandra Giovannoni, followed by Giuseppe Modica ’s Roman courtyard and Felice Levini’s Moon over San Lorenzo. Maurizio Pierfranceschi portrayed restless tenants in the Monti district, while Giuseppe Salvatori depicted a church with lizard and dreams in Mentana.

April opened with a nocturne in Pigneto by Laura Barbarini, followed by Mauro Di Silvestre ’s Magrittian Window and Iginio De Luca’s polemical Wounded Garibaldi, a clear reference to delays in the monument’s restoration. Francesco Cervelli proposed a conceptual vision of Montesacro, while Marco Colazzo painted the sky of Pietralata. Alfredo Zelli made Piazza del Popolo three-dimensional and unreal, while Laura Federici showed a depopulated Mandrione.

Giulio Catelli immortalized the line in front of a store in Torpignattara, while Vincenzo Scolamiero evoked silence and wind in an imaginary square. Elena Nonnis stared at the wait in front of a pharmacy in the Tuscolano neighborhood, while Claudio Palmieri depicted the virus with a crown of barbed wire.

More visionary works included Franco Cenci ’s surreal bestiary on a terrace in Piazza Vittorio and Andrea Aquilanti’s postcard-perfect Via Monte del Gallo, with St. Peter’s dome in the background. Matteo Montani reinterpreted a “peeling” Via de Chirico, while Alessandro Finocchiaro painted the Villa Borghese pond.

The last work published in La Repubblica, April 28, 2020, was Ruggero Savinio’s view of the ruins of Domitian’s Stadium, a powerful image that ideally closed the series. And it is to him that this exhibition pays tribute, recalling the contribution he made to Italian visual culture.

The appointment is from Feb. 22 to March 10, by reservation only, to rediscover Rome through the eyes of those who recounted it in the most suspended moment of its recent history. For all info and to book a visit: Blocco 13, cultural association for contemporary art, via Benzoni 13, 00154 Roma (Italy)

tel. ++39.3292866299, blocco13roma@gmail.com

Landscapes of Rome in the time of Covid: a journey into the art of lockdown

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