Touching art
An international point of reference in aesthetic education for the blind and visually impaired, the Omero Museum is today a unique and “barrier-free” space where everyone can experience art through touch.
The State Tactile Museum Omero
Established in 1993 by the Municipality of Ancona with the contribution of the Marche Region, inspired by the Italian Union of the Blind, the Omero Museum was recognized by Parliament in 1999 as a State Museum under Law number 452 of November 25, 1999, confirming its unique importance at the national level.
In the summer of 2012, the Museum began its move to the eighteenth-century rooms of the Mole Vanvitelliana in Ancona, making part of the permanent collection accessible and activating the Documentation and Research Center, educational laboratories, and offices.
The creation of the new Omero Museum at the Mole is a long, ongoing process aimed at creating an innovative and multisensory exhibition route, technologically advanced and spread over 1500 sqm with about 300 works in total.
The Exhibition Route
Currently, the exhibition route occupies the spaces below the level of the internal courtyard with direct access from the perimeter courtyard of the Mole: these are 450 sqm intended in the future to host the “Made in Italy” section curated and realized by the Tod’s group, in line with the purposes and exhibition methods of the new Omero Museum.
The setup features about 150 works from the permanent collection organized in chronological order, as adopted at the previous location.
The route includes true-to-life copies, in plaster and resin, of famous sculptures from Greek classicism to the early twentieth century, including Etruscan, Romanesque and Gothic art, Michelangelo’s Renaissance, Bernini’s Baroque, and Canova’s Neoclassicism. One room is dedicated to the “Carved Movement” from the Louvre, aimed at celebrating the body in motion through five actions: effort, dance, running, flight, and fall.
The exhibition route ends with the original works of the rich contemporary art section including Italian and international artists from figurative and informal areas: Valeriano Trubbiani, Girolamo Ciulla, Edgardo Mannucci, Umberto Mastroianni, André Barelier, Sergio Zanni, Pierre Carron, Pietro Annigoni, Aron Demetz, Francesco Messina, Loreno Sguanci, Vittorio Morelli, Sanzio Blasi, Roberto Papini, Floriano Bodini, Rosario Ruggiero, Felice Tagliaferri. This section was recently enhanced with prestigious acquisitions of renowned sculptors such as Consagra, Martini, Marini, De Chirico, Pomodoro.
The collection, accessible and tactile, offers an overview of plastic and sculptural art from all times. Arranged along a functional path, it is also stimulating for all those interested in exploring the link between art and multisensoriality. Escalators are present to explore sculptures by touch at height, educational aids for the blind and visually impaired such as raised tables and informative sheets on the works, available in Braille and large print.
Architectural models and archaeological finds are in storage or under restoration, awaiting reinstallation in the final setup of the new Museum.
It is also possible to admire in the Leopardi Hall of the Mole Vanvitelliana the recent gift from Maestro Michelangelo Pistoletto to the Omero Museum, the large work The Recycled Italy.
To promote a synesthetic approach to reality, the Museum, with many years of experience, organizes numerous educational activities for schools, families, and groups with guided and blindfolded tours and accessible workshops on sensory education, contemporary art, diversity, and archaeology. It also offers a free permanent art training service for the blind and visually impaired and refresher courses and training for teachers and operators.
The Museum is equipped with a bookshop, a conference room, and a rich Documentation Center, open for consultation and specialized in special pedagogy and accessibility to museum assets for people with disabilities, with publications on the topic edited by the Museum itself.
Finally, its cultural promotion activity is intense, expressed through exhibitions, cultural events, conferences, consultations, projects, seminars, collaborations, and cultural exchanges in Italy and abroad.
Information
Museum entry: free.
Visits and activities are paid (3 euros per person) and by reservation.
All initiatives are free for disabled people and accompanying persons.
Information about the State Tactile Museum Omero
Mole Vanvitelliana, 28
60121 Ancona (Ancona)
0712811935
info@museoomero.it
https://www.museoomero.it
SUMMER HOURS: from June 15 to September 15: Tuesday to Friday 18 – 22; Saturday and Sunday 10 – 13 and 18 – 22. Morning: opening by reservation for groups. Closed: Monday, August 15.
free
Source: MIBACT
