More than 60 artists are on exhibit – from great names who made the history of international art to established and emerging artists from Italy and abroad – with works ranging from painting to performance, from sculpture to video art to installation, alongside great masterpieces of ancient art. From 4 to 8 September, Panorama Monferrato, the fourth edition of the region-wide exhibition conceived by ITALICS – an institutional network that brings together more than 70 galleries of ancient, modern and contemporary art – presents a cross-section of art history from the 2nd century to the present day. Since 2021, this annual event has been strengthening the bonds between architecture, art, landscape and local territories and their communities.

The exhibition curated by Carlo Falciani is inspired by the principles of La civil conversazione – a work written by Stefano Guazzo (born in Casale Monferrato in 1530) and published in 1574. Winding through vineyards, castles and churches, the exhibition is like a journey in stages through the towns of Camagna, Vignale, Montemagno and Castagnole, creating an original narrative that brings together the ancient, the modern and the contemporary. Once again, it explores an extraordinary corner of Italy. Panorama Monferrato is a journey to be taken slowly, a metaphor for the path of meditation. In the same way that Guazzo used his story’s characters to show how a community could only thrive if it was capable of cultivating a civil conversation, resolving conflicts through dialogue, the center of the ethical development of man and society, so the contemporary visitor to Panorama also embarks on a reflective journey, starting with daily conflicts to end with a level of spirituality, also secular, favored by art.

The artists exhibited at Panorama Monferrato include (updated 10 June 2024): Vincenzo Agnetti (Milan, 1926–1981), Carlo Amalfi (Piano di Sorrento, 1707 – Naples, 1787), Anonymous masters of arms from the 17th-19th centuries, Salvatore Astore (S. Pancrazio Salentino, 1957), Atelier dell’Errore (Reggio Emilia, 2002), Marco Bagnoli (Empoli, 1949), Romina Bassu (Rome, 1982), Cabinet Maker of the 19th century, Mirabello Cavalori (Florence, 1535–1572), Giuseppe Cesari known as Cavalier d’Arpino (Arpino, 1568 – Rome, 1640), Edson Chagas (Luanda, 1977), Betty Danon (Istanbul, 1927 – Milan, 2002), Elisabetta Di Maggio (Milan, 1964), Binta Diaw (Milan, 1995), Latifa Echakhch (El Khnansa, 1974), Sara Enrico (Biella, 1979), Claire Fontaine (Paris, 2004), Theaster Gates (Chicago, 1973), Invernomuto (Milan, 2003), Francesco Jodice (Naples, 1967), Alex Katz (New York, 1927), Esther Kläs (Mainz, 1981), Master of the Gualino Saint Catherine (14th century), Damien Meade (Limerick, 1969), Richard Meitner (Philadelphia, 1949), Fausto Melotti (Rovereto, 1901 – Milan 1986), Lala Meredith-Vula (Sarajevo, 1966), Marzia Migliora (Alessandria, 1972), Giorgio Morandi (Bologna, 1890–1964), Margherita Moscardini (Donoratico, 1981), Maria Nepomuceno (Rio de Janeiro, 1976), Maria Elisabetta Novello (Vicenza, 1974), Painter of the 19th century, Claudio Parmiggiani (Luzzara, 1943), Gianni Pellegrini (Riva del Garda, 1953), Diego Perrone (Asti, 1970), Susana Pilar (Havana, 1984), Alfredo Pirri (Cosenza, 1957), Gio’ Pomodoro (Ociano di Pesaro, 1930 – Milan, 2002), Giuseppe Recco (Naples, 1634 – Alicante,1695), Moira Ricci (Orbetello, 1977), Ottone Rosai (Florence, 1895 – Ivrea, 1957), Arcangelo Sassolino (Vicenza, 1967), Pierluigi Scandiuzzi (Padua, 1993), Salvatore Scarpitta (New York, 1919–2007), Markus Schinwald (Salzburg, 1973), Ariel Schlesinger (Jerusalem, 1980), Sculptor of the 2nd century CE, Shimabuku (Kobe, 1969), Tal R (Tel Aviv, 1967), Guido Trentini (Verona, 1889–1975), Armando Andrade Tudela (Lima, 1975), Patrick Tuttofuoco (Milan, 1974), Giuseppe Uncini (Fabriano, 1929 – Trevi, 2008), Michel Verjux (Chalon-sur-Saône, 1956), Pieter Vermeersch (Kortrijk, 1973), Francesco Vezzoli (Brescia, 1971), Franco Vimercati (Milan, 1940–2001), Marianne Vitale (East Rockaway, 1973), Luca Vitone(Genoa, 1964), Akram Zaatari (Sidon District, 1966).

