One hundred years after Beppe Fenoglio's birth, Ferrero Foundation dedicates an exhibition to the writer and partisan

From October 15, 2022 to January 8, 2023, the Ferrero Foundation in Alba presents a new exhibition project dedicated to the life and work of Alba writer and partisan Beppe Fenoglio (1922 - 1963). Singing the Weapons and the Man. 100 Years with Beppe Fenoglio, this is the title of the exhibition curated by Luca Bufano, among the leading scholars of Fenoglio’s work, is part of the initiatives of the Beppe Fenoglio 22 program on the occasion of the centenary of the author’s birth.

As the title of the exhibition reveals, Luca Bufano chose to evoke the famous Virgilian verse taken from the proem of the Aeneid (“arma virumque cano”) because it "reflects and summarizes multiple aspects of Fenoglio’s work and life, as well as the exhibition itself: the influence of classical epic in his formation and style; the wartime period that revealed him to himself, determining his destiny as a writer; the famous note in Fenoglio’s Diary: ’Always on the tombstones, to me will suffice my name, the two dates that alone count, and the qualification of writer and partisan.’"

The exhibition is divided into eight thematic and biographical sections in which the narrative is structured through autograph documents, photographic and audiovisual images, works of art, posters and other objects including books and memorabilia. The exhibition has a multimedia character with the intention of making Beppe Fenoglio’s work and figure accessible to everyone, from the most attentive scholar, to the avid reader, to the neophyte of Fenoglio’s work.

The title of each section is flanked by a name, real or literary, related to Fenoglio’s world, which is useful to indicate the themes dealt with. At the entrance to the exhibition, the visitor is greeted by an area that precedes the sections and constitutes a sort of prelude, introducing the spirit of the exhibition: in fact, Fenoglio’s partisan weapons are presented, in particular an American-made M1-30 carbine, and his last typewriter, an Olivetti Studio 44. This is the succession of sections, which in turn bear a summary title and a name, real or literary (an alias of Beppe Fenoglio).

1. Alba / Beppe

2. Debut / Ettore

3. The country / Augustine

4. Valdivilla / Jerry

5. Epos / Johnny

6. Romance / Milton

7. Anglophilia / Heathcliff

8. The end and the beginning / Charlie

The materials in the exhibition come by kind permission from the Fenoglio Fund in Alba (curated by the writer’s daughter, Margherita Fenoglio), from the collection of the “Beppe Fenoglio” Documentation Center of the Ferrero Foundation itself, from the “Beppe Fenoglio” Study Center, from the historical archives of the Einaudi publishing house at the State Archives of Turin, from the Gina Lagorio archives at the Apice Center - University of Milan, from the Archive and Study Center “il Caffè” in Montecalvo in Foglia, from the Labronica Library “F. d. Guerrazzi” in Livorno, the Gallizio Archive in Turin, the Gabriele Basilico Archive in Milan, the Alba Municipal Archive, the Historical Archive of the “Govone” High School in Alba, the “ALEC - Gianfranco Alessandria” Cultural Association in Alba and private lenders.

For info: www.fondazioneferrero.it

Hours: Thursdays and Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Dec. 24,25,31 and Jan. 1.

Free admission

Image: Beppe Fenoglio. Photo by Aldo Agnelli, Centro Studi Beppe Fenoglio Archives.

One hundred years after Beppe Fenoglio's birth, Ferrero Foundation dedicates an exhibition to the writer and partisan

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