L’ECO DEL CLASSICO:
The Valley of the Temples of Agrigento at the Studio Francesco Messina Museum in Milan
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm; Monday closed
Studio Museo Francesco Messina hosts the exhibition “L’Eco del Classico“, which is made up of a corpus of over 150 findings recently rediscovered in the Valley of the Temples flanked by pieces from the Pietro Griffo Museum in Agrigento. In addition, it contains the collections of the Superintendency for Cultural Heritage of Agrigento, accompanied by the collection of ancient art by Francesco Messina conserved by the Milanese Archaeological Superintendency, in dialogue with the classical works of the Sicilian sculptor. Inauguration scheduled for Thursday 19 July at 6 pm and closing on 21 October 2018. The exhibition stands out for its scientific and cultural slant, given by the contribution of important research institutions.
The event is organized by the City of Milan, Department of Culture – Studio Museum Francesco Messina and the Archaeological and Landscape Park of the Valley of the Temples, in collaboration with the Regional Archaeological Museum “Pietro Griffo”, with the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage of Agrigento, the Archaeological Superintendence of Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Como, Lecco, Monza-Brianza, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese and conceived by the director of the Maria Fratelli museum. The exhibition glorifies the works of Francesco Messina with the light and the breath of classicism, the idea and the form of a vision that remains, for amplitude and lucidity of thought, a paradigm necessary for contemporaneity.
The exhibition itinerary presents archaeological finds from the 6th century BC to the former church of San Sisto. at the 14th century AD flanked by precious fragments of the recent and extraordinary discovery of the theater and sanctuary of the ancient polis Akragas, today’s Agrigento, as well as some exhibits that Francesco Messina has collected during his life. The sculptor, with a keen interest in the past and linked to Sicily, his homeland, often took inspiration from the creation of sculptures to archaeological works of which evident references sometimes emerge. In the basement a suggestive restitution of an archaeological excavation offers a glimpse of the great millenary metropolis that has been emerging in recent years thanks to the excavation campaigns of the Valley of the Temples. The exhibition “L’Eco del Classico” glorify the works of Francesco Messina, to whom the museum is dedicated, with the light and breath of Sicily emphasizing, through the comparison with the ancient finds, the continuation of the classicism in the twentieth century.
The setting up, designed by Maddalena D’Alfonso and created by EasyHolidays, immerses visitors in a museum and archaeological environment thanks to the windows in the nave that offer a vertical scene, flanked by a detailed catalog and some panels for further study, as well as a table with documents concerning the findings of the spectacular Hellenistic theater and the sanctuary. The planting of citrus fruits typical of the Sicilian territory helps to create a sensory journey that culminates in the view from the ancient citadel. The two cities, Milan and Agrigento, are therefore united by the same historical and cultural stratification, twinned in the sign of myth and classicism.
