The Cultural Center, recently inaugurated, is the result of a restoration and museographic arrangement project commissioned by the Municipality of Massa Lombarda. It is a facility that, in the beautiful fully restored Art Nouveau building known as “Pueris Sacrum,” houses continuously the Library, the Venturini Civic Museum, and the Municipal Art Gallery. The Venturini collection represents an important chapter in the history of Massa Lombarda and, at the same time, highlights a striking example of antique collecting from the late 19th century, revisited through a singular figure like Carlo Venturini (1809-1886), who was born in the city of Massa. Upon his death, books and objects, along with the house where the collector had meanwhile organized his collections according to a thematic order, were donated to the city. The Art Gallery, on the other hand, consists of the municipal gallery and that of the AUSL, illustrating some key threads of local artistic culture.One of the main cores of the entire Venturini collection is represented by ancient materials, predominantly ceramics, of Greek, Magna Graecian, and Etruscan origin. Included are some buccheros, Corinthian and Etruscan-Corinthian vases, a small repertoire of figured and non-figured pottery from southern Italy. The most prized piece is a red-figure hydria attributed to the workshop of Assteas and Python (4th century BC). Well documented are also several classes of objects such as black-gloss pottery, balsamaries from ancient Apulia, and lamps, which the collector gathered in an attempt to compile a complete sample for the Roman era. Of some interest is the bronze collection, including fibulae from the early and late Iron Age, items belonging to the Roman ‘instrumentum domesticum,’ small appliques, and some votive statuettes. Noteworthy due to their rarity and exotic touch are the artifacts from North Africa – particularly Punic-inscribed steles from the Carthage ‘tophet’ – whose ownership by Venturini is linked to his role as diplomatic representative of the Tunisian government in Ancona. The decorative arts are represented by Abruzzo and Faentine majolica from the 17th and 18th centuries. Remarkable is the 18th-century ‘desco da parto’ from the Ferniani workshop. Teapots, coffee pots, dressing sets, everyday glassware document Italian and European domestic production, alongside some industrially produced items. The numismatic collection comprises an ancient section with over three hundred Roman-era specimens, while the modern section includes about one hundred 19th-century European and Tunisian coins. The natural heritage consists of fossils, shells, and minerals displayed in original containers from the old museum, set in an evocative environment that aims to recreate the atmosphere of this lost “house-museum.” The Art Gallery retraces local artistic development from the 16th to 18th centuries, featuring personalities such as Garofalo and Bastianino. It then houses the Carlo Venturini collection (1809-1886), mainly composed of 19th-century paintings, works by local artist Giambattista Bassi (1784-1852), some canvases by Angelo Torchi (1856-1915), also native to the Romagna town, and several works related to institutions and religious bodies active in the Ravenna territory. The exhibition closes with works by Orfeo Orfei and the Folli family – Luigi, Guelfo, Umberto.
Information about Carlo Venturini Cultural Center
Viale Zaganelli, 2,
48024 Massa Lombarda (Ravenna)
0545985832
cultura@comune.massalombarda.ra.it
https://www.comune.massalombarda.ra.it
Source: MIBACT
