Contemporary art and design dialogue with the historic surroundings of the Villa Reale in Monza

The second piano nobile and part of the first piano nobile of the Villa Reale in Monza have been rearranged as of Dec. 7, 2023, for the Reggia Contemporanea project: an itinerary featuring one hundred works by major Italian artists and designers from the Republican period, alongside furniture and paintings from the Savoy and Habsburg periods. The exhibition itinerary, curated by Renata Cristina Mazzantini, was developed in close collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the province of Monza and Brianza, in particular with Superintendent Giuseppe Stolfi and Benedetta Chiesi, and with Angelo Crespi.

The itinerary inside the Villa offers more than fifty works of abstract and figurative, kinetic and conceptual art by twenty-seven masters, in dialogue with the neoclassical taste of the Hapsburg matrix and the floral taste of the Savoy. Visitors can thus admire masterpieces by artists such as Enrico Castellani, Paolo Scheggi, Afro and Mirko Basaldella, Carol Rama, Maria Lai, Emilio Vedova, Mimmo Rotella, Gastone Novelli, and Piero Dorazio. On the second piano nobile are the majestic sculptures of Pietro Consagra, Agenore Fabbri, and Davide Rivalta, while the smaller rooms house the plastic creations of Gino Marotta and the luminous creations of Mario Nanni.

Giovanni Frangi, Chiara Dynys and Massimo Listri specially created three site-specific works that were generously donated to the Consorzio Villa Reale e Parco di Monza. Also imposing are the installations designed by Mario Ceroli, Michele Ciacciofera, Emilio Isgrò, Pietro Ruffo and Grazia Varisco, each of whom has chosen an environment in which to display important historical and current works. On the first piano nobile, hyper-realist still lifes by Luciano Ventrone, a ceramic by Bertozzi & Casoni and one of Livio Scarpella’s best-known veiled faces dialogue with antique decorations.

Reggia Contemporanea has also brought back to Lombardy Francesco Messina’s monumental bronze sculptural group depicting the Rape of Proserpine, which welcomes visitors in the Atrio degli Staffieri; originally placed in the Manzoni Theater in Milan, the ENPAM Foundation - Ente Nazionale di Previdenza ed Assistenza dei Medici e degli Odontoiatri (National Welfare and Assistance Institution for Doctors and Dentists) has granted it on free loan for use to the Villa Reale and Park of Monza Consortium.

Finally, the itinerary is enriched with more than forty masterpieces of Italian design. Giorgio Armani’s tapestries, fabrics, furniture and objects embellish the Royal Family Dining Room on the first piano nobile.

Design objects include works by pioneers such as Renzo Frau, Gio Ponti, and Piero Fornasetti, as well as works by architects such as Adolfo Natalini and Aldo Rossi, and iconic armchairs by Alessandro Mendini and Gaetano Pesce. Giorgio Armani and Luca Nichetto’s draperies adorn the windows; lamps by Davide Groppi, Michele De Lucchi and Piero Fassina, Jacopo Foggini, Franco Raggi, Vico Magistretti, and Tommaso Tommasi illuminate the artworks, while Marco Piva’s Venini Universe chandelier shines in the Queen’s wardrobe.

On the precious inlaid tops by Bottega Maggiolini, visitors can admire Benedetta Brachetti Peretti’s Coco de Mer and Fabio Novembre’s Piazze d’Italia, while Luciano Gaspari’s vases stand out on the marble of a fireplace. Visitors can sit on chairs by Cananzi & Semprini and Antonio Citterio, reflect in mirrors by Piero Lissoni and Nanda Vigo, and admire the technical expertise and inventive imagination in wood carvings by Ferruccio Laviani and Romeo Sozzi.

All works of art and design have been granted free of charge to the Consorzio Villa Reale e Parco di Monza, on a multi-year loan for use or donation.

For info: www.reggiadimonza.it

Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Massimo Listri

Contemporary Palace

Contemporary Palace

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Contemporary art and design dialogue with the historic surroundings of the Villa Reale in Monza

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