Like the various chapters of a story, in each town, the works of the artists involved are used to develop a theme that spans the eras, thus completing the journey.

In Camagna the theme of Lavoro e radici [Labor and Roots] is explored, deepening the concept of labor as the root of gestures and sacrifice, but also as an expression of the local land. These works focus on the dual agricultural and industrial souls of many places that, like Monferrato, have experienced radical transformations.

In Vignale, the theme of Ritratto e identità [Portrait and Identity] is explored. This type of work lends itself to expressing and capturing the identity of a person or a community as a moment in history.

In Montemagno, the theme of Caducità e morte [Transience and Death] shows how, since the Renaissance, the awareness of death has been constantly present in representations of initiatory journeys.

Finally, in Castagnole, the theme of Sacralità dell’arte, anche laica [Sacredness of Art, including Secular Art] exalts the possibility of removing oneself from everyday life in favor of contemplation.

With the participation of 61 of the galleries that make up ITALICS and with artistic masterpieces that span the eras, Panorama Monferrato connects art, territory and community in the provinces of Alessandria and Asti up to the foot of the Ligurian Apennines, between the Langhe, the Roero and the Lombard Lomellina: a landscape of hills where the land and rural tradition make up a unique heritage of culture, history and traditions recognized by UNESCO. This is a land to be explored slowly, through artistic itineraries ranging from the Romanesque to the contemporary, with site-specific installations and public art, which make it a multi-venue open-air museum.

With the patronage of UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and the Piedmont Region, Panorama Monferrato is guaranteed to be a unique exhibition experience. It expresses the values of ITALICS, and is able to combine multiple styles, techniques and thoughts through itineraries that together form an extraordinary journey that began in 2020 on the web pages of the Italics.art platform and continued with the editions held in Procida (2021), Monopoli (2022) and L’Aquila (2023).

Panorama is a cultural and artistic project conceived and promoted by ITALICS in a context of working with the territories involved. It is a symbol of a commitment that aims at expanding progressively into a program and a network of alliances that reaffirm the central position and role of art galleries in a local and global cultural system that is constantly evolving.

For the third year in a row, Belmond confirms its support for ITALICS’ activities as Main Partner, consolidating the strong attention and care it has always shown for the cultural heritage and history of the places where it operates. As a pioneer of slow travel, Belmond has indeed developed a long and successful tradition of excellence in the field of hospitality, creating genuine travel experiences where the route leading to a place is as important as the destination itself. The partnership with ITALICS thus continues to deepen Belmond’s aim of promoting Italy and its territory, with particular attention to destinations such as Monferrato and placing significant emphasis on the promotion and preservation of lesser-known but not less valuable landscapes and natural resources for the future. By focusing on local art and culture together with ITALICS, Belmond is inviting the public to discover and experience the beauty scattered across the country from a more current and authentic point of view, striving to highlight its past to create a new legacy.

Il Giornale dell’Arte is a Media Partner of Panorama Monferrato.

Participants in Panorama Monferrato include: A arte Invernizzi, Galerie Rolando Anselmi, Apalazzogallery, Alfonso Artiaco, Bacarelli, Bottegantica, Botticelli Antichità, Galleria Canesso, CAR Gallery, Cardi Gallery, Carlo Orsi, Galleria Continua, Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Thomas Dane Gallery, Monica De Cardenas, Massimo De Carlo, Dep Art Gallery, Galleria Tiziana Di Caro, Alessandra Di Castro, Galleria Umberto Di Marino, Galleria Doris Ghetta, Galleria d’Arte Frediano Farsetti, Federica Schiavo Gallery, Galleria Fumagalli, Gagosian, Galleria dello Scudo, Giacometti Old Master Paintings, Gian Marco Casini Gallery, kaufmann repetto, Laveronica Arte Contemporanea, Galleria Lia Rumma, Lunetta11, Gió Marconi, Mazzoleni, London-Torino, Francesca Minini, Galleria Massimo Minini, ML Fine Art, Maurizio Nobile Fine Art, Galleria Franco Noero, Osart Gallery, P420, Walter Padovani, Giorgio Persano, Pinksummer, Prometeo Gallery Ida Pisani, Richard Saltoun Gallery, Secci Gallery, Simóndi, SpazioA, Studio Sales di Norberto Ruggeri, Studio Gariboldi, Studio Trisorio, T293, Tim Van Laere Gallery, Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea, Tornabuoni Arte, Tucci Russo Studio per l’Arte Contemporanea, Victoria Miro Venice, Galleria Carlo Virgilio & C., Vistamare, ZERO...