(by Emily Backus) Milan Expo 2015 will focus on food, but this week efforts - and controversy - aimed at bringing iconic Italian masterpieces to the world fair came to light.
Vittorio Sgarbi, a volatile and provocative politician who is an art critic and current cultural ambassador for the Lombardy Region, revealed this week that he is working to bring masterpieces to Milan from all over Italy, including Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (1486) and the ancient Greek warrior statues, the Riace Bronzes (420-460 BC). The precious works are held dearly by their respective homes, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in the city of Reggio Calabria, in the toe of Italy's boot. Sgarbi, angered over controversy sparked by a northern Italian town's refusal to loan a 16th century work by Giuseppe Arcimboldo - The Gardener, whose onion cheeks, turnip nose, and bushy carrot beard inspired Expo's official cartoon mascot Foody - denounced the Cremona municipality's veto as an example of useless, parochial hoarding.
"To think of Expo is a bonanza from which everyone must take advantage is a sick mentality. But what Arcimboldo? Who cares about that picture if they keep it in Cremona?" asked Sgarbi.
"I am working to bring to Expo Botticelli's Venus, in addition to the Riace Bronzes". "To believe that one comes from Australia for Expo and then is willing to go all the way to Cremona or Reggio Calabria to see a single work is crazy. If you ask me, the cities that will benefit from the event, other than Rome and Milan, are Venice, Florence and Turin," Sgarbi said.
Sgarbi's aspirations for Botticelli's Venus, in fact, is not to bring it from Florence to Milan, but to install it in the Reggia di Venaria Reale - a major art museum located in the former royal hunting palace of the Savoia dynasty near Turin.
The project is still early stage, but Sgarbi hopes to persuade the Uffizi Gallery to concede the work for at least a period between May and December 2015. "Surely Florence has no need of Expo as a showcase, like Reggio Calabria or Cremona, but I believe the financial support could also be convenient for the Uffizi," said Sgarbi, who has hinted at a figure between 600,000 and 800,000 euros. Whether or not Botticelli's Venus should be moved from the Uffizi is, however, the Italian culture minister's call. "We can take on the risk assessment component locally, but the (evaluating the) opportunity must await the minister," said Cristina Acidini, supervisor for Florentine museums.
Moving iconic Italian masterpieces can be a political Pandora's box, as the controversy embroiled the 2007 loan to Tokyo of Leonardo Da Vinci's Annunciation showed. Following that event, the ministry of culture created a list of "unmovable" works that can not be transferred abroad, including The Birth of Venus. However, current Italian Culture and Tourism Minister Dario Franceschini did not immediately shut down Sgarbi's idea of having The Birth of Venus visit Turin.
"If there are formal requests, only these will be examined, to the best of our ability, and with all the necessary scientific rigor and reasonableness. The rest is just summer debate," Franceschini told ANSA. As for Sgarbi's stance on Cremona and the Arcimboldo, Franceschini sided with the town.
"Expo is not only in Milan but of all of Italy. The challenge that we have to win is to lengthen the stay of all Expo visitors in our country, offering them opportunities and ways to go visit the widespread museum that is Italy," said Franceschini. "So now I say enough to this daily, improvised debate on individual masterpieces that should be moved to Milan".
Milan Expo 2015 runs from May to October 2015 and is focused on food security, sustainable practices, nutrition - as well as dishing out the best of global culinary cultures. Hundreds of cultural events are being organized in and around Milan to coincide with Expo - including major art exhibits, concerts and performances - which organizers hope will help attract 20 million visitors to the world fair.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
