Rocca Albornoz – National Museum of the Duchy of Spoleto: a travelling exhibition was inaugurated, that offers the unique possibility to admire at the same time the monuments of the serial site ‘The Longobards in Italy. The places of power (568-774 AD)’.
The travelling exhibition ‘Touching the Longobards first-hand’ was inaugurated at the Rocca Albornoz – National Museum of the Duchy of Spoleto. Realised in collaboration with the ‘Museo Tattile Statale Omero‘ of Ancona and financed by the Ministry of Culture, the exhibition aims to show the extraordinariness and complexity of the UNESCO site through a tactile path and a wide range of fruition options that facilitate the understanding, ensuring everyone an optimal multisensory experience.
The exhibition’s presentation was attended by the mayors of Spoleto and Campello sul Clitunno, Andrea Sisti and Maurizio Calisti, the director of the Rocca Albornoz-Museo nazionale del Ducato di Spoleto and the Tempietto sul Clitunno, Paola Mercurelli Salari, the councillor for the enhancement of culture, quality and beauty of the city and territory, Danilo Chiodetti, and Francesca Di Maolo, president of the Istituto Serafico di Assisi.
“Thanks to the work carried out by the Museo Tattile Statale Omero of Ancona, with whom we have established a close working relationship, it has been possible to create an extraordinary and particularly inclusive exhibition“, explained Mercurelli Salari.
After thanking former councillor for culture, architect Giorgio Flamini, and former mayor Daniele Benedetti for having believed in the UNESCO candidacy and in the serial site ‘The Longobards in Italy’ (“It is important to emphasise continuity, including administrative continuity, because things are never born by chance“), mayor Andrea Sisti stressed the importance of the project: “The theme of inclusion and openness to diversity, which are the elements that gave rise to the idea for this exhibition, is fundamental because it allows us to appreciate the sense of community, avoiding the conflict that would otherwise find fertile ground. When people with disabilities are excluded, as well as those who come from places in the world other than our own, the opportunities for growth for all are limited: we must be able to grasp the value of diversity.”
The mayor Maurizio Calisti thanked Spoleto: “We the people from Campello feel partly Spoletan because there is a strong bond between our communities and this umpteenth collaboration is here to prove it. I would also like to emphasise the indispensable contribution of the technicians who worked on this exhibition,” added Calisti, “because mayors come and go, but the quality of the work done is largely thanks to them“.
Councillor Danilo Chiodetti pointed out the social and cultural value of the exhibition “which is not only about the seven architectures that best represent the site, but tells a philosophy and seeks to affirm a right: art in all its forms and manifestations must be accessible and usable to all. As well as being a fact of civilisation in general, it is a right, specifically the right to culture, which is essential for a person’s integral formation.”
“The collaboration with the Omero Museum of Ancona was very qualifying, because these paths of knowledge through touch allow us to open up to an extraordinary experience – were the words of the president of the Istituto Serafico di Assisi Francesca Di Maolo – The Istituto Serafico is 150 years old and from a place of education for those who could not see or hear it is now a health centre that deals with multiple disabilities. This exhibition, like the Serafico experience, teaches us that a full life is always possible, that if disability closes one door we can open numberless other doors, because the senses help us to enjoy life. With this exhibition we can fully understand the importance and value of beauty and, therefore, of art as a right and as a cure. Diversity has its beauty and beauty lies in diversity.“
The celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the serial site ‘The Longobards in Italy’ as UNESCO World Heritage continue with the travelling exhibition “Touching the Longobards first-hand“, which will be inaugurated on Friday 12 November at 3.30 p.m. at the Rocca Albornoz – National Museum of the Duchy of Spoleto, after the stops in Ancona, Benevento and Monte Sant’Angelo. The exhibition will be open until 6 March.
Seven three-dimensional scale models of the architectural monuments most representative of the Longobard serial site and seven models of the areas in which the monuments are located will be on display in the rooms, allowing tactile exploration of their contexts of origin. To make the itinerary even more accessible there will be audio descriptions (in Italian and English), recorded by the actors of the Compagnia #SIneNOmine of the Casa di Reclusione di Maiano in Spoleto, to be listened to via NFC and QR code, as well as a catalogue in Braille and one in large print for free consultation. Finally, to allow for inclusive use of the models, videos have been made using the technique of compositing in LIS – Italian Sign Language, together with images and animations, subtitles and audio.
INFO: Exhibition “Toccar con Mano i Longobardi”
Address: Rocca Albornoz-Museo Nazionale del Ducato di Spoleto | Piazza Bernardino Campello 1, Spoleto (PG)
Monday through Sunday: 9.30-18.00, closed on Wednesday
Info and booking: +39 0743 223055
