Ravenna, former capital of the Byzantine Empire, is mostly famous for its mosaics and for its ancient basilicas.
For years Ravenna’s mosaic workers lived in the shadow of the city’s artistic and cultural past, but Ravenna has a lot more to offer beyond its Byzantine past: its 1900s mosaics were among the most prolific in Italy.
For this reason, and thanks to the rediscovering wish of these artists and the ambition to create a place reconciling art and relax, Maurizio Bucci, a businessman from Ravenna, decided to renovate the Salone dei Mosaici (http://www.salonedeimosaici.it/) inside the Casa del Mutilato, in Kennedy Square.
In this way Ravenna enriches its cultural offer even more: the Salone houses some of the 1900s most important mosaic decorations, which have been cloacked from the Liberation until 1994: three massive mosaic panels dedicated to World War I, Spanish Civil War and African War. For one of these creations were also used some pebbles of the Piave river, symbol of the Italian rescue after the defeat of Caporetto. The choice of the war theme sums up Italy’s fascist period; for this reason, inside the Salone there is also a fourth panel depicting Julius Caesar while crossing the Rubicone: a clear reference to Mussolini and his march on Rome.
The 1900s art of Ravenna’s mosaic workers is not just fascist art: Renato Signorini, professor of the Accademia di Belle Arti, worked with artists like Libera Musiani, Werther Focaccia, Ines Morigi Berti and Antonio Rocchi to create masterpieces exceeding the simple art of the fascist period and recalling the art of Futurism and Post-Cubism, as outlined in Saverio Bignami’s text “In the mosaics of Casa del Mutilato: the avant-garde beyond the regime art”.
But the Salone dei Mosaici is not just a museum; inside you can also find a tea room and a library specialized on 1900s themes, where you can spend pleasant moments with precious testimonies forming part of our recent history.
The hall regularly houses ancient and contemporary mosaic exhibitions, concerts and performances. Moreover, the Salone offers different types of visits, from the simple access to mosaics to tours with music and food. Whoever declares itself an art and culture lover can’t miss the chance to participate to the events of Salone dei Mosaici’s 2018 summer programme. To this website you can see all the events and news regarding the hall with the 1900s most important mosaics! —> http://www.salonedeimosaici.it/blog/blog-salone-mosaici/