Speed is on display in Mantua, from Gonzaga horses to space shuttles

From June 1 until July 28, with opening every afternoon from Tuesday to Sunday from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., a new exhibition will be set up at the Rustica in the Ducal Palace.

Speed: from the Horses of the Gonzagas to Spaceships, this is the title of the exhibition conceived by Giampaolo Benedini and curated by Adalberto Scemma, is the result of a project by Mantova Creativa with Scuderia Tazio Nuvolari and the Palazzo Ducale Museum Complex in Mantova and is organized through various sections to tell the story of speed as a myth of our time. For centuries, technical development has enabled human speed in every field. But technology does not only mean the use of technical instrumentation; the human body also has its own technology of speed, deployed in sports, for example, where reflexes and muscle power determine much of an athlete’s success. Here, then, is where speed goes to affect the imagination to the extent that it is actually perceived even in the absence of movement. Provided, of course, that the artist, scientist, engineer, filmmaker, or creative person wants to show its essence and its emotional and visual consequences. It is in this dimension that the focus of the exhibition is specified, involving various aspects related to speed understood as desire, need, sensibility, and not only as technological or motor development. All with the help of films, cards, photographic material and with the presence of historical artifacts. From the speed of man, with the myth of Usain Bolt and Eliud Kipchoge in evidence, to that of animals, with the record-breaking performances of the jaguar and the peregrine falcon, the exhibition analyzes a historical scenario that is an inexhaustible source of curiosity and surprises. Then the spotlights are turned on the technical tools that inspired a race conducted in constant acceleration, as if the fate of man, and of his thirst for conquest, was fatally linked to the ability to perceive, to sublimate it, the essence of the space-time relationship. Hence the history of the bicycle and the history of the motorcycle, with vintage specimens on display, the history of the automobile and motor boating to the detail of records achieved by aviation or man’s exploits in space. Finally, the insights concerning the speed of optical communication (see the extraordinary record of University College London: 1125 terabits per second) and the mysterious aptitude of the brain to organize in its plastic part the data of experience.

However, the historical narrative starts from Renaissance Mantua: suffice it to recall that the Gonzaga family was famous for breeding racehorses that were unbeatable in speed and endurance, contended by all the courts ofEurope, paid record sums burning out competition from the great families of the time, the Medici, the Estensi and the Farnese. Moreover, Mantua itself has always boasted a specific tradition in the sphere of speed. Thus in cycling with sprinter Francesco Verri, three Olympic gold medals in Athens 1906, and with the legendary Learco Guerra. Not to mention Tazio Nuvolari, the “myth of myths” in an era that saw motor racing rise as an emblem of vital energy to the point of inspiring the futuristic insights of Tommaso Marinetti.

Various sections are naturally devoted to sporting events with the account of the most striking records, including those referring to the speed of soccer and volleyballs or tennis and golf balls, the latter capable of touching 328 km/h. Ample space is given to the historical feats of Mantuan sportsmen. Thus in athletics, where Mario Colarossi, Gianni Ronconi, Diego Marani, Fausto Desalu, Simona Parmiggiani, Luigi Rossini, Gianni Truschi and Najibe Salami jump on the cover, or in cycling where next to Francesco Verri and Learco Guerra shine Gaioni and Tasselli, Bergamaschi and Campana, Roncaglia and Mantovani, Baronchelli and Bosisio, Gialdini and Meneghelli up to Buttarelli, Moreni, Bianchini and, most recently, Edoardo Affini. The history of Mantuan motor racing cannot disregard the myth of Tazio Nuvolari, but the tale of the pioneering feats of Cesare Pastore and Vincenzo Coffani, Giuseppe Morandi, Marino Marini, Paolo Petrobelli and Franco Marenghi up to the burst onto the scene of the impromptu Luigi Malanca excites. Similar is the epic of motorcycling, which saw Guido Leoni lead the way for Ivan Goi and Lucio Pedercini, or that of motorboating, which handed the iris to Carlo Petrobelli and Gino Zavanella.

And again, for water sports, Sonia Truzzi, Viviana Vecchi and Adolfo Bollini for water skiing, Francesco Bonezzi, Giacomo Bottoli, Francesca Pavesi, Vittoria, Giulia and Francesca Masotto for sailing, up to Olympic canoeists Renato Ongari and Alberta Zanardi, Matteo Florio and Serena Pontara, rowers Marco Penna and Marco Gola, Alberto Mondini and Franco Grandis find space on display. Then, in swimming, the wave of Gino Baraldi and Iris Corniani, Cristina Sossi and Francesca Ferrarini to Alessandra Cappa and the exploits of Nicoletta Ruberti. Ball sports exalted the speed of execution of Roberto Boninsegna in soccer, Marco Negri and Andrea Anastasi in volleyball and the legendary Marino “Mara” Marzocchi in tamburello. And to close two equally legendary figures: the eclectic Onorio Marocchi, world champion in bobsledding, and the “golden whip” Mario Manfredi, who on the sulky left an indelible mark in the history of trotting.

Alongside creator Giampaolo Benedini and curator Adalberto Scemma, a staff of experts collaborated on the exhibition: Fabrizio Bovi, Alberto Capilupi, Giancarlo Malacarne, Giancarlo Pascal, Giovanni Pasetti, Cesare Ponchiroli, Tiziano Prati, Claudio Rossi and Marco Tonelli. The exhibition design was curated by Matteo Corsini.

The exhibition is supported by the Bam Foundation and Lubiam.

For all information you can visit the official website of Palazzo Ducale in Mantua.

Source: press release

Speed is on display in Mantua, from Gonzaga horses to space shuttles

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.