Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli

The Neapolitan collection of Gallerie d’Italia, previously exhibited in Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, now finds a new placement in Palazzo Piacentini (1940), the historic headquarters of the Banco di Napoli in the city centre, which has been restored and converted into an exhibition container intended to host artworks of the 20^th century: it is therefore organised functionally and equipped with the technological devices necessary for the transversality of the expressive languages of the artists of modernity.

With its main entrance facing onto Via Toledo, the exhibition spaces are structured over various levels. The entrance foyer is to be found on the ground floor, where a fascinating presentation of the Farnese Atlas welcomes visitors and catalyses the attention of passer-bys. Through the bookshop and box-office access is gained to the large triple-height hall intended for temporary exhibitions: this large space, where the bank used to meet its customers, has been transformed into an avant-garde stage for ever changing presentations of paintings, sculptures, video art and performances.

A closed walkway, 25m long and lined with brass-coated metal, crosses the internal courtyard and takes visitors to the San Giacomo wing; here a wooden staircase climbs to the first floor, where the place of honour is reserved for the famous Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, Caravaggio’s last work, which can be glimpsed first through a small opening and then in the room in all its tragic beauty. Along the adjacent suite of rooms in perspective view, works of the Neapolitan Vedutismo of the 18^th and 19^th centuries are displayed, including the drawings and sculptures of Vincenzo Gemito.

Along the route on the second floor, in the “Transatlantic Room”, a vast collection of Attic vases and those of Magna Graecia is conserved, set in dialogue with the works of MANN, while the collection of 20^th-century works is located in the part facing onto Via Toledo.

The cafeteria-bistro on the ground floor is a space for socialisation that completes the project, with the aim of making the new museum a place of entertainment and meeting in the centre of the city.

The finishes chosen are in respectful dialogue with the precious historical materials. On the frontage, a brass-coloured metal covering emphasises the access stairway, marking the passage between the urban space and the museum environment. The chromatic contrast with the stone of the façade highlights the monumental proportions of the building and introduces visitors to the atmosphere of the museum, where the conservation of marble, coffered ceilings, stuccos and historical wood is alternated with new materials: walnut wood is used for all the new floors, frames and furnishings, while brass distinguishes the supports for the works, the details of the furnishings and the walkway in the internal courtyard.