Fasi organizzative, aspetti scientifici e documenti inediti di due grandi Mostre dell’Era Fascista /Organizational phases, scientific aspect and unpublished documents of two major exhibitions of the Fascista era

Abstract

By researching documents and firsthand sources, two major exhibitions between 1937 and 1938 have been analyzed: Augustan Exhibition of Roman times and the Exhibition of the Restoration of Monuments in the Fascist Era; both of which exalted Ancient Rome and all of its trappings. While the first was a major event, fairly well known about by today’s scholars, the second has been pretty much ignored and forgotten to this day. This paper has used the few archival documents that still exist. It has been possible to accurately put together the exhibition’s organization, highlighting its scientific aspect. The two events apparently differ one from the other, but they have a common goal: to communicate a new way of looking at the cult of ancient history. Here “art” is transmitted as a fundamental part of everybody’s everyday life. They take the form of a redemption for Italian scholars when compared to their colleagues abroad, while Italian mastery in the field of restoration is put on display. This project has also uncovered new documents. These include unpublished drawings by Luigi Piccinato and Pasquale Carbonara of the arrangements for the Augustan Exhibition. There are also photographs and newspaper articles about the Exhibition of the Restoration which were previously unknown to many scholars. The article also highlights the role of architects who, with the birth of the School of Architecture and new legislative tools aimed at safeguarding this new professional figure